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EMPLOYMENT

‘Why won’t Swedes hire English speakers?’

After six months in Sweden, US native Joe Beaumier reflects on the difficulties foreigners who speak English face landing a job in Sweden when they're unable to speak advanced Swedish.

Published: 3 January 2013 14:41 CET
'Why won't Swedes hire English speakers?'
Poor Swedish shouldn't stop English-speakers from getting job

Usually I’m the one critical of those who complain. That’s why I need to initially beg your pardon for this therapeutically cathartic article.

What is the big deal about learning Swedish before someone will hire you? Do I really need to speak Swedish to clean your toilet or shovel snow from your steps?

You can’t imagine how many times I’ve heard someone say I need to speak Swedish because, “our clients only speak Swedish,” or, “there are safety issues you need to understand.”

Really?

I moved to Stockholm six months ago, and being a new immigrant I knew I would be starting from scratch. Hence the jobs I’ve been applying for are your typical manual labour: cleaning, dish washing, janitor-type work.

I calculated that since Stockholm is the capital of Scandinavia, and because every Swede I’ve ever met speaks better English than I do (and I’m from the US) that I could probably find a basic entry-level job and be able to get by with beginner Swedish vocabulary.

Not so. I was even passed over three times to dress and wave at people as a Christmas elf!

I’ll admit my CV probably isn’t in perfect Swedish or as articulate as I would like it to be. I only have a BA and it’s in the humanities field. But I’m a young man in my late 20s in good shape; can I at least do some labour jobs?

One of the best ways to learn a language is total immersion – exactly what I would get working here.

I’m waiting for my personal number to come in the mail (yes, it’s also taken six months to get this far, but that’s a different story), and unfortunately I’m not independently wealthy enough to continue with Swedish classes before hopefully finding a job.

Is it because Swedes are afraid their language will become a minority in their own country? That was my initial thought.

I read about the Million Homes (Miljonprogrammet) project Sweden started in the 1960s, and I can understand if Swedes aren’t accustomed to immigrants, at least compared with what I’m used to coming from the United States.

And I can see how these fears would be reinforced because from what I see Swedish is already a minority language in some of the districts around Stockholm.

Which brings up the second reason why Swedes might be so persistent in a Swedish-only policy: in the long-term people can integrate into Swedish society better if they speak Swedish.

I’ll concede I have to agree with that. And as I understand it, people can even receive a stipend while they attend government-sponsored Swedish courses.

Good, people in the Swedish government are thinking in the long-term.

This doesn’t help me though because I’m only here for a year, and I can imagine there are lots of other people who would also like to be working instead of waiting for their personal number and then going to classes for who knows how long before they can start searching for a job.

Especially with English-speakers. Our languages are already almost mutually intelligible.

Are there really so many Swedes that can’t give basic commands in English? “Wash this; put the trash here.”

I was once turned down for a job as a dishwasher because the boss was trying to encourage the three other Spanish dishwashers in the restaurant to speak more Swedish.

“That’s fine,” I said, I can also speak Spanish.

No, they wanted to encourage Swedish. It’s not even a major European language. I know Americans have a bad reputation for expecting everyone to speak English, but that’s not me. I can get by in several other major languages, but sorry, not Swedish.

At least I’m not living in Finland.

So for all the Swedish people who happen to read this, my message for you is this: it’s okay to hire someone who speaks English. You may even have a pleasant cultural exchange with someone from a different country.

Joe Beaumier came to Sweden to be with his partner while she studied. He is interested in immigration and history and enjoys living in new places.

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WORKING IN SWEDEN

‘Reassess your cultural background’: Key tips for foreign job hunters in Sweden

Many foreigners living in Sweden want to stay in the country but struggle to find a job, despite having relevant qualifications. The Local spoke to three experts for their advice.

Published: 7 May 2024 09:00 CEST
'Reassess your cultural background': Key tips for foreign job hunters in Sweden

One international worker who found it hard to land her first job in Sweden is Amanda Herzog, who eventually founded Intertalents in Sweden with the aim of helping other immigrants find work in the country.

Herzog originally came to Sweden to study at Jönköping University and decided to stay after graduating.

“I thought it would take three months, maybe six months to find a job, I was prepared for that,” she told The Local during a live recording of our Sweden in Focus podcast held as part of Talent Talks, an afternoon of discussions at the Stockholm Business Region offices on how to attract and retain foreign workers in Sweden.

“What happened was it took over 13 months and 800 applications to actually get a job in my industry, within marketing.”

During this time, Herzog was getting multiple interviews a month, but was not getting any further in the process, despite showing her CV to Swedish recruiters for feedback.

“They were baffled as well,” she said. “By the time I landed my dream job, I had to go outside of the typical advice and experiment, and figure out how I actually can get hired. By the time I got hired, I realised what actually works isn’t really being taught.”

‘Reassess your cultural background’

Often, those who come to Herzog for help have sent out hundreds of CVs and are unsure what their next steps should be.

“My first piece of advice is to stop for a second,” she said. “Reassess your cultural background and how it fits into Sweden.”

Herzog, for example, discovered she was interviewing in “the American way”.

In the US, when asked to tell an interviewer about yourself, you’d be expected to discuss your career history – how many people have you managed? Did sales improve while you were working there? – while Swedes are more likely to want to know about you as a person and why you want to work in a specific role for their company in particular.

“A lot of people don’t know this, so imagine all of the other cultural things that they’re doing differently that they learned in their country is normal,” Herzog adds.

“Just start with learning, because it could be that you don’t need to change very much, you are qualified, you just need to connect with the Swedish way of doing things.”

 
 
 
 
 
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Networking is important

“Don’t hesitate to reach out for help and guidance,” said Laureline Vallée, an environmental engineer from France who recently found a job in Sweden after moving here nine months ago with her partner, who got a job as a postdoc at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

“You tend to insulate yourself and consider yourself not capable, but you’re not less capable than you were in your home country, you just need to explain it to the employers.”

Another tip is to network as much as you can, Vallée said.

“Networking is really important here in Sweden, so just go for it, connect with people in the same field.”

This could be through networks like Stockholm Akademiska Forum’s Dual Career Network, which helps the accompanying partners or spouses of foreign workers find a job in Sweden, or through other connections, like neighbours, friends, or people you meet through hobbies, for example.

Make a clear profile for yourself

Another common issue is that applicants are not presenting themselves clearly to recruiters, Stockholm Akademiska Forum’s CEO, Maria Fogelström Kylberg, told The Local.

“If you’re sending 600 applications without an answer, something is wrong. We have seen many people looking for jobs working in a supermarket, and the next application is a managing director post,” she said. “You have to decide ‘who am I? What do I want to do?’, you have to profile yourself in a clear way.”

This could be editing down your CV so you’re not rejected for being overqualified, or just thinking more closely about how you present yourself to a prospective employer.

“Which of my skills are transferable? How can I be of use to this company? Not what they can do for me, but what problem can I solve with my competence?”

Job hunters should also not be afraid of applying for a job which lists Swedish as a requirement in the job description, Fogelström Kylberg said.

“Sometimes if I see an ad for a job and I have a perfect candidate in front of me, I call the company and say ‘I have a perfect candidate, but you need them to speak Swedish’, they then say ‘no, that’s not so important’. This is not so unusual at all so don’t be afraid of calling them to say ‘do I really need perfect Swedish?’”

Listen to the full interview with Maria Fogelström Kylberg, Amanda Herzog and Laureline Vallée in The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers.

Interview by Paul O’Mahony, article by Becky Waterton

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