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‘Swedish hotels must become more unique’

A passionate globetrotter who's obsessed with improving hotel experiences across the world, Dutch luxury travel consultant Jeroen Gulickx moved to Stockholm in 2001 and says it's the perfect base from which to do business.

'Swedish hotels must become more unique'
Dutch luxury travel consultant Jeroen Gulickx. Photo: Private
 
Jeroen Gulickx, 42, grew up an hour outside Amsterdam before carving a career improving some of the most exclusive hotels on the planet. 
 
The Local meets him on giant cruise ship MSC Sinfonia, docked in the Swedish capital earlier this month and hosting a conference for some of the city's leading writers and businesses in the travel industry.
 
“It's my first time aboard something like this,” he smiles, admitting that the idea of staying on a floating hotel isn't something that has previously floated his own boat.
 
“There is clearly a place for it in the market though,” he adds, before tucking into the ship's vast lunch buffet – Scandinavian fare alongside Mediterranean produce.
 
“Well the owners are Italian so I've got to try both!” 
 
Warm and enthusiastic, Gulickx is obviously dedicated to his core business goal of “making hotels more profitable”. 
 
Having previously spent time living in Brussels, London and Edinburgh as well as short stints in Madrid and New York, he's been putting his strategies into action in Scandinavia for the past 14 years after relocating to Stockholm while working for global chain Starwood Hotels and Resorts. While there, he was tasked with revamping the Sheraton as well as Hotel Kämp in Helsinki. 
 

The Sheraton hotel (left) was one of Gulickx's first projects in Stockholm. Photo: TT
 
“I get the financial data from a hotel or other part of the hospitality and form a team that looks at all the different areas that might be in need of change and development – operations, often staff, or food and beverage options,” he tells The Local.
 
Now travelling around the world as Managing Director of Danish-born international hospitality consulting firm Mocinno, Gulickx remains a firm fan of his adopted city.
 
“In Stockholm you get the feeling of a capital as well as a village at the same time. Plus it such a safe and secure environment here. Of course the nature is the first thing that people notice, I remember my parents coming and saying 'look at all these trees!',” he laughs.
 
He is also a huge fan of the business culture in Scandinavia.
 
“I really think it is a solid base from which to do business elsewhere, because the moment you tell people you own or are part of a Swedish company they automatically give you trust. They almost buy into it just because it is Swedish.”
 
“Working with Swedish people is a bit different to what I was used to before I came here though,” he adds.
 
“What I like is that most of the country speaks perfect English and also that Swedes tend to have an extremely wide knowledge of things. If they get a document on their desk they understand the processes that take place before and after their role in a piece of work. In the Netherlands there is more of a strict education which can be quite narrow – so you focus on one subject or area of business, but here the focus tends to be broader.”
 
He adds: “Of course, having so many people questioning things as part of a process is a good thing, but it can make it harder to make decisions.”
 
While Gulickx clearly enjoys living and working in Stockholm, he firmly believes that the city needs to work harder to attract more international visitors, at a time when hotels are facing tough competition from 'sharing economy' accommodation models such as Air BnB and similar Swedish firm Lägenhetsbyte.
 
“In general the hotel industry is facing a challenge – it needs to differentiate itself from other accommodations. Hotels themselves also need to think about concepts – what can they offer, be that a specific concept, or just a more boutique environment,” he says.
 
Mocinno's recent projects include working on a one-square metre gym alongside sports equipment firm Casall and an initiative in conjunction with Unicef and bike firm Velosophy. The latter  involves hotels and guests buying bicycles, with each purchase being matched with a bicycle gift to a schoolgirl in Ghana.
 
Gulickx firmly believes that hotels in Sweden are too focused on looking at costs when pushing for profitability, “when there is actually so much more opportunity within sales, branding and marketing”.
 
“There also needs to be a general push in Stockholm in particular to think about what we have to change in the city to make it more attractive – be that better accessiblity, the number of museums or waiting times, the number of five star hotels,” he says.
 
“There needs to be more that people remember the city for beyond being a pretty place…Stockholm has reputation for the archipelago and water…but it has be more than that.”
 
“I hope I'll get the chance to be part of it,” he adds.
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READER INSIGHTS

How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who’ve been there, done that

The Swedish job market poses unique challenges for newcomers. The Local's readers share their best tips for cracking the career code.

How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who've been there, done that

Network, network, network!

A statistic that often gets tossed around is that seven out of ten jobs in Sweden are obtained through personal connections, and there’s no doubt that a good network is crucial to your job hunt, making the labour market extra challenging for newcomers to the country.

In fact, networking was the main tip mentioned by The Local’s readers.

“The job market is quite hot in Sweden, and talent is in short supply. People hiring do not have a lot of time to find the right talent, and tips from friends, colleagues and former colleagues are the way to first, find out organisations are hiring, and secondly, get your CV on the short list,” said Kyle, a Canadian reader who works in innovation management in Gothenburg.

“If you are going for a major employer like Volvo, network gets you in the door, as HR does not have much to do with hiring… the hiring managers do all of it and have no time, due to the insane number of consensus meetings. If you are looking for smaller organisations, they have even less time to find people, and networking is their primary way to find talent,” he added.

NETWORKING IN SWEDEN:

Some of the networking tips readers mentioned were going to job fairs, getting an internship to help you establish connections in your preferred field, joining clubs (this could be anything from your local gardening association to meetups for coders, but focus on clubs that may be popular among people working in your chosen field), and drawing on your organic network of friends, neighbours and others.

Don’t neglect the groundwork

The saying “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” is getting worn out (and people may look at you funny if you turn up to interviews in a Batman suit), but there’s truth to the notion of making sure you know what you want – and preparing for it.

In other words, don’t wait for a job ad to appear before you start to customise your CV and figure out what skill set you need. Create your CV now so that you’re ready to tweak it to your dream job – you could even have a general look at job ads in your field to see what requirements are needed. And don’t forget to spruce up your LinkedIn profile so that it fits with your career goals.

“I believe that several factors contribute to successfully landing a desirable job in Sweden. It’s essential to prepare to meet the requirements beyond just having a university degree. Many individuals realise these requirements only after completing their studies when they start searching for a job, which can be too late,” said Adnan Aslam from Pakistan, who works as a food inspector.

“I recommend identifying the job advertisements for positions you aspire to hold in the future and then preparing for those requirements during your studies. For me, acquiring a basic level of proficiency in the Swedish language and obtaining a Swedish driving licence were crucial. I pursued these goals during my studies and was able to secure a desirable job before graduating,” he added.

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Felipe Cabral even has a GPT assistant trained on his own CVs and old cover letters, and said the set-up only takes ten minutes if you already have your documents. “With that in place, you can give instructions like: Read this job description and create a tailored version of my CV and letter for it. (…) Remember to always review and ask it not to create data aside from your documents.”

Be flexible and ready to adapt

Moving to a new place inevitably means having to learn not just the practicalities such as how to write a CV or which websites to use to look for job openings, but also learning how to navigate a new culture with all its unspoken expectations.

Swedish workplaces are generally less hierarchical than many other countries, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want whenever you want without anyone raising an eyebrow. Swedes are usually direct, but be careful of being too abrasive or boastful: raising your voice, even during a spirited argument, or banging your own drum to show off your skills may not go down well.

“Talk, deliberate, complain like a Swede and you’ll come across like you know what the job entails, so your trustworthiness increases,” said an Indian data analyst who preferred to remain anonymous.

“Office politics are just as strong in Sweden as anywhere else. The flat hierarchy is deceiving as social hierarchy is enforced quite a bit in that lack of formal hierarchy. Take your time in learning these dynamics wherever you work before revealing your talent and capabilities. Expect those internal politics to happen, and they won’t hurt so much when they do,” said Kyle, the Canadian reader in Gothenburg.

This article about Swedish office politics may be useful.

Stay true to yourself

Adapting to your surroundings is one thing. Completely changing who you are is another.

For one thing, your happiness is as important as your career progression, and for another, your foreignness need not be an impediment: it’s also a skill that sets you apart from the rest. It means you have unique experience, and also, in the right setting, provides an opportunity to sometimes violate those social rules we mentioned above, because people assume you will, anyway.

“Trust is key. Build trust in your network, work with integrity. It’s OK to violate jantelagen if you are maintaining integrity. Sometimes your outsider and more honest/open opinion will burn bridges, especially those that may feel threatened by talent. But it will build trust with other colleagues who see it as brave and more trustworthy to work with,” said Kyle from Canada.

Hunker down for the long haul

We don’t want to scare you, because there are plenty of examples of people who quickly find their dream job in Sweden and settle into their new workplace, enjoying perks such as long summer holidays, generous parental leave and the famous work-life balance.

But if you do find it tougher than you expected: know that you’re not alone.

Several readers who responded to the survey said they were still trying to find a job in Sweden.

“I found jobs all over Europe but not here. They say they have a lack of experienced senior engineers but the don’t seem to be doing much to solve this,” said a Brazilian in Gothenburg.

A reader from Bangladesh said she was “at a loss” as to how to make a career change from her current AI role in Stockholm, despite many years of experience as an IT project manager.

“Over the past 18 months, I’ve submitted over 600 applications to various organisations. Unfortunately, despite being overqualified for some positions, I’ve faced rejections at every turn, from both large and small companies. The job market here, especially for foreign-born women, feels overwhelmingly challenging,” she said, adding that the struggle had impacted her mental health.

The Local has on several occasions reported on foreign residents’ struggle to get a foot on the Swedish job ladder, with many facing hurdles such as employers’ unfamiliarity with international degrees, discrimination, or a lack of network that can provide paths into a company.

So during the job hunt, don’t forget to care for yourself. Share your concerns with fellow job-seekers, ask for help and join networking groups – this is good not just for creating new contacts, but also in terms of your social well-being and meeting people who are in a similar situation.

And finally, as one British reader in Stockholm advised, keep looking: “Be open-minded with the opportunities that present themselves. It isn’t an easy market to enter and doesn’t feel inclusive.” But he added, “don’t give up”.

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