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How to negotiate your dream salary in Sweden

From startups to multinationals, many firms in Sweden fix salaries differently to elsewhere in the world. Swedish culture specialist Sofi Tegsveden Deveaux shares her top negotiating tips with The Local.

Published: 9 October 2015 15:16 CEST
Updated: 10 September 2020 17:07 CEST
How to negotiate your dream salary in Sweden
How do you negotiate your salary in Sweden? Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

Far too many times, I have listened to international professionals telling me how unsatisfied they are with their salaries in Swedish companies. Many of them have started a new position with a rather low salary, in the belief that they have better chances getting a good job in their new country, if the employer does not have to risk too much money. They also expect a raise as they have proven what they are worth. After a few years and this raise never coming up, they start to doubt themselves, the company, or Sweden as a whole country. I believe that such situations are due to poor knowledge of the Swedish system, and that this can be avoided if you know what to expect from the salary negotiation and its consequences, and if you are well prepared.

How are salaries set in Sweden?

Although there are many laws regulating work life and employment, there is no minimum salary in Sweden. Any number that the employee accepts is legal. Instead, collective agreements are often made between employers and trade unions. Actually, almost 90 percent of all Swedish companies are covered by such agreements – kollektivavtal. These often specify the minimum wage for that particular work-place, as well as other work conditions, such as holidays, overtime, retirement plans.

However, if you are looking for qualified work, the minimum salary for your company is irrelevant. Your starting salary is negotiated for you as an individual. I have seen many cases of internationals discovering that equally or less qualified colleagues from the Nordics are receiving a significantly higher salary for the same positions, and often wrongly deduce that this is because of discrimination from the management. I would argue that this is not at all the case. This rather derives from different cultural differences and poor knowledge of the Swedish system, as compared to what it looks like in other European countries.

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I have been told, that in many countries, a first salary is accepted as much lower, in order for the new employee to prove themselves. After a ‘trial period’, when this new member of staff has shown their potential, salary is negotiated according to performance. This means that they could experience a significant pay rise within your first year.

In Sweden, though, you will have to negotiate your future salary from the very start. You will have to convince the interviewer that you are worth a specific sum. They will take the risk. But you are very unlikely to receive an annual raise of more than 3 percent, regardless of your performance. Actually, the only way to get a significant raise is to change jobs!

Preparations

Few people I meet look forward to their negotiation. They do not like, as they say it, ‘to sell themselves’. Fair enough, I think this is the case for most sane people. Unfortunately, the most common reaction to this is a complete denial of the whole situation, until the very moment it comes up. Being unprepared for a salary negotiation will definitely make it awkward. My advice is, the more you dread your upcoming negotiation, the more you should prepare for it. This does not mean practising in front of the mirror. It means getting hold of facts. For a successful negotiation, you need to ask yourself – and answer – these questions:

– What is an acceptable salary for your type of position?

– How does this relate to your particular case?

– How much will you ask for, exactly?

– What is the minimum you will accept?

– What do you know about the position, the company, and the future of these?

– What arguments will you use to make your case for it?

– How will you react to different scenarios?

– What is your plan B?

When do I need to negotiate for my salary?

Salary negotiations do not normally take place until the end of the recruitment process, when you are about to sign the contract. For most positions you will negotiate you salary right before signing the contract. Your recruiter might ask you for an approximate number earlier in the process, though. Therefore, I always recommend my clients to be prepared from the very start of a process.

What is a typical set-up?

You will be called for a last interview, or ‘chat’ as they might call it at this stage, which often includes signing the contract. You will probably be meeting your future manager, and perhaps their manager, or the CEO. At some point during your talk, they will bring up the question of salary, and ask you how much you think you should earn. At this moment, you should ask them (if they have not already told you), what the contract looks like. When you know what they offer, your first present your arguments, and last the number you have decided upon. Focus on the arguments. Listen to their response, negotiate, and finally agree.

How do I know how much to aim for?

Your trade union has comprehensive statistics about what you could expect to be paid. Not a member of a trade union? Become a member. (I will explain why in a later article, at the moment you need to trust me.) Your union representative can not only give you detailed figures for professionals with your education, your work experience, and of your age, with your position in your location, but they also know your industry well, and can give you appropriate advice on negotiation strategies.

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FIND A JOB: Browse thousands of English-language vacancies in Sweden

Knowing the average salary for your type of position does not in any way entitle you to this number. Nor does it constitute a valid argument for getting the pay you aim for. But it is a very good place to start, in order to know what is realistic, and what is not. Discuss your particular case with your representative, and in what ways you can aim for the average, below, or above.

How much do I ask for?

Ask for 10 percent more than what you aim for. Do not present an interval.

Why should they give me what I think I am worth?

The salary is negotiated according to what you, as an individual, are worth for the company that is hiring you. If you want those extra thousands, you will need to convince your prospective employer why they make a good deal doing that investment.

This means that you need to evaluate the situation from your prospective employer’s point of view. If the salary negotiation comes at last, you should be able to reflect on the whole recruitment process. Why does this company seem interested in you in particular? What skills, experience and personal qualities were initially asked for in the job advert? What did you highlight in your CV and covering letter? What did they focus on during your interview? What is happening in the company right now, and how can you contribute to this? Are they perhaps expanding on a market that is familiar to you? Are they beginning a project where your expertise will play an important role?

The more you know about the company and the position, the more you have to back up your arguments. This is another reason why you should ask as much as possible during your prior interview(s).

Again, making and bringing a list is not ‘cheating’.

What to say

Swedes are very factual when negotiating. Hence, use facts, not feelings. Be organised, present your facts in a structured manner. Always be professional and friendly. A typical Swede will not appreciate your sense of humour whilst talking about such serious matters, so do not be afraid of coming across as ‘boring’.

Use only your best arguments. If you use all your arguments, the best ones will easily be forgotten.

If you prepare yourself by thinking through several hypothetical scenarios and how you will handle them, it will be easier to stay professional and not display any emotion, in case the negotiation takes a turn that is not in your favour.

What not to say

Do not use your personal situation as an argument. Your family, baby-to-be-born, economic situation, health, flat purchase or student loans have nothing to do with the investment that the company is about to make. Nor does the average salary. Nor what your previous job paid. Never threaten your prospective employer that you might not take the job.

What if it does not work?

If your prospective employer is unable to give you the sum you asked for, they might be able to offer you something else. It is important that you are aware of the conditions in your contract before you negotiate about changes to it. Another week of paid holidays is a common compromise. This is not a bad thing – especially if you want to visit your family and enjoy some travelling the same year. Other arrangements might involve gym cards, public transport or Swedish language courses. Even here, you could successfully present your case from your employer’s point of view. Certainly, they would be interested in you learning the local language.

A successful negotiation ends with both parts believing they made a good deal.

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FIND A JOB: Browse thousands of English-language vacancies in Sweden

Sofi Tegsveden Deveaux is a Swedish culture, language and communications specialist. Follow her on Twitter.

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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.

Published: 10 April 2024 11:32 CEST
Updated: 13 April 2024 15:50 CEST
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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