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‘I can help Swedes deal with the dark winter’

Italian lighting designer Chiara Carucci, 36, is spreading her rays in Stockholm, where she scored her dream job at an energy and engineering consulting firm after giving a lecture in the city eight months ago.

Published: 23 November 2015 07:00 CET
'I can help Swedes deal with the dark winter'
Chiara Carucci in Stockholm. Photo: Private
 
Struggling with the short, dark winter days in Sweden? Chiara Carucci's job revolves around projects designed to give people optimum exposure to artificial lighting – which can play a huge role in boosting our moods.
 
She works alongside architects, engineers, physicists and city planners to design outdoor lights and glowing facades around buildings or on squares, bridges or stairways, designed to create the perfect atmosphere for each location.
 
“I can really feel that people get sick and depressed because of the lack of daylight here in Sweden. So I know I can make a difference, my work is important here,” Carucci explains.
 
“Lighting design is my profession, my passion and my lifestyle (…) it's about arranging the layers of light people are exposed to and how that affects their wellbeing,” the Italian adds.
 

ÅF, where Chiara Carucci works, designed some of the lighting in the new Mall of Scandinavia in Solna. Photo: Marcus Ericsson/TT
 
The 36-year-old – who hails from sunny southern Italy – first heard about Swedish consulting firm ÅF during a lighting conference in Copenhagen.
 
An expert in her field, she then ended up meeting the company's managers while she was in Stockholm giving a talk about her role in the International Year of Light. The initiative – coordinated by the United Nations – is designed to raise awareness about the functions that lighting technologies can play in improving lifes across the planet.
 
“ÅF didn't have any open positions but a manager approached me after my lecture and then they asked me to join them (…) Four weeks later I was working in Stockholm!” the designer says, laughing.
 

Carucci's company worked on this staircase for Hudiksvall municipality in northern Sweden. Photo: Mikael Silkeberg
 
While ÅF is a large Nordic company with some 8,000 staff, Carucci is among just 35 lighting designers in the Swedish capital. One of the team's most recent projects involved the lighting for the brand new giant Mall of Scandinavia in Solna, north of the city, which opened earlier this month.
 
In December, the colleagues will be lighting up Swedish heritage sites in the small historic wooden town of Eksjö in southern Sweden, as part of a locally organized light festival there. The idea is to bring the buildings to life during the darkest months of the year by giving them a given a fresh glow.
 
“It's about deciding how all the lights are put together and the general effect they give (…) having the right lighting just exactly when and where you need it,” argues Carucci.
 

A lighting project Chiara Carucci is working on in Eksjö. Photo: ÅF
 
The new Swedish resident describes her close-knit team “very talented and brilliant” and says her co-workers have also helped her overcome some of the “culture shock” she's experienced since relocating to northern Europe.
 
“I am an Italian and so of course we talk a lot and we also have a very important body language with our hands and facial expressions. But I am a bit blind to people in Sweden! I cannot read their facial expressions as they are not as clear as mine,” she laughs.
 
“So, especially with my clients, it is not always so easy to see if they are happy or not. But I am learning. My colleagues are giving me feedback and also trying to make me understand how I can adapt my own energy and convey it in the best possible way to our customers.”
 

Fristadstorget, a square in Eskilstuna, west of Stockholm, where ÅF also designed the lighting. Photo: Sten Jansin
 
Despite knowing no one in Stockholm when she accepted her post in the city, Carucci describes her social life as “absolutely great” thanks to throwing herself into a range of activities organised by members of the online community network Meetup.
 
“It gave me the chance to meet many, many expats, and most of my friends here from abroad…Greece, Canada, Morocco. I also have some Swedish friends too. I actually met them at an English debate club that is part of Meetup!” she giggles.
 
For Carucci, living in Stockholm also fulfils a lifelong dream to live closer to nature.
 
“I moved in the spring so I got to see the city come alive. I just love the water here and the fact I can be near so many parts even though I am in the city. Since I also enjoy walking and hiking and camping – for me this is the perfect location.”
 
But Carucci has some advice for any fellow Italians making the move north: don't expect the same kind of flirting as you find back home.
 
“You could really be the most beautiful woman in the world and not be noticed!…Not that I am saying I am the most beautiful!” she laughs.
 
“Dating is a bit difficult but of course there are nice guys in Sweden. They are very tall. They are like Vikings. It's amazing!”
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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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