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EMPLOYMENT

Foreigners fill more than half of all new jobs in Denmark

According to a new analysis from the online journal Ugebrevet A4, more than half of all new jobs in Denmark are being filled by non-Danes.

Published: 9 August 2016 12:35 CEST
Foreigners fill more than half of all new jobs in Denmark
Foreigners are making particular inroads into the cleaning, agriculture and transport industries. Photo: Colourbox
Working off figures from Jobindsats.dk, Ugebrevet A4 found that foreigners accounted for 25,872 of the 41,381 new jobs created between 2013 and 2015. Danes filled 15,509 of the new positions. 
 
Although non-Danes account for 63 percent of the new jobs over that period, the pace slowed to 53 percent in 2015. 
 
Opinions were split on what these employment figures mean. 
 
The Confederation of Danish Industries (Dansk Industri – DI) looked at the development as a positive. 
 
“One can easily get the impression that foreigners are running away with jobs that Danes could have gotten. But the situation in Denmark right now is that it is quite easy to get a job. That applies to both Danes and foreigners,” DI’s assistant director, Steen Nielsen, told news agency Ritzau. 
 
 
The Economic Council of the Labour Movement (Arbejderbevægelsens Erhvervsråd) also considered the foreigners’ inroads into the Danish labour market a good thing. 
 
“It is a success in that it is a sign of better integration of immigrants and their descendants. There are simply more of them finding work,” AE head Lars Andersen told Ugebrevet A4. 
 
He added that in other ways, the development can only be considered a “half success”. 
 
“Many Eastern Europeans have chosen to settle in Denmark. They contribute to society economically and help in a period in which more and more elderly Danes leave the labour market. [But] the unskilled and unemployed Danes are under pressure from the job competition with foreigners who are often ready to work under worse salary and work conditions than Danes,” he said. 
 
 
Employment Minister Jørn Neergaard Larsen was not pleased with the numbers. 
 
“It is definitely not satisfactory that we have so many unemployed Danes on the edge of the labour market while so many jobs – particularly unskilled jobs – are being filled by people from abroad,” he told Ugebrevet A4. 
 
DI’s Nielsen, however, doesn’t think foreigners are jumping ahead of Danish citizens in the job queue. 
 
“I think that businesses only hire foreigners if it isn’t possible to get a Dane,” he told Ritzau. 
 
 
According to figures from Jobindsats.dk, there were roughly 310,000 foreigners working in Denmark in 2015, a significant jump from the 239,000 working here in 2011. 
 
An analysis from the think tank Cevea found that foreign nationals are particularly finding work within the cleaning industry, agriculture, transportation and the hotel industry. 
 
 
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WORKING IN DENMARK

Ten ways to improve your chances of finding a job in Denmark

Job searching in Denmark can be a daunting and lengthy process with many hurdles to overcome. The Local spoke to Kay Xander Mellish, author of 'How to Work in Denmark', for her tips on submitting a successful CV and application.

Published: 12 January 2023 09:44 CET
Updated: 24 October 2023 16:36 CEST
Ten ways to improve your chances of finding a job in Denmark

CVs in Denmark often have certain aspects of layout, presentation and content in common. By writing a CV that sticks to some of these recognisable customs, you may improve your chances of catching the eye of a potential employer.

1. Length

“Keep it to one excellent page, or two if you’re more senior. I’d say if you’re aged 30 and under, one page will be enough. Only add the jobs that are relevant. Employers don’t want to hear about that restaurant server or babysitting job if it’s not relevant to the role,” Mellish said.

2. Format

At the top of your CV, a paragraph describing your experience, skills, education and character is a common way to lead into a CV. This text can be adapted depending on the job you’re applying for and how you want to present your skills.

“Add three adjectives about yourself that you can support with an example, rather than ten adjectives with no story. For example, say you are innovative for this reason. People don’t like hot air in Denmark,” Mellish said.

Aside from the profile text, chronological lists of qualifications, relevant employment history and other relevant experience should be kept brief enough to fit the one to two pages.

3. Show your personal side and a photo

It is expected that applicants include a section about their hobbies, even family situation on their CV in Denmark, as well as a photo, to give a sense of who they are as a person.

“Danish employers are interested in you as a human, more so than employers in other countries so include information about yourself, including your age and your hobbies.

“Choose a good quality photo that is not too serious but shows you looking friendly and approachable,” Mellish said.

4. Story telling

“Think in terms of story telling”, Mellish advised. “Pure letters and numbers don’t mean a lot to employers in Denmark, they need to know what projects you’ve done, what role you played and what kind of person you are through your CV.

“So rather than writing ‘I have these grades’, it’s better to say ‘I worked on this project, it took this long, I achieved this'”, Mellish said.

5. Hit the ground running

Mellish called this “plug and play”, where you show you will slot right into the company and get going with the role.

“When employers are reading your CV, they want to know what you can do on day one of the job. Sell your ability to solve someone’s problem. You need to give the impression you can add value straight away.

“In Denmark the average length of time in a job is two and a half years, because you can take your pension when you move, so employers don’t want someone they need to spend time training,” Mellish told The Local.

READ ALSO: Five tips for writing an effective Danish CV

6. Teamwork

“Group work is very important in Denmark, more than individual achievements. So talk about your teamwork and how you worked with a group to produce a good business result. It shouldn’t be ‘me, me, me’ – that’s a turn off,” Mellish said.

7. LinkedIn

“People in Denmark love LinkedIn so you need a fabulous LinkedIn profile with a good picture. Before anyone calls you for an interview they’ll have looked at your LinkedIn profile.

“In your profile, include the storytelling, explaining the projects you’ve worked on. If your job involves a uniform, I recommend wearing it in your LinkedIn photo so people get that impression of you right away. Your background photo should also be work-related, not rainbows or puppies. Use it to tell the story of who you are,” Mellish advised.

8. Unsolicited application

This is when you approach a company or department you would like to work for, without a job being advertised. The Danish term for it is uopfordret ansøgning. 

“Many people make contact on LinkedIn and ask to meet for a coffee, where they chat and rather than pitch for a job, they ask if the person knows anyone looking for someone like them. Danish employers welcome this and many people are hired this way,” Mellish said.

Another way to network is to join a union, Mellish advised. They often have career events but can also help read your contract when you get a job offer, or help with any problems in the workplace. 

9. Ring the recruiter

The phone number of the hiring manager will often be in the job advert. Mellish advised finding a quiet place to ring them from and spending ten to fifteen minutes asking some good business questions.

“This also helps you work out if you might want to work for this person,” Mellish said.

“Send your CV within 24 hours of the phone call and mention you spoke to them in your application,” she added.

10. Patience

“On average it can take six months to find a job in Denmark. If it’s under this, you’re lucky. If it takes a year, it’s not you, it just takes a long time because employers are looking for someone to fit into their team.

“I wrote 100 letters, I got ten responses, three interviews and one job which I had for eight years,” Mellish told The Local.

“Danish employers are not always good at getting back to you. If you don’t hear anything, just keep applying for other jobs. If you sent an application on June 1st, you could send a follow-up email on June 15th, then you’ll have to leave it and move on,” she advised. 

Kay Xander Mellish’s book ‘How to Work in Denmark’ offers both job-searching advice and tips on how to succeed in the Danish workplace.

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