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How this Brit used chronic pain to inspire her new career in Sweden

The Local meets Faith Clements, who used the chronic backpain that ended her previous job to launch a new career in Sweden.

Published: 19 December 2016 06:59 CET
How this Brit used chronic pain to inspire her new career in Sweden
Faith Clements (left) used the skills she learned to battle chronic pain to launch her new career. Photo: Faith Clements

Faith Clements didn’t exactly plan her career path in Sweden. Her body chose it for her.

Inspired by her brother’s idyllic life in the Swedish countryside, the Brit moved to the country in 2006, with the trade off being four-hour commutes to Copenhagen on a daily basis in order to keep up a successful job in finance.

“I love the countryside and had been riding horses a lot in the UK, so I decided it would be a great place to live,” she tells The Local.

“I was commuting four hours a day from Österlen to Copenhagen and had a successful career in international corporate finance spanning 25 years,” she adds.

It was all going perfectly well until chronic back issues kicked in, gradually making her stressful job and long commute more laborious. As the pain started to get worse, Clements realized she had to act.

She began learning about the condition and how to make it manageable, opting to take up Pilates, a physical fitness system first developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates.

“I took a comprehensive Pilates education to find a solution, as my condition was rapidly declining. I needed to understand the science of anatomy and the practical application of movement to better manage my own condition,” she explains.

Though she didn’t originally plan on giving up her corporate job, it eventually became apparent that it couldn’t continue.

“I was conscious that I should consider a plan b in order to try and regain the ability to move and secure a quality in my future life. I was in a really desperate situation, nothing seemed to be working,” she notes.

Fortunately, the tools she had learned in an effort to try and improve her condition gave her a new set of skills that could be used to forge a new career. The Pilates studio she had built in her home for rehabilitation was also about to come in handy.


Faith in her Pilates studio. Photo: Faith Clements

“After I passed the examinations I realized I had the skills to begin teaching,” she recalls. So teach she did. In an effort to help others with similar problems, Clements set up the Limhamn Pilates Förening, a non-profit organization with a mission she describes as “bringing wellness through movement to the local community”.

“Progressing my own physical rehabilitation required a tremendous amount of patience, determination and a strong desire to be well. It also gave me the eyes and knowledge to see and work with physical dysfunction in others,” she says.

Having the skill-set is one thing, but starting a non-profit is another. Handily, Sweden provided plenty of help tackling what can sometimes be a tricky process, the instructor explains:

“The paperwork is always a bit daunting when you start anything in Sweden. But an organization called Föreningspool in Malmö offered a workshop with a supportive team on hand for advice. There were strict criteria to follow with setting the non-profit up, but that’s how it is in Sweden.”

Health-obsessed Sweden may be the ideal place to be doing something exercise-related, and the expert has seen Pilates start to gain some attention in the country.

“It’s gaining popularity, people are more aware and more studios are opening. I see Yoga classes incorporating Pilates principles, and there is definitely a crossover between the forms of movement,” she observes.

“The Swedes have been really positive. Some can’t believe how lovely it feels to move their body in the proper way again, we see tightness and stress melting away. People notice improved posture, less pain and stress. It significantly affects their daily life.”


Faith teaching. Photo: Faith Clements

The people who attend classes come from across the spectrum, she has noticed:

“Traditionally men have kept away from Pilates, but they are now understanding just how hard it is and how much they really need it. We have football and rugby players, dancers, mothers, old and young, people recovering from injury and illness. All ages and populations are welcome.”

Clements’ goals go beyond working with enthusiasts in Limhamn and the rest of Malmö. She also wants to do more for Pilates on an international level, as well as get new arrivals to the country involved.

“In 2017 we’re cooperating with the charity We Act Sweden, with an initiative that will bring Pilates to a wider international circle through the förening, and in particular work with immigrants here. Many of those people have suffered extreme stress and trauma, so Pilates will help provide a safe sanctuary for the mind and body to rest with some gentle functional movement.”

The new job has allowed Clements to travel with her work, and she is particularly proud of one benchmark, a trip to an international Pilates event on the Isle of Man.

“Going to the event was amazing. Four days with some of the most talented international teachers within the industry. Along with deep movement workshops we had some great letures on fundamental topics in movement science and anatomy,” she recalls.


Faith training. Photo: Faith Clements

In the future, she hopes that the exercise discipline will have a more cohesive industry behind it in Sweden:

“There is still a way to go to bring the industry together here, and it’s my hope the Pilates Förening can be influential.”

Even if there is still progress to be made however, helping people in Sweden to feel better physically has already been a hugely rewarding process for her.

“From football and rugby players, to those with pain and illness. From extreme adversity, to the personal rewards of now helping people towards improved health. It has been a real journey of inspiration,” she concludes.

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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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