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‘I’ve always said about Gothenburg that you can almost guarantee a good night out’

Who are the biggest fans of Gothenburg? David and Rob Griffith-Jones, two British brothers running an online visitors' guide to Sweden's second city, are definitely two of them.

Published: 6 March 2017 06:59 CET
'I've always said about Gothenburg that you can almost guarantee a good night out'
Rob Griffith-Jones, left, and David Griffith-Jones. Photo: Private

You are two brothers from the UK living in Sweden. Did you move here together?

Rob: I came here first in 2012. I met a Swedish girl, who is still my girlfriend, in Thailand in 2009 and we had a distance relationship. She spent some time in Birmingham with me and then we gave Gothenburg a go. We love it here and really think this is our home for the long-term.

David: I was living in Melbourne, in Australia, and had been there for about four years and it got to the point where I was either going to stay there permanently or move back closer to home. I wanted to be nearer to my family, but wasn't really ready to move back to London, where I have lived for about seven years. I was originally looking at the obvious places in Europe that are good for my work, I work in digital. So, I was looking at Berlin, Copenhagen, but when I came to visit Rob in Gothenburg, I just straight away loved it. It has got all the things that you would want from a big city with nightlife, restaurants, bars and business, but has got that smaller and friendly side to it.

What did you know about Gothenburg and Sweden in general?

Rob: To be honest, I didn’t know much about Gothenburg. I knew it was a city in Sweden, but it wasn’t on my radar for places to possibly live. If I’m completely honest, if I hadn’t met my girlfriend, I would have visited Sweden probably for a long weekend in Stockholm. Now I find it amazing that I could have missed out on Gothenburg, because for me it’s a real gem of a city. It was all down to life, coincidences and chances. Now I’m here and got to know the country and this city in particular.

Gothenburg was recently named the world’s most sociable city? Did that surprise you?

Rob: Yeah, it was kind of surprising. The term in the study, “sociable”, was very broad. I think Gothenburg is an incredible cool and understated city. There has been this bright, global superstar in Stockholm that everyone knows and it does overshadow Gothenburg to a large extent. In my opinion that is responsible for making Gothenburg what it is and I think it actually benefits the city. It is incredibly creative and a much friendlier place compared to Stockholm. I don’t disrespect Stockholm, but I think it is quite commonly accepted the big cities, like London, have a lot going on for them and are really exciting, but you lose some friendliness with that many people living in close proximity. I think there is an interesting comparison about Australia, right David?

David: Yes, Gothenburg really reminded me of Melbourne, because Sydney overshadows Melbourne but actually that gives Melbourne its heart. One thing I have always said about Gothenburg, is that you can almost guarantee a good night out. It doesn’t compare to London in terms of the numbers of bars or pubs. But whatever you are interested in you can find here. That was really part of the motivation for our website ThisIsGothenburg. When one of my best friends came over to visit before I moved to Gothenburg, I told her I was moving there and she gave me this funny face of “why are you moving there?” And I think that happens to some tourists, they come to Gothenburg, get off at the central station and then maybe stay somewhere in the centre. They don’t realize that a lot of the best things in Gothenburg aren’t obvious, they are not easy to find like they are in other cities. But if you know where to look, particularly the underground club scene, Gothenburg is a great party town and social place.

Rob: And the reason why many people don’t know where to go is that people in Gothenburg are modest and don’t like to shout about how great they are, which on a personal level I love. I mean, who likes arrogant people? From a tourism point of view, it is a problem that people come and don’t experience the city to the best.

You mentioned ThisIsGothenburg. What's that all about?

Rob: We knew people personally that had visited Gothenburg and they thought it's okay, but they didn’t love it. We do love it and think they would have too, if they had had more information. That was the incentive for the website. The plan for it is to be curated advice for new arrivals at the city. There is already a website run by Göteborg & Co., which is an extremely good, smart and informative website. However, it lists everything and must remain neutral. We don’t want to list everything and hope that being curated will be helpful. We have also really enjoyed Instagram as a channel to get publicity for the website. I think people are interested in seeing good content about a city they love too. Not only people living here, we get the impression that a lot of followers visited the city and enjoy reminiscing about their time there.

David: My background is in digital and I made a lot of websites for the Australian tourist board for example and we thought there wasn’t really an equivalent in Gothenburg. It’s a love-project, we haven’t done it for any commercial interest. It has always been a great way for us to meet new people who share the enthusiasm that we do for the city. One of the probably most common questions I get asked is “Do you like Gothenburg?” and I usually respond “Yeah, I love it. So much so that I created a website about it.” And that puts a smile on people’s faces.

What makes Gothenburg special?

David: For me it’s this idea of the Gothenburg spirit, this element of togetherness. That people living and working in Gothenburg are a community. I kind of felt that.

Rob: I think on a global scale Gothenburg is small and yet what the city has achieved is huge. You can’t achieve that without collaborating. I think that goes to the heart what has enabled Gothenburg to achieve what it has on an international stage.

If you only had one day in Gothenburg, what would you do?

Rob and David (listing things so fast they're almost speaking in unison): For us one of the best things about Gothenburg is that you can experience city living and also get out to real nature. So, we would recommend to start the day walking through Haga, get a coffee and a cinnamon bun. Then spend a nice portion of the day at a lake and have a picnic or barbecue. We would definitely recommend everybody staying a day or a year, to get yourself a bike. It’s safe, easy and convenient in Gothenburg to ride a bike. Then go home, refresh and get set for a night out. Maybe go to Tredje Långgatan, a street with great restaurants and bars. You can just hit the street and you are going to find a nice bar and great food. And if you here on a Saturday night and want to go out to one of the underground clubs, you kind of have to know where it’s going to be announced. It is not so publicly communicated. It took us a while to tap into it.


Two Brits loving Gothenburg. Photo: Private

The website is non-commercial, so what do you do to earn a living in Sweden?

David: I’m a digital service designer, I kind of help companies with digital transformation. I’m working with companies where we help them look how factories and products will work when everything is connected through the internet. I wanted to find and work in an area where Gothenburg and Sweden had strength. When it comes to business-to-business innovation, the Internet of Things, Gothenburg is great for it. That is what kind of appealed to me.

Rob: I’m a freelance copywriter and do work for mostly agencies in Gothenburg, occasionally some work comes from the UK. I specialize in business-to-business films. It can be a brand film, a call to recruit graduates, inspire existing employees or launch a product. There can be all sorts of reasons behind the films, but they are generally in the business-to-business space. Then I also do various other projects, lots of web content.

How would you say the Swedish work experience differs from the one where you are from?

David: One of the things I love about working for a Swedish company is that it tends to be a very flat structure. It doesn’t matter if it’s a CEO or the intern, everyone has the same right to have an opinion on things. I think that is a refreshing and innovative way to work and it leads to better outcomes and better moral within a company. In the UK it can be more hierarchical, so the flat structure is one of the things I really appreciate. There is also, which is a bit of a cliché, the work-life balance. I think when there is such generous parental leaves and more paid holidays, that just leads to a more sensible culture. People come in and really work hard, but there is the acceptance that your family life and what’s going on outside is more important than work for most people. You don’t have to fight for work-life balance, that is definitely a healthy way to work.

Rob: And if you combine this healthy work-life balance and flat structure, it is a very mature approach to working. People aren’t chained to their desks, people are trusted to do a good job and I think that leads to better outcomes.

Do you have any tips for people moving to Sweden?

Rob: I think when you are coming to Sweden, or anywhere in fact, I would recommend: say yes as much as possible. I have read this book “Yes man” by Danny Wallace, and the main character says yes to every question he’s asked. It’s amazing, in which situations you find yourself in and the benefits of just saying this simple word. The challenge of moving to a new city is not having a network. You always hear that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. And I have really experienced that moving here. So, I just made it my goal to meet people. After five years I would say it has definitely been rewarded to be open and interested in people.

David: The Swedes have a reputation for being quite reserved. It is interesting for me to compare moving to Australia versus moving to Sweden. The Australians are on the surface friendlier and more inviting. But once you get through that initial reservation of Swedes, they can be so generous and giving. There are so many people you meet, who go out of their way to help you in a more authentic and genuine way than the Australian way. Like Rob said, say yes to things and push yourself through this kind of social awkwardness. Once you are through that ice you will experience so much warmth and generosity.

Article written by The Local's contributor Christian Krug.

For members

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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