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‘If you’re thinking of moving to Sweden, prepare for the Swedish mentality’

Unlike many internationals who move to Stockholm, it wasn't love of a Swede but a love of pop icons Roxette which first brought Julia Antonova to the Swedish capital.

'If you're thinking of moving to Sweden, prepare for the Swedish mentality'
Stockholm tour guide Julia Antonova. Photo: Rebecca Knutsson

“I was studying in Russia at the time and really got into them,” she explains.

“In the 1990s I think about 80 percent of the music on Russian radio was Swedish, but I didn't realize it at first. I loved all of those bands – Ace of Base, E-type. I just really loved the music,” Antonova laughs.

“Later on my love for Roxette grew and I wanted to learn more, so I started listening to their solo projects in Swedish. That ended up in me wanting to learn the Swedish language, so that's how the whole Swedish thing started you could say.”

“A lot of people today don't even know who they are though. I took some tourists from London on a trip about two months ago and when I explained why I came here, they asked what Roxette was! I had to explain they're a Swedish band, and named some songs, but they had no idea. That was surprising,” she laments.

Aside from flying the flag for arguably Sweden's greatest post-Abba pop export, Antonova is also a guide for tour company Triple, taking tourists around not only the usual Stockholm points of interest like the Old Town, but also Norrmalm and less trodden paths in the capital.

“I've known a lot about Stockholm for a while and thought it'd be a good idea to let others know about it. It started in Moscow where there's a school that arranged some tours to Scandinavia, and I got involved as a guide and helped. It was quite natural for me to be a guide – hopefully I'm good at it – so when I found Triple I realized it was a very good chance for me to let other people see Stockholm through different eyes,” she recalls.

“It's also a chance for them to find out about Stockholm from a person who maybe even knows a bit more about the city than a local. I never use any information from foreign travel guides. I try to find odd facts people wouldn't know about – things I read in a scientific piece about Stockholm for example, or a history book.”

READ ALSO: A tour guide's Stockholm tips

The Moscow native goes through periods of feeling like a tourist herself. Dividing life between her home city and the Swedish capital means there is a constant process of adaptation that has both its positive and negative sides.

“I've found that in only three months away from one country, you actually come back as a tourist. So I'm half Swedish and half Russian in my mentality – and after three months in Sweden I come back to Russia and so many things have changed, small details. It could be a simple as a new museum or a new festival – you come back as a tourist, and you have to get used to it again. For about one month I'm a tourist in either country, then I adjust, then it's time to go back to the next place.”

“Today there's not as much change, but in particular about 10 years ago when the internet was advancing, smartphones were coming out, technology was moving quickly. In Sweden it was much faster than Russia. Coming to Sweden was like coming to the future, then back to the past in Russia, then back to the future again!” she adds.


Providing tours in Stockholm. Photo: Private

At the same time, the regular movement helps keep her engaged and curious about Stockholm – to the benefit of the people who go on her tours, as well as her Swedish husband.

“When you live somewhere you sometimes get a bit blind and take things for granted. When you move to a different country you're always a bit more like a tourist. So now I take my husband to all these places I've discovered that I really love in Sweden. I often say to him 'you don't know about this? It's in your home country'.”

READ ALSO: The tour that gives you a chance to drink through Stockholm's history

Helping others explore Sweden is something the Russian has been doing for more than a decade now, and along with taking tours she also has several guidebooks under her belt:

“Travelling around Sweden gave me so many facts and so much info that I got the idea to write a book and tell people about places they would never have found on the internet or in other travel guides.”

“At that time about a decade ago especially, you had some books and a few blogs, but they were mostly about obvious touristy things, nobody knew much about the other places. So I tried to write about a different Sweden, and that ended up in travel guides about Sweden, on on Stockholm, then a different one about Norway,” she continues.


Midsummer in Sweden. Photo: Private

The guide feels it is important to keep her tours evolving, not only in order to create unique experiences for customers, but also to keep her keen and avoid the feeling of going through the motions.

“In the beginning most tourists wanted to do the secret places in the Old Town tour for example, and it started to become a bit repetitive for me. So I work to add something new – if I get tired of it that's not good. I look for more to add to it, and that's a challenge. The tour is a living one – you never get the same one twice, because I'd get too tired of it to do that, so I try to add new things.”

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In her opinion it is also important to pay attention to the parts of the tour customers are enjoying, and be flexible enough to adapt.

“I try to see what people are most interested in during the tour and switch it up. If they're more interested in myths and legends for instance, and are supposed to be on a standard tour about the sites, I'll take away some of the sites and add more of the myths, or add a different angle to the sites with less facts and more odd stories about them,” she reveals.

“When you see their reaction, they're so pleased. That's a great part of it, I love to see the reactions on the tours.”


Teaching Swedish classes. Photo: Private

As if constantly coming up with fresh ways to guide newcomers through Stockholm isn't enough, Antonova also dedicates part of her time to teaching Swedish to Russians. After years of teaching, she has learned that while grammar and rules are important, having the confidence to use the language is the real key.

“In Russia when you learn a language you're not really learning it. You learn a lot of grammar but often struggle with speaking. Many people come from Russia after 10 or 11 years of English in school but can't ask for something in a cafe or hotel. They can tell you all the facts they've learned about London, but have difficulties with really speaking, and conversations,” she notes.

“When I started to learn Swedish I kept that in mind, and today when I teach Swedish I try to make sure people start really speaking. Rules are good, but not the most important thing when you have to communicate with people.”

Though geographically not so far apart, the Russian finds Swedes and people from her home country to be quite different both socially and culturally, and believes it is important to understand those norms.

“It's not just Brits and Americans who find the Swedes to be withdrawn. Triple has been a good exception actually, the people I've met there and through there are very open and really want to share what they know. They're quite different from your average Swede. So people coming to Stockholm as a tourist and meeting locals through Triple maybe shouldn't think that everyone is like that!” she points out.

“If you're thinking of moving to Sweden and are not from Scandinavia, I'd say you should prepare for the Swedish mentality. I'd recommend learning as much as possible about that – the Swedish way of life, and their culture. Traditions are very important here.”


Using a semla bun as an example in class. Photo: Private

Antonova has no shortage of plans for the future, with a number of new tours in the pipeline, including some catered to the nationality of those taking them.

“I'm always planning new tours, all the time. I want to do more specific ones. For example tours in Stockholm that have a connection to the person's home place – Stockholm for the Germans, or the French places in Stockholm, and so on.”

“I also want to do specific tours about royal Stockholm and the places connected to them. And women in Stockholm, plus prisons and medieval scandals. Those are things that fascinate me that I'd love to introduce, so I really hope people like it.”

In closing she has some advice for anyone thinking of Sweden, or indeed for those who have already done so: try to focus on the positive side of your new home.

“There will come a time for everyone when you compare your new country with your old country. The old country that probably felt like the worst of the two places in the beginning starts to feel like the better one. Ninety percent of people go through that process when they move – it doesn't really matter where, Sweden, Denmark, France. You have that phase regardless,” she muses.

“I would recommend people do their best to see mostly positive things in their new country. Don't compare your new country with your last one, or your home country, or wherever. Every town, every city or village has something positive to give to you – there must have been a good reason for you to move to Sweden after all. Regardless of whether it was for work, your private life, maybe even the political situation there. There's some reason you moved, and it's still there, so that's something that can help you solve the problem.”

For members

WORKING IN SWEDEN

How to switch to a career in Sweden’s booming gaming industry

Sweden's gaming industry is crying out for top international talent, but the skills shortage also creates opportunities for professionals in other fields to switch to a career in gaming. Senior experts share their best tips with The Local.

How to switch to a career in Sweden's booming gaming industry

Home to world-famous gaming studios like Mojang, King and DICE – the creators of Minecraft, Candy Crush and Battlefield, respectively – Swedish games have been downloaded nearly seven billion times. Every fourth person on the planet has played a game made in Sweden.

And the number of new gaming companies and employees is only increasing, despite concerns about the impact of the pandemic, according to a report from Sweden’s gaming industry association

In 2022, Swedish gaming studios increased turnover by 18 percent to 32.6 billion kronor, setting a new record. Combined, the turnover of the 23 listed computer game companies amounted to 61 billion kronor – a threefold increase since 2020 and almost twice as much as in 2021.

However, the talent shortage is an ongoing struggle, and the industry relies heavily on foreigners to plug the gaps.

“There’s a massive skills shortage, especially on the technical side, due to the sheer amount of coding required. I think the industry wants to do more to keep growing the Swedish game phenomena, but the talent shortage hinders us,” says Ludvig Moberg Edenbäck, people experience partner at Mojang Studios.

But if you’re a gaming newbie, how do you make the switch?

Bringing a fresh perspective could be your ultimate ability

Magdalena Björkman, a senior producer at Arrowhead Games, has a background in linguistics and started her career in the manufacturing industry back home in Poland.

“The gaming industry needs people from different backgrounds more than ever. We really need to encourage people who bring different perspectives to the table to come in,” she says.

After studying Japanese, Björkman worked as a translator and coordinator, acting as a conduit between Polish and Japanese engineers. One day she stumbled across a job ad for a Polish games developer looking for an assistant producer who could handle localisation, and eventually started looking for opportunities outside of Poland, landing a role at King in Sweden.

“Swedish and Polish work culture is totally different. I had to get used to not having to be the loudest person in the room to get my opinion across, which I actually really like. It was really, really nice working for King. It was a lot more collaborative. In general, Sweden felt a lot more progressive than Poland.”

Björkman knows other linguists who switched to gaming too and says being able to interpret and translate what people are saying to others is a crucial skill, especially as a producer.

“Whatever you do, you always end up working with people, communication and translation. I’ve always been trying to connect people, and as a games producer, being able to translate different perspectives to help collaboration. Gaming is also a multinational crowd. So if you come from linguistics and you know how to work with different people and cultures, it’s a good fit.”

You don’t need to know how to build games – but you need to be passionate about them

Luis Cascante, currently chief of staff at Rovio and head of the board of education for Futuregames, stresses that this is an industry that values passion. “If you don’t care about games at all, don’t bother,” he says. Gaming isn’t just a business, it’s a creative art form, and you’re unlikely to get hired if the interest and passion aren’t there.

“I’ve worked with studio founders who basically tell everyone they expect passion, whatever their role is, and if they don’t have it, there’s no place for them in their studio,” says Cascante.

Around half of Mojang’s staff have a technical background, and 30 percent are foreigners. Photo: Melker Dahlstrand/imagebank.sweden.se

Mojang’s Moberg Edenbäck, who is an avid gamer, agrees that demonstrating an interest in gaming helps, although it’s not a strict requirement for all roles.

“At Mojang, we’re in a unique spot because we’ve been around for 15 years and a lot of people that reach out to us have grown up with Minecraft. Sometimes Minecraft is even the reason they started coding, and working here is basically their dream job,” he says.

“But if that’s not the case, one thing people can do to demonstrate interest is to have hobby projects. A lot of people create games in their spare time, or designers and artists create characters just for fun. If you do that, it’s definitely a positive.”

Identify your transferable skills to help you level up

Like any other industry, there are plenty of transferable skills that make your application more desirable. Coders have a slight advantage, as games are built using programming languages (specifically C++ and Java), putting experienced coders in high demand.

“If you’re a C++ developer and you have some experience, even if it’s not with games, you will always be on the map. There is absolutely no shortage of roles that you can apply for,” says Luis Cascante.

Many blockbuster games are built using C++, and experience with 3D creation tools like Unreal Engine and Unity provides the easiest entry points if you come from a technical background.

Cascante says data analysis is another sought-after skill: “It’s not necessarily part of hands-on game creation, but data analysts are definitely in demand. At Rovio, none of our data analysts are from Europe, because we simply can’t find them.”

“If you’re good at maths, statistics and SQL, studios are more likely to pick you up, even if you’re slightly more junior because there’s such a demand right now,” he adds.

DICE, headquartered in Stockholm, is one of the major players in the gaming industry. Photo: Melker Dahlstrand/imagebank.sweden.se

But it’s not all about coders.

“Producers, artists, designers, marketers and HR practitioners are all needed to successfully build, launch, and market a successful game,” adds Moberg Edenbäck.

Project management, product management and UX design are also highly transferable skill sets, with many people bringing this kind of expertise into gaming after starting out their careers in other industries.

Network, get a mentor and look for internships

Some practical tips Magdalena Björkman shares for those wanting to switch to gaming are to network, look for mentors, and keep an eye out for internships.

“People are very friendly in the gaming industry, so just talk to them! It’s easy to reach out and approach people as mentors, which can help a lot. Also, look for internships, and go to networking events,” she says.

“There are more opportunities now compared to ten years ago, with boot camps and such. I work with a producer at Arrowhead now who had a background in publishing, but he did a course, and now he’s a full-time game producer.”

However, she urges people not to take the decision to switch careers lightly.

“Gaming can be tough. You need to love what you’re doing, take care of yourself, and have other hobbies outside of gaming. It’s easy to get consumed,” she says.

Get an education in gaming

For those who are truly committed to switching to a career in gaming, studying at one of Stockholm’s specialised gaming schools may be an option (they also offer evening classes).

Unsurprisingly, Futuregames’ Cascante is a big advocate for gaming schools and believes they’re a great pathway into the industry for people with the interest but not the experience.

“I’m chairman of the board of education at Futuregames, and we see people in Stockholm are actually taking courses to break into the industry,” he says.

“They take around two and a half years, which sounds like a lot, but you get a lot of training and professional internships in studios. The schools are really good at matchmaking between companies and students. Often the students stay on after their internships, and if they don’t, they still get at least six months of real experience in the industry.”

Minecraft has sold more than 300 million copies, making it the best selling game ever. Photo: Melker Dahlstrand/imagebank.sweden.se

Other schools include the Sweden Game Area and The Game Assembly, which offer courses in everything from agile project management in gaming to game design and 3D modelling for artists. Most of Sweden’s gaming studios offer internships regularly, including Mojang.

Swedish universities also offer part-time remote modules in for example coding. It’s free to study at university in Sweden for EU citizens and for non-EU residents who are in Sweden on another permit than a student permit, so for example work permits or spouse permits.

Ride the post-boom wave

The gaming industry has a historic reputation for only hiring people with gaming experience, but Björkman believes this mindset is changing.

“In the past, the industry has been a little elitist. It used to be that you needed ten years of experience to get into gaming, but now that’s changing and it’s becoming more open. This is great because we need experience from different industries to bring new know-how and knowledge. We don’t need to do things the same way all the time,” she says.

This is no surprise. After substantial long-term success, it makes sense that a talent-strapped industry has to start casting its net a little wider.

The conclusion? As long as you’re passionate, proactive, and can offer a valuable new perspective, it’s definitely possible to switch to a career path in Sweden’s burgeoning gaming industry.

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