Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

JOBS

‘Coming to Sweden it felt like we were on holiday, every day’

MY SWEDISH CAREER: When seasoned expat and London native Sunil Ramkali came to Sweden in 2003, it was far from the first foreign country in which he had put down roots. But it has proved to be the country that has felt the most like a home away from home.

Published: 19 February 2019 07:59 CET
'Coming to Sweden it felt like we were on holiday, every day'
Sunil Ramkali thinks Sweden has its flat structure to thank for innovation. Photo: Private

It was his job that first landed the Brit, his wife, and three children in Sweden. Working in London in commercial roles for British pharmaceutical brand AstraZeneca, Ramkali was given the opportunity to transfer to the company's office in Lund, southern Sweden, on a short-term basis.

“Initially I came over on an expat contract of two years, but by the time those two years were up, my wife and I had decided that we wanted to stay in Sweden indefinitely.”

The much-celebrated high standard of living and the warm welcome they received from their new friends and neighbours were two of the main draws keeping the family in the country. “Sweden is a very attractive place to raise a young family. I'm originally from south London, and we had started to feel like we wanted to get out of that rat race; to get away from the noise, the traffic, and the stress of living in the south east of England.”

READ ALSO:

Ramkali's first impressions of Lund reflected the traditional views which tend to be levelled at the Scandinavian country. “I guess my first thoughts were: 'Wow, this place is clean!'. One of the biggest things for me initially was coming back from the pub not smelling like cigarettes, as the smoking ban had already come into effect. Those were my primary observations – sights, smells. It was a new sensory experience.”

As Ramkali got to know Swedish culture, he noticed more subtle differences between Sweden and the UK. “Going out with work colleagues and everyone buying their own drinks was a big one – at the beginning I bought rounds, but you soon realize that you never get a drink bought back!” he laughs.

There were other pub-related revelations to come. “If you're British and you go out and make an idiot of yourself at the pub over the weekend, you tell everyone about it on Monday morning. We're so proud to say we made a fool of ourselves. Swedes are different – here you pretend it didn't happen. You'd sooner deny you were ever there than admit that you did something embarrassing.”


Ramkali in his role as CEO of W Communication Agency, Malmö. Photo: Private

Having worked across Europe, from Germany to Italy and Denmark, the now-communications agency CEO managed to largely side-step the culture shock that often goes alongside a move to a new country. “Coming to Sweden, it felt like we were on holiday, every day – from the very beginning. And that feeling really didn't go away for many years.”

It was a feeling helped by the fact that Ramkali had had a head start on getting to understand Swedish culture; his Swedish education had begun before he left the UK, with his company sending him and his wife on a cultural awareness course of eight weeks. Sessions involved basic Swedish language, as well as nuanced topics, like etiquette. “We learned some things that I would never have known otherwise – like the fact that if you get invited to dinner, you must take the paper off the flowers. It's considered very rude not to. And of course, never be late.”

READ ALSO:

Although he was taught on the course that Swedes could have a tendency to seem aloof compared to their British counterparts, this wasn't reflected in Ramkali's experience. “It was quite straightforward for all of us – I was working in an international role, so was mixing with lots of Swedes who were well-travelled and were open to meeting people outside of their immediate circles. And we also met many parents at our children's Swedish school, who were very warm and welcoming.”

Testament to Ramkali's success in integrating into Swedish life is the fact that he was quickly drafted in as coach of the local village football team, Blentarps BK in the southern Skåne region.

“It was thanks to my two sons, really – my sons started played football locally. So, when the team was looking for a new trainer and people knew that I was from the UK and I watched and played football, that was my cards marked. I love it; it's another way to get involved in our community here.”

“I'm a strategist at heart. So, when I started coaching, I got my head straight in the books around tactics, how to organize the team, how to play to win. I'm a firm believer that if you do something, you should do it to the best of your abilities and never give up.”


London-born Ramkali has found himself the coach of his local village football team, Blentarps BK. Photo: Sandau foto

This tactical mindset isn't restricted to the playing field. Far from it – in 2011, Ramkali moved to international communications agency W Communication Agency, becoming CEO of the Malmö office in early 2019.

With 15 years working as a communications leader in Sweden, he's experienced in the characteristics and quirks of the country's working culture. “The stand-out defining feature of a Swedish working environment is the consensus culture. I've spent time working in Denmark, Italy and Germany, and none of them have had the same. In most other countries it's more based in hierarchy – a mentality of 'If your boss says do it, you do it. No questions asked.'”

“But the Swedish way works for me. Yes, you must involve more stakeholders, yes it takes longer, but by the end everyone has been involved and you get buy-in. Everyone feels like they own it. They have a voice at the table.”

To Ramkali's mind, this flat structure is partly to thank for Sweden's reputation as a nation leading the charge in innovation. “Listening to different opinions, questioning your own decisions and challenging others. It all helps you to examine what you take for granted, to start thinking differently – more creatively.”

READ ALSO: 'I moved to Sweden after dreaming about it, and haven't looked back'

“You only need to look at the number of patents held globally. I think Sweden is near the top, and if not the top, within the top five. Working within life science, Sweden is certainly at the cutting-edge of medical innovations, from inventions like the kidney dialysis machine to the pacemaker.”

So far, so positive. But, of course, there are elements of British life that exercise a pull on the Londoner. “I definitely miss the pub culture – it doesn't exist here. Not in the same way. Sometimes I miss finishing work, going to a neighbour and saying, 'shall we go for a beer?' Here you have to plan about four weeks in advance!”

These small details, though, are far outweighed by the positives he sees in his future in Sweden – so much so that he and his wife are in the process of applying for Swedish citizenship.

From the standard of living to being able to work among high-performing people and companies, Ramkali doesn't take the opportunities Sweden has given him for granted. Even after 15 years, as he puts it, “being in Sweden still feels like a privilege”.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
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.

READ ALSO:

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”.

SHOW COMMENTS