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#MySweden: How I carved out my Swedish career in five steps

Every week one of The Local's readers takes over our Instagram. Today, Shaena Harrison from Canada shows us her Sweden.

Published: 28 June 2019 17:14 CEST
#MySweden: How I carved out my Swedish career in five steps
Shaena Harrison. Photo: Private
How old are you and what do you normally spend your days doing?
 
I am 37 and I spend my days producing events.
 
Don't miss Shaena Harrison's guide to networking your way to a Swedish career:
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

I get contacted a lot about finding a #job in Sweden so I thought I’d take this opportunity to let you all know what worked for me. 1. Networking. This can be a dreadful task if you’re not feeling up to it or not sure where to start. Depending on the line of work you are looking for, I would look for events in your field and rock up. If you have a friend that will go with you, take them as your “wing person” and each of you can introduce each other to the person you might want to say hi to. 2. Be present and leave your digital breadcrumbs. For example, posting relevant content on LinkedIn or writing articles. 3. Volunteer. As I mentioned in a previous post, volunteering is a great way to make friends but also showing your talent to potential others that might be hiring at their companies. I know quite a few people in my TEDx network that have gotten their jobs through volunteering. 4. Sign up to a mentor ship program like @oppnadorren where you will be paired with a native from the country that could help you break into a new network. 5. Start your own company! That’s what I did and launched a very popular running event which gave me my launchpad to other opportunities. With a bit of luck and hard work, there are opportunities out there. If you have any questions or need some advice, I’m happy to lend some if I can. Ps. LinkedIn is my jam so feel free to connect with me there and send a personalized message so I know why you’re reaching out. (Also – personalizes messages are good for anyone you’re reaching out to) http://linkedin.com/in/shaenaharrison #jobsearch #career #jobsinsweden

Ett inlägg delat av The Local Sweden (@thelocalsweden) 26 Jun 2019 kl. 6:20 PDT

 

When and why did you move to your neighbourhood?

Well, we have two neighbourhoods. Our “city” home is in Kallhäll, Järfälla, which we moved to in 2011. When we moved to Sweden my husband had never stood in the queue for housing so we lucked out and got our first-hand contract through Bostadssnabben which placed us in Kallhäll. 

Our “country” home, which we bought in 2017, is about 15 minutes from Sandviken in a cute little village called Gästrike-Hammarby. We ended up buying our home here as we wanted something that was max two hours away from the city, had city water and wasn’t a “fixer-upper”. You’re welcome to rent it.

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

Hey ? everyone! I’m Shaena “Tjena” and I’ll be your host for the next week. One of my favourite things about the Swedish language is when you pronounce my name it actually sounds like “Tjena” – the way you say “Hej” so it’s easy to remember my usually hard name. ?? I’m originally from #winnipeg #canada ?? and have been living in #Sweden ?? Since 2011 and abroad since 2006. How did I end up in Sweden? Well I bought a one way ticket, moved to Ireland ?? (didn’t know a soul) and a few months in I met my Swede…we’ve been together ever since. Now we have 2 kids and careers. And guess what! It’s midsummer today so I’ll be giving you a taste of #mysweden and how we #celebrate #midsummer / #midsommar @tourismireland @sweaireland @canada @daftdive

A post shared by The Local Sweden (@thelocalsweden) on Jun 21, 2019 at 12:27am PDT

 
What do you love most about life in your neighbourhood?
 
What I love most about our Kallhäll neighbourhood is that it’s so convenient to get to for our kids going to school and commuting to Stockholm. What I love most about our country home is that it’s so quiet and peaceful and gives us a good place to decompress from our busy weeks. 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

A #snapsvisa is a traditional Scandinavian drinking song which is often sung before a small shot of spirit that is called a snaps. A typical snapsvisa is a short, vigorous song; its lyrics usually tell of the delicacy and glory of the drink, or of the singer’s craving for snaps. Snapsvisor are short, bright, and easy to learn. The most well known snapsvisa in Sweden is #helangår Snapsvisor are an important part of traditional and family festivities on Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and among Swedish-speaking Finns. The singing of these songs is also a lively part of Scandinavian student culture. My family is visiting so we are giving them the full Swedish/Scandinavian experience.

A post shared by The Local Sweden (@thelocalsweden) on Jun 21, 2019 at 3:22am PDT

 
And what annoys you the most?
 
I think the thing that annoys me most about the city home is when there are train repairs. For the last few summers they’ve shut down the pendeltåg which is frustrating when you still need to commute to the city for work. Good thing though is we have a direct bus to the other pendeltåg line.
 
 
How should we spend a day in your neighbourhood?
 
You should spend your day in Kallhäll at the beach! And you should spend your day in Gästrike-Hammarby also at the beach in Årsunda. Or skiing in Kungsberget.
 
 
What's a fun fact not everyone knows about your neighbourhood?
 
A fun fact about our neighbourhood is that actress Geena Davis attended Wareham High School as an exchange student in Sandviken, Sweden, becoming fluent in Swedish. 
 
 
Follow Shaena Harrison on Instagram here. To find out how you can become The Local's next #MySweden host, click HERE.

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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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