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The guide to working in Sweden: from job hunt to salary talks

Moving to a new country is scary enough. Finding a job in a new country is a whole other ball game – and the many pandemic-related restrictions on life in recent times have hardly made it easier.

Published: 8 September 2021 10:00 CEST
The guide to working in Sweden: from job hunt to salary talks
Photo: Getty Images

Swedish work culture is different to that of other countries. If you’re working in an office, stepping away from the desk and taking actual coffee breaks (accompanied with cake) is the norm, as is a casual dress code and flexible working hours. If you’re working remotely, there are still important points of difference to consider, such as Sweden’s flatter hierarchies.

Still, there are things you should remember when looking for a job and preparing for the interview. Here are our top tips.

Job hunting: CV and cover letter

Looking for a job in a new country is hard. We get that. You should check out The Local’s job board – it brings together in one place all the English-speaking jobs from various sites.

When you do find your dream job, tailor your CV accordingly. Yes, it was lovely of you to volunteer at that farm all those years ago, but what does it add to your professional personality? Keep things relevant!

Other peculiarities to bear in mind with Swedish CVs is that it’s common to include a photo of yourself. You’re not required to – but it’s frequently appreciated. Your next task is your cover letter. Skip the “Dear Mr. So and So”. Address the person by his or her first name, or not at all; just dive in with a powerful statement. Then proceed to outline your relevant experience, why you like the company, and why you are suited to the role.

Not familiar with Sweden’s income insurance a-kassas? Find out how you could protect your income by joining Akademikernas a-kassa

Interview prep

So they like your CV … well done! Now it’s interview time.

Don’t freak yourself out over the interview, but do take it seriously. It’s the final hurdle (or two or three) between you and blissful employment so you’ll only kick yourself if you don’t prep sufficiently!

Research the company, particularly its recent history. Come up with questions. All this will show an eagerness to learn, but also that you know what you’re signing up for and you’re not just winging it.

A big no-no is turning up in casual gear. Yes, Swedish workplaces tend to be pretty relaxed in terms of dress code – even CEOs will be dressed in jeans and trainers. But you don’t have the job yet! Dress smartly. It gives a good impression and you can always dress more comfortably once you’ve been hired.

Lastly, before your interview, plan your journey! There’s nothing worse than the stress of cutting it fine, or indeed, running late. Swedes are extremely punctual people – you should really plan on being ten minutes early and just waiting there for your interview to begin.

If you do end up late, and it’s unavoidable, call ahead and warn them – call at least ten minutes before the scheduled time, but as early as possible.

Photo: Getty Images

During the interview(s)

So you’ve arrived, you’ve met whoever will be interviewing you, and chances are, you’ve been offered a drink. Take it! Even if it’s just water (though it will probably be coffee).

Swedes like it when you accept their offers. Plus it may give you a couple of minutes to talk outside of the interview context, which, if you feel nervous, will surely calm you down.

Once you begin the interview, treat it as a dialogue. Like we said, have questions and do your research. That way, you can turn the interview into a conversation, which is far less daunting than having to answer a series of questions.

Remember to be honest and modest. Americans may be used to having to “sell themselves” at interviews, but exaggerating all your accomplishments and saying you’re simply the best won’t help you here.

It’s likely that there’ll be a number of rounds of interviews. Keep in mind appropriate questions to ask at each round. For example, in the first round you might ask what the work culture is like, whereas in the second round (getting serious!), you might want to find out things such as whether the company has kollektivavtal – a collective agreement with a union.

Are you a university graduate? Learn more about protecting your income by joining Akademikernas a-kassa

Preparing for the best: money, money, money

So you got the job? Congratulations!

In some cases you will already have discussed salary (perhaps in the second or third round of interviews). But sometimes the salary isn’t brought up until you’ve received the offer. Either way, it’s important to be ready with a number.

Luckily, it’s easy to look up appropriate salaries for various jobs in Sweden. Check out www.lonestatistik.se, where you can search by job type, county, age, and level of experience to see what the normal range is.

Be confident with your salary request (löneanspråk), and be prepared to offer reasons why you deserve that salary. Don’t be afraid to reference the market rate. Swedes are rational people. Keep in mind that you will usually land a couple of thousand kronor below your request – so aim a bit on the high end.

Preparing for the worst: unemployment

Now, you may be very good at your job, and the company you work at may be great. But sometimes, things don’t work out.

Even when you do get the job, many positions in Sweden are temporary – for instance summer ‘vikarie’ (substitute) jobs or other substitute positions while a regular employee is on parental leave.

Make sure you sign up to Akademikernas a-kassa, so you’re covered when you’re in between jobs or if you should for some reason suddenly become unemployed. It’s a sort of unemployment insurance that, if you were to lose your job, pays you up to 80 percent of that salary to tide you over until you secure a new job.

Working in Sweden is great for a whole host of reasons, and Akademikernas a-kassa is one of them.

Akademikernas a-kassa pays up to 80 percent of your salary if you lose your job – find out more and learn how to join now

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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