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Swedish vocabulary: The words and phrases you need to survive the job hunt

In many companies across Sweden, English is the working language, but understanding at least some Swedish will serve you well in the search for a job.

Published: 26 February 2019 07:59 CET
Updated: 14 November 2021 09:37 CET
Swedish vocabulary: The words and phrases you need to survive the job hunt
Knowing a few key phrases could speed up your job hunt. File photo: Burst/Pexels

There are several ways to look for a job in Sweden. The first is to register with Arbetsförmedlingen (the Swedish Public Employment Service), which you’ll need to do in order to register for any job-seeker benefits you’re eligible for, and they can also help you find a role, which you can look for in the platsbanken (job bank).

Alternatively, you can look at jobbannonser (job ads) online, including on The Local Jobs and other English-language options, but you may want to include Swedish sites to expand your search. There are a few different types of role, so check carefully: vikariat is a short-term job covering absences (this may be for a fixed period or ad hoc, for example as a substitute teacher), sommarjobb is a summer job and säsongsanställning is a seasonal role, while anställning (employment/position) can be either permanent or for a fixed period.

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Job adverts will usually include kravprofil (a profile of the skills or qualifications they’re looking for) which may mention qualities such as: fem års erfarenhet (five years’ experience), noggrannhet (accuracy/attention to detail), IT-kunskaper (IT skills), analytisk förmåga (analytical capabilities). And of course there will be the more wishy-washy terms, such as: serviceinriktad (service-minded), engagerad (committed), vågar drömma stort (dare to dream big) and so on.

The other main section will contain the arbetsuppgifterna (job details), outlining your potential tasks and responsibilities. And you’ll want to check the key information, or anställningsvillkor (employment conditions) such as whether the job is heltid (full time) or deltid (part time) – if it’s the latter, there will often be either a percentage such as 50 percent, meaning 20 hours per week, or it might state the expected hours. For example: Tjänsten är deltid på 50 procent med arbetstider måndag-fredag 8.00-17.00 (The position is part time at 50 percent hours, with working hours Monday-Friday between 8-5pm).

Pay close attention to whether it’s en tillsvidareanställning (a permanent position) or en tidsbegränsad anställning (a fixed-term position) – if the latter, they should specify the time and might mention whether there is god möjlighet till förlängning (a good chance of extension). And look for the following phrases: tillträde snarast/tillträde enligt överenskommelse/tillträde 1 mars (starting as soon as possible/start date dependent on agreement, ie between you and the employer/starting on March 1st).

READ ALSO: Ten jobs for internationals in Sweden you may not have thought of

If the job description is written in Swedish, look closely any mention of language abilities. For example, if they say the ideal candidate behärskar svenska i tal och skrift (has an excellent command of written and spoken Swedish) or ask for flytande svenska (fluent Swedish), it’s unlikely they will accept an applicant who is in the early stages of learning, whereas a job requiring kunskaper i svenska (knowledge of Swedish) might be more flexible.

Look for the phrase är meriterande (is an advantage) after any skills or qualifications; this means it’s not required for the job, while starkt meriterande means it’s not essential but highly preferred.

Depending on what kind of job you’re searching for, it’s also worth keeping an eye out when walking around your town or city. You may well see signs saying personal sökes in cafes, restaurants or shops. And online ads often have the heading är du den vi söker? (are you the person we’re looking for).

MY SWEDISH CAREER: Read weekly interviews with international talent in Sweden

Other phrases you might see:

Urval sker löpande – applications accepted on a rolling basis (ie there’s no strict deadline but they will fill the role once they find a suitable person)

Vid eventuella frågor kontakta (Anna) – please contact (Anna) with any questions (this should be accompanied by a phone number or email address)

Du rapporterar till (vår VD) – you would report to (our CEO)

En tjänst med utvecklingspotential – a position with the chance to develop

Nära samarbete med (kunder/vår CFO) – working closely with (customers/our CFO)

Lön/anställningstid enligt avtal – salary/working hours according to agreement (this refers to collective bargaining agreements or similar, and means you are unlikely to be able to negotiate)

When it comes to the interview, it will generally be carried out in the language you’ve been corresponding in, but it’s worth double-checking. If, for example, you’ve been emailing in Swedish but would rather interview in English or at least have time to prepare, make sure to ask.


In many tech companies the working language is English, but a bit of Swedish always helps. Photo: Melker Dahlstrand

You’ll also want to find out about the benefits and perks offered by the employer, and to ask about the company culture as well as any other factors that would affect your decision as to whether to take the role.

The questions you ask will depend on how far along in the process you are, but here are some ideas:

Är det okej att jobba hemifrån ibland? – Is it OK to work from home sometimes?

Vad är nästa steg i intervjuprocessen? – What is the next stage in the interview process?

Har ni kollektivavtal? – Do you have a collective bargaining agreement? (This is useful to know because it usually guarantees you perks such as extra pay for overtime and ‘uncomfortable hours’, but it may mean you’re limited when it comes to negotiating salary or holiday)

Finns det en klädkod? – Is there a dress code? (One to ask once you’ve secured the job and are working out the final details)

READ ALSO: These are the most future-proof jobs for the next five years in Sweden

Browse thousands of English-language jobs in Sweden

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LEARNING SWEDISH

How positive are Swedes towards foreign accents?

Swedes respond most positively to people speaking Swedish with English, Finnish and German accents, according to a new study from Sweden's Institute for Language and Folklore.

Published: 2 May 2024 15:29 CEST
How positive are Swedes towards foreign accents?

The study asked Swedes to identify the accents of twelve different people speaking Swedish, before rating the speakers on their trustworthiness, friendliness, ambition, confidence, appeal and whether they were ordentlig, a Swedish word which describes something similar to being “proper” or an upstanding citizen. 

These qualities were then ranked from one (not at all) to six (a lot), before being combined into a total score for each speaker.

Respondents were not told if they had guessed the accent of a speaker correctly or incorrectly before ranking them.

Speakers of Swedish with an English accent had the highest score on this scale: 3.86, although this is still low considering that the highest possible score was six. The English speaker spoke British English and has lived in Sweden for 41 years.

Finns came just behind on 3.85, with Germans coming third with a score of 3.79.

These three accents were also considered to be the easiest to understand, no matter how strong or weak the accents were considered to be.

In fourth place with a score of 3.62 was a female speaker with a förortsaccent, which is not an accent at all but rather a dialect of Swedish spoken in the often immigrant-heavy suburbs (förorter) of large cities. Although some aspects of förortssvenska have been influenced by languages spoken by people who have immigrated to these parts of Sweden from abroad, many speakers of förortssvenska were born in Sweden and have lived their entire lives here.

Next up were Somali, Arabic and Turkish accents, with scores of 3.32, 3.29 and 3.24 respectively. Polish, Persian and Spanish accents followed with scores of 3.23, 3.21 and 3.15, with a Bosnian accent the lowest placing foreign accent at 3.06.

The lowest result in the study overall was for a male speaker with a förortsaccent, with a score of just 2.95.

Women ranked more highly than men

Interestingly, female speakers made up four of the top five, although the most positively rated accent (English) was a male speaker. There was also only one woman in the bottom five (the Spanish speaker) suggesting that Swedes are more positive towards women with foreign accents than men.

The respondents were also asked to guess what level of education the speakers had, where they could choose between junior high school or equivalent (grundskola), senior high school or equivalent (gymnasium), post-secondary school education that was not university-level, and university-level studies.

Accents from closer countries scored more highly

As a general rule, Swedes assumed that people from countries which are closer geographically had a higher level of education than those who were from further away. English came top again, followed by German and Finnish, while a male speaker of förortssvenska came last, with the speaker with a Bosnian accent coming second to last.

In general, speakers of the accents which scored highly in terms of positive associations were also assumed to have a higher level of education, and the same can be said for the accents which had the most negative ratings.

There is a caveat, however. The positively-rated accents – English, Finnish and German – were those which speakers were best at identifying. Almost 90 percent of Swedes in the study recognised an Finnish accent, with just under 85 percent recognising an English accent and slightly under 70 percent recognising a German one.

This means that in these cases, respondents were judging these specific accents, and may have been influenced by prior contact with speakers of Swedish from these countries such as friends, coworkers or public figures, or commonly held assumptions about them.

That was also the case for the male förortsaccent, which was the fourth-most recognised accent – just over 40 percent of listeners identified it correctly.

For the other accents, listeners were unsure of their guesses, even those who guessed correctly. Only one in twenty listeners could recognise the Turkish accent, for example.

This means that assumptions made about speakers with less easily identified accents may be due to other factors than their nationality, such as the strength of their accent and their gender.

Indeed, the most common incorrect guess when a listener could not identify an accent was Arabic, often bringing with it negative ratings in the other categories.

Political views also make a difference

The study also looked at whether certain traits or beliefs in the listening Swedes affected how they ranked each speaker.

Men rated each speaker more negatively than the average score given by all listeners, while women rated them more positively.

There were also clear differences when it comes to politics, with right-wing voters more likely to have a negative opinion of foreign accents.

Listeners who identified as Sweden Democrats or Moderates rated almost all accents significantly lower than the average (Sweden Democrats rated English and Finnish roughly the same as average listeners, and Moderates rated German accents roughly the same as the average).

Christian Democrats and Liberals rated the accents similar to the average result for all listeners, while left-bloc voters belonging to the Centre Party, Social Democrats, Green Party and Left Party rated almost all accents significantly higher than the average. 

The groups with the most positive attitude towards people speaking Swedish with an accent were women, the highly educated, voters in the left-wing bloc and, to a lesser extent, older people and people who earn less than 25,000 kronor a month.

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