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PRESENTED BY INVEST STOCKHOLM AND VISIT STOCKHOLM

Stockholm’s ‘secret formula’: what makes the city unique?

Every city has its own distinct DNA, a unique combination of traits that attract visitors and permanent residents alike. The Swedish capital, Stockholm, has developed an unmistakable atmosphere, where creativity, innovation and openness thrive.

Published: 26 January 2021 10:30 CET
Stockholm's 'secret formula': what makes the city unique?
Photo credits: Ulf Leide

Here,The Local explores the stories of three international people – a robotics researcher, a manager at Spotify, and a DJ and rapper – who have settled in Stockholm. They all feature in a new film from Visit Stockholm and Invest Stockholm that highlights the ‘secret formula’ that makes the city the perfect place for each of them to call home. 

Find out what hidden treasures Stockholm has to offer, from those who came to love it.

‘A unique place to teach, work and do research’

As our world rapidly changes, new skills and technologies arrive to fundamentally reshape our lives. Successfully navigating this changing environment requires a curious outlook, and world-class facilities to educate and upskill.

It is those intrinsic qualities of Stockholm that attracted Iolanda Leite, originally from Lisbon, to the city. Iolanda is now an Assistant Professor at the Department of Robotics, Perception and Learning, part of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), where she focuses on research and development in the burgeoning field of social robotics. 

Photo credit: Ulf Leid

Speaking of Stockholm, she says: “The fact that everyone can have access to higher education makes it a very unique place, to teach, to work and to do research.

“There’s also a lot of international students coming in and that enables all these creative companies and ideas to emerge from those groups.”

Indeed, Stockholm boasts more ‘unicorn’ companies – startups valued initially at over a billion dollars – per capita than anywhere except Silicon Valley. 

‘I like living in a big city but also being able to escape’

Few major cities make it as easy to connect with nature as Stockholm. The city, spread across 14 islands at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, offers a wide choice of unspoilt spaces and nature trails, as well as majestic views.

Get personal tips for finding your way off the city’s beaten path, from Stockholm locals.

For Rorey Jones, who traded Atlanta in the US for Stockholm, it’s the balance the city offers, as well as the egalitarian working frameworks that drew him in. Jones, a service manager at Spotify, particularly highlights the contrast between the city’s urban and natural environments as something that appeals to him.

“I like the feeling of living in a big city, but I also like that feeling of getting a bit of a break and being able to escape it,” he says. Trailrunning and hiking on the city outskirts with his dog, Knut, is something Jones can easily combine with his working day to provide some much needed calm. 

Photo: Supplied

“I think there’s a lot of balance in Swedish companies and here when you have the so-called ‘flat organisation’, I think it makes for a better place of innovation,” he continues. “If I felt there was a problem, or if I felt there was something that needed to be innovated, I have this feeling I could go to people high up in the company and I could try to make the company better.”

‘I can be myself. The people make me feel at home.’

A city is nothing without heart, and it’s Stockholm’s air of empathy and acceptance that made it a haven for Kamohelo Khoaripe, a South African musician who DJs and raps as part of the quartet ‘Off The Meds’. 

He is unequivocally enthusiastic about his new home, saying: “I’m in a place where I can be myself, where I can express myself, where it’s okay to cry, and nobody is going to say ‘Oh, you’re weak’.” 

Photo credit: Ulf Leide

Khoaripe feels that an open and accepting attitude among Stockholm’s people allowed him to develop as an artist. 

“I went through real-life feelings, I’m doing things I never thought I’d do”, he says. “People don’t really care who is doing what, they just want to go and support. That’s how a community should be. The people make me feel at home.”

His comments seem to touch on something central to how all three of these people perceive their new home. “Doing things to satisfy yourself, and not doing it to make other people feel belittled, that’s the secret formula of Stockholm,” he adds. “To be humble.”

Discover more of the ‘secret formula’ that makes Stockholm so unique, as well as the vibrant sights and sounds of the city, by watching the video below from Visit Stockholm and Invest Stockholm.  

Then find out more by following these links to get personal tips from the locals on their favourite spots and places to eat and your full guide on living and working in the city.

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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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