The Newbie Guide to Sweden

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10 Swedish words to know in the office

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Why do you need to learn Swedish words for the office? Well, are you looking for a job in Sweden? Or, are you already working in a Swedish office? In that case, just knowing 10 simple words or phrases in Swedish might make all the difference for your experience in a Swedish workplace. Rebecca from SweTeach helps you navigate life as a Swedish office worker. Check out the word list below of Swedish words to know in the office.

This post is written by Rebecca Andersson, an experienced Swedish teacher and co founder of SweTeach, language coaching for newcomers.

En fika (noun) att fika, fikar (verb)

No Swedish word list can exist without including the word fika. In the office, fika can refer to several different things. If you grab a cup of coffee and take it back to your desk, it is not considered fika. A fika has to involve either a sweet treat or a social gathering, both in the best case. 

Fredagsfika might be the most popular type of fika. A Friday fika is a weekly gathering at the workplace, usually on Friday afternoons. Some companies have a fika list where someone has to bring in fika for the whole team each week. 

En matlåda (noun)

In Sweden, many people bring their own lunch box or matlåda to work. This plastic, glass, or metal container often includes popular everyday dishes (husmanskost) such as Spaghetti och köttfärssås, Korv stroganoff, or Köttbullar och potatismos. 

Whether to heat up the food in your lunch box or put it on a plate first is up to you. But, if you would like to be popular among your colleagues, I would advise you to avoid fish. It leaves an awful smell behind after re-heating!

En after-work/AW (noun)

Wait a minute, is this not English? You are right, but only partially. The words are English, but the expression is Swedish. An After Work or AW is a social gathering with friends or colleagues where you enjoy a drink and possibly some food together after a working day. An AW often starts around 4 or 5 pm and lasts a few hours. 

The concept is popular in Sweden and you will see plenty of offers on drinks and food similar to a Happy hour. Some bars also offer activities such as darts, boule, shuffleboard, or a pub quiz. 

En lönehelg (noun)

An AW often kicks off a lönehelg. The word translates to ‘pay weekend’ and is often used as an excuse to spend a little extra when you have just received your salary. Most Swedes get paid on the 25th of every month and the preceding Friday if that date occurs on the weekend. This makes Friday the most common payday, which is why lönefredag is also a thing. 

Since most people in Sweden get paid on the same day, a lönehelg often means a busy weekend for shops, restaurants, and bars. Do not forget to book a table if you plan to dine out on the 25th!

Ett möte (noun)

The Swedish meeting culture is famous, or infamous, even outside of Sweden. There are plenty of different meetings to choose from; breakfast meetings, briefings, lunch sessions, team meetings, evaluation meetings etc.

An essential part of the Swedish meeting culture is reaching konsensus. Everyone should contribute to the discussion and agree on a decision. This can take quite some time, and you often have to parkera or ‘park’ issues and schedule a new meeting to continue the discussion.

Ett friskvårdsbidrag (noun)

Fitness and well-being are hot topics in Sweden gyms are to be found everywhere. Many companies provide a friskvårdsbidrag, which is financial support that you can use to pay for a gym card, massage, or membership in a sports association. 

Some employers also allow you to exercise during work hours or organise weekly group exercises for you and your colleagues. In Sweden, the question is not if you work out or not, but what you do for exercise and how often.

Att vabba, vabbar (verb)

Even though many Swedes are interested in health, people get sick here just like everywhere else. When you stay home from work with sick children, you get reimbursed by Försäkringskassan for up to 80 percent of your salary for a maximum of 120 days per year. This system is called VAB, and the word is so frequently used that it was made into a verb. At a Swedish workplace, you can get a message from your colleague stating Jag vabbar idag, which means that the person will be off work due to taking care of sick children. 

In the winter, people tend to get sick more than during the rest of the year. This is why Swedes sometimes speak about the month of February as vabruari, the month of VAB. 

Att tidrapportera, tidrapporterar (verb) 

Many people in Sweden are working from home nowadays. This has made it more crucial than ever to report your work hours or tidrapportera, as you say in Swedish. 

In Swedish offices, it is common to have flexible hours or flextid. This means you do not have to start or finish your workday at any specific time as long as you do your hours. If you work more than you should, you can save hours that you can use for vacation later in the year. 

En semester

Speaking of holidays, every person working in Sweden has a lawful right to vacation or semester in Swedish, confusingly enough. A full-time worker has a minimum of 25 paid vacation days to spend during the year and has the right to schedule four cohesive weeks of vacation between June and August.  

Since people in Sweden tend to spend most of their vacation during the summer period, the word semester is closely linked to the summer holidays. If you take time off during other seasons, you can use the word ledighet, which translates to ‘leave’.

En röd dag

In addition to your vacation days, most office workers are also off work on public holidays. These days are referred to as röda dagar, ‘red days’ since they are marked with red in the calendar. In Sweden, there are about 15 such days per year. 

If you want to maximise your days off work, it is all about combining your vacation days with public holidays. Every year, many magazines and Unions publish guides on how to get the most out of the vacation year. 

We hope you learned a thing or two from this list. If you are looking to learn more Swedish, you can get started with the online course Swedish for Beginners. It is a self paced, self taught digital course that you can take from anywhere at anytime and at your own space. And it is very reasonably priced if we may say so ourselves 🙂 Good luck!

Further reading

A complete guide to buying an apartment in Stockholm (Part 1)

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Written by Teenie Fung

Looking to buying an apartment in Stockholm? Are you browsing on Blocket for rental apartments in Stockholm? Then I highly recommend you to read this article.

In less than 10 months from arriving in Sweden I bought my first apartment in Stockholm at a great bargain. Here are some tips and secrets on how you can also get out of the frantic rental market.

How competitive is the rental market in Stockholm?

  • You are competing with an additional 10,000+ migrants who relocate to Stockholm each year (SCB gov stats, 2017).
  • On 1 single Blocket rental ad, 100+ people are messaging about renting the same flat within a few days of an ad being published.
  • It can take at least 2 months to find a rental apartment in Stockholm. Dealing with scams while using Blocket ads is highly likely.
  • One can easily spend close to/over 40% of your income on rent. It is not uncommon to have to move every 3-6 months to avoid being homeless. It is almost impossible to find a long-term rental contract for more than a year as a foreigner.

Sounds familiar to your current situation? 60-80% of your time is probably spent on merely looking for a place to sleep. The rest of your time and money goes on adapting to the local culture, new work challenges and social life.

However, instead of facing high-costs & a pressure-cooking life-style, it is in fact financially POSSIBLE to buy an apartment in Stockholm. This guide will be split into four parts, providing some insights into how you can settle in like a pro.

Is renting more expensive than buying an apartment?

A 23sqm apartment I rented in Gärdet (Stockholm) for 12,000 SEK/ month in 2017.

The ugly truth is that you, as a foreigner, probably have no idea how much you are currently being overcharged by your landlord.

As an example, let’s say that you are looking for a studio/ 1 bedroom (‘1-2 rum’ in Swedish terms) apartment in Stockholm. Let’s do the math on how much you could have saved each month by buying an apartment:

In reality, it only costs your landlord (the person who lends you the flat) a total of 3,000 kr/ month, including all utility bills and ‘avgift’ (a fee paid to the housing association in English), for a 23sqm apartment. According to the market value on Blocket, you will likely have to pay a monthly rent of around 12,000 kr given the high market demand.

This essentially means that you are paying 4x ( 9000 kr/ month) of what you would have saved if you own the apartment.

Calculation explaining below:

12,000 (Your monthly rent)
-3000 (Your landlord’s total cost)
=9000 kr/month (Amount of money you could have saved by owning the property)

Each year, you are looking at an annual expense of 108,000 kr (=9000*12), extra just in rent alone.

In 3 years, you would lose about 324,000 kr (=9000*12*3) in rent.

In 5 years, your piggy bank would already have half a million extra if you had chosen to buy an apartment instead…and 1 million in 10 years!

Imagine you could have used the 100,000 kr saved each year for travelling, buying another apartment or doing anything else.

You can still be a first-home owner like a Swede.

Who can buy an apartment in Sweden?

Anyone!

  • The rules are the same for Swedish, EU and non-EU. The only difference is that you will, as a foreigner (esp. non-EU), have a 1-2 week longer processing time for your mortgage application and a slightly smaller mortgage if you have been under 3 years in Sweden.

 

  • The buying process is very straight forward. You don’t need to know the Swedish language to buy a house. Google translate is quite useful!

Remember:

  • You must have a full-time job in Sweden and passed your probation for the bank to approve your mortgage

When should I buy an apartment?

Ignore what the media says about a property bubble. All you need is a good location for the apartment and you will be least affected by/shielded from any economic downturn.

You are buying because you need a stable life. That said, research if it’s the right time to buy such as a seasonal offer. Always do your own research before jumping into the market. First, check if the market is likely to bring you a profit or a good bargain if you are to sell in 5 years. Some important indications of a good time to buy now is as shown below.

  • It’s a buyer market:  Property price in Stockholm area fell by 5-10% y-y in Aug 2018, this is a good moment to hunt for bargains. Remember that you are not looking for the deepest plunge, but entering at a good low-mid point from the last price peak is generally good enough. Property prices are most likely to rise in long-term and has been for more than 20 years now (+60%).
Bostadsrätter Prisutveckling in Stockholm
Average Property price per sqm in Stockholm (Svensk maklarstatistik, Oct 2018)
  • Financially viable: Downpayment in Sweden is still historically low at 15%. (e.g. downpayment of a 2.5m flat is 375k). This proportion has increased from 10% to 15% recently, consider that the downpayment is likely to increase followed by a stricter gov policy. Grab a cheaper deal before the next one comes!
  • Easy credit: Sweden has one of the world’s lowest interest rate (1.5%), and longest mortgage repayment period (no rush to pay back) compared to many other modern places such as London and Hong Kong. You can still borrow close to 5x your annual income (reduced to 4.5x from 5x since Jan 2018).
  • Unprecedentedly high demand for a small apartment (<2 rooms) due to migration and immigration: coupled with low construction rate leading to a tight supply. The demand-supply gap is huge (+10,000 migrants vs 3000 newly constructed 1-2 rooms). Prices for small-sized apartments are likely to continue to rise in long-term.
Färdigställda lägenheter i nybyggda hus efter region, hustyp, lägenhetstyp och år
Newly constructed apartments in Stockholm by number of rooms (SCB, Oct 2018)

 

 

 

 

 

Now that you are curious about buying an apartment instead of renting, let’s get down to a step-by-step guide of how you can achieve this in action. Read ‘A complete guide to buying an apartment in Stockholm (Part 2)’ to be published in a couple of weeks. 

 

Disclaimer:

The information presented on this Blog series is shared for entertainment purposes ONLY.  Forecasts, estimates and certain information contained here should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation to invest. Past performance is not indicative of future results.  The Author in no way guarantees any specific outcome or profit.  Investments can lose money over short or even long periods of time.  You should consult your financial advisor before making an investment decision.

About the author

Teenie is a Stockholm-based investment advisor and tech enthusiast. Inspired by the gigantic potential of Stockholm aka ‘Unicorn Factory’, Teenie left her job from a top-tier bank in Hong Kong and moved to Sweden in 2017. She’s also the creator of an online activewear brand (yogafriday.com) and the founder of a fashion community that is still active today in England. At present, Teenie continues to seek for emerging technologies in pursuit of improving everyday living and a better future.

5 Rules for a Successful Job Hunt

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Over the past year, my team and I have provided around 1 000 job hunters with the necessary tools to find a job. I have personally talked to a majority of our users in one way or another. During this time, we have gained the knowledge of what it is that successful job hunters do differently. I want to share this learnings in five simple Rules for a Successful Job Hunt in the new year.

1. Show up every day

We asked job hunters one question: “how many jobs did you apply for last week?”. Here is what we found:

  • 47.50 % of all job hunters apply for less than 5 jobs a week.
  • The average amount of jobs applied for during a week is 7.6.
  • No one applied for more than 52 jobs in a week.
  • 80 % get invited to interviews on 0-5 % of their applications.

When I read this, I see the potential for anyone to have an edge. Imagine just sending one application per day/5 applications per week and perform better than 52.5 % of all the other job hunters.

Do you want to send more applications than 90 % of all job hunters out there? Then you only need to send 18 applications a week or 3.6 applications per day. I just gave you an opportunity to perform better than 90 % of all job hunters, consistently during 2017.

You are welcome.

Rules for a Successful Job Hunt

2. Break down the goal

During chats and talks, our team has noticed that most people have a stretch goal but not a SMART goal. The difference between these are:

A stretch goal is your big vision stuff. Something you really want to see happen in 2017. For instance, finding a job in 2017. This in itself is not actionable, it is just inspiring!

The fact that it is not actionable means it has to be broken down into smaller pieces. That’s where the SMART goal comes in. A SMART goal is a goal that is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.

The by far most common stretch goal that I hear is: “I want to find a job”. This is great because people know what they want. The problem with a stretch goal is that it is not actionable. For instance, if the person has the goal of finding a job, it is very easy to see not finding a job as a failure. But, it really is not a failure to not find a job. Because as long as you have been showing up and worked on your goal, then you have made progress and I see that as a success in itself – to move towards the goal.

Here is an example of a SMART goal to make the concept easier to understand:

In January, I will send 200very  well targeted emails with spontaneous applications to companies that I think would be interesting to work for.

  • Is this specific? Yes. You can easily see what is expected – sending 200 emails. Maybe we can be even more specific by adding an example of an email that is “very well targeted”. You need to have additional criteria about what “very well targeted” looks like for you.
  • Is this measurable? Yes. Whenever you have sent 20 emails, you have done 10 % of your goal. Simply take note on every time you send an email.
  • Is it achievable? Yes. 200 emails over the course of a month are 10 emails/day. Certainly achievable.
  • Is it time-bound? Yes. We will do this during January.

What we did at 400contacts was to break the goal of finding a job into eight subgoals – each sub goal helps the user get closer to realizing their stretch goal – finding a job.

For instance, here are two goals we suggest:

  • This week, contact fifteen employers and ask them what their challenges are.
  • During a week, meet two people from your professional network for lunch.

We propose these SMART goals for various reasons. For one, we know that at least 70 % of all job hunters find a job through an informal connection. So we want to help people develop informal connections all the time. We also want job hunters to have goals they can control.

If the goal is – reach out to fifteen companies – then you are the person that can make this happen or not. No one can stop you from sending out an email. But if you will base your success on whether you get the job or not – then the success of that goal is in the hands of someone else.

Your SMART goals should be something that you can affect. It needs to be achievable by your actions.

In short, break your stretch goal into SMART sub goals. Focus on achieving the sub goals that you can achieve. That is progress and success.

Rules for a Successful Job Hunt

3. Target Your Message

During 2016, we made a survey of people that had high and low response rates on their job applications. Around 20 % of the job hunters got invited to interviews on more than 6 % of their applications. The other 80 % got invited to interviews between 0-5 %. A classic example of the Pareto Principle.

We called people from both these two groups to discuss their strategies and habits in the job hunt. The biggest difference that we found is that people in the successful group of people spend more time on making their applications than people that had lower response rates. In the successful group of job hunters, a majority of the people spent 1+ hours on an application and also made calls to the employers or recruiters. Many people got interviews just because they made those calls.

There is an important lesson here – please take some time to target your message before you send it to a recruiter or employer. Some people told us that they spend only a minute on making their application and then they are not getting a response. This simply won’t work.

Do target your message to the specific company, person and role that you are applying for.

4. Experiment, experiment, experiment!

Take time regularly to think about the challenges you are facing and where you are getting stuck;

  • Are you being invited to interviews but don’t get the job?
  • Are you sending applications but don’t get responses?
  • Do recruiters say you need more experience?

In other words, if you could make your job hunting process more efficient where would you want to improve?

Think about these particular challenges and how you can make small experiments to figure out how to become more efficient in your hunt. For instance, are people not responding to your emails?

Then try various combinations of headlines, content, and signatures to see which ones work the best. For email response rates, Boomerang has found by analyzing millions of emails some basic rules for getting high response rates:

  • have 1-3 questions in the email
  • make the text between 50-125 words.
  • have 3-7 words in the subject line.
  • write in a language so simple that an 8-9 year old kid would understand.

If you are having challenges with low email response rates, experiment with these rules for a successful job hunt and see what happens.

One common thing in the Swedish job market is the need of understanding Swedish. There are various ways you can try to respond to recruiters. One recruiter told me about a good way to respond to the lack of language skills:

“Yes, I have basic skills in Swedish right now. But you should have seen me one month ago. I had no understanding of Swedish whatsoever. I am a fast learner and can develop the language in three months.”

Experiment with various approaches to see what works. If you are not having any positive responses at all right now, this is the where you should start. We have tons of recommendations for this in the app.

5. Never Give Up

Obstacles are a part of any progress. You will have moments when you don’t want to keep going. Expect this.

If you feel yourself losing motivation, go back to your goals and revise them. Think about why you wrote them down in the first place. Why do you want to find a job? To excel in your career? To support your family? Something else?

Use that motivation to see the obstacle as a challenge and learn from it.

Never give up.

More tips on how to find job here

Written by Andreas Wennberg

Andreas Wennberg is the founder of 400contacts, a platform that helps people find a job in eight weeks. He blogs about jobs, how to find that elusive job and how to tweak your experiences and skills to become attractive on the Swedish job market.

Eight Steps to Finding Hidden Jobs

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A huge part of the job market is hidden and not seen on job boards. Here is eight steps you can use to find hidden opportunities in companies that are not posting their positions:

    1. Go to LinkedIn
    1. Search for “your title + city you want to work in”. Example: “construction engineer stockholm”In this search, we can see that there are 517 people in Stockholm alone that has the words “construction engineer” in their profile. Cool!

    1. Look at these search results and make a list. Write down names of the companies where these people have worked and where they are working currently.

    1. On your list, Google the first company name (in this case Strängbetong):

      Hidden jobs
      Google the company name

    1. Go to the website of the Company.
    1. Read about the company. If the site is in a language you cannot understand, feel free to use Google Translate. When reading, think about one question:

      For this business, what value can I deliver with my skills and experience?

        • Introduce yourself
        • Explain what value you can provide for them.
      • Ask them about some of their current challenges that they are having. Offer to solve one of those challenges.When you have a clear idea about what value you can provide, send a very targeted email to the CEO or HR manager of the company. In the email:

      This approach will work best with companies with less than 30 employees which is a majority of the companies in Sweden.

  1. Go back to point 4 on this list and repeat.

Written by Andreas Wennberg

Andreas Wennberg is the founder of 400contacts, an app that helps people find a job in eight weeks. He blogs about jobs, how to find that elusive job and how to tweak your experiences and skills to become attractive on the Swedish job market. For more help on finding a job – sign up at 400contacts

Employment help for Newbies

The national employment service – Arbetsförmedlingen has several initiatives specifically for Newbies. Some are open for all Newbies while other initiatives are limited to Newbies in a certain life situation.

Remember that you are entitled to all services that Arbetsförmedlingen provides (not just the Newbie stuff), so make sure to check out their other services too.

  • Access to an interpreter (for all Newbies)
  • Validation of work experience and education (for all Newbies)
  • Nystartsjobb (for most Newbies)
  • Instegsjobb (for most Newbies)
  • Etableringspaket (for Newbies covered by the law 2010:197)

 Interpreter

You are entitled to an interpreter if you feel unsure about your Swedish and feel that this limits you in your contact with Arbetsförmedlingen. It doesn’t cost you anything but you might have to wait a bit longer in order to get an appointment.

Validation – Validering

Arbetsförmedlingen can help you validate your educational and professional experience. This means finding out what your work experience and education corresponds to on the Swedish work market.

We recommend that you use this opportunity, as the validation processes can be complex and time consuming. Make sure to bring all your certificates, grades and other references to your first appointment with Arbetsförmedlingen. Insist in getting your validation processes started right away.

Universitet- och högskolerådet (UHR)

Universitet- och högskolerådet is the place to turn to if you have a foreign high school diploma, Bachelor/Master Degree or PHD/MBA certificate.

(information in Swedish and English).

Valideringsinfo

Do you have foreign work experience but lack formal proof? Valideringsinfo provides you with information on how to proceed in order to formalise your work experience.

 (information in Swedish and English)

New start job – nystartsjobb

Nystartsjobb means that your employer receives a payment from Arbetsförmedlingen for hiring you. The aim of this support is to make you – as a Newbie – more attractive on the Swedish work market. Nystartsjobb is applicable to permanent, temporary as well as part-time employments.

Your payment needs to be fair. Your employer has to pay you in accordance with the collective agreement for the industry. You need to search and apply for the job on your own. This support will, however, hopefully make it easier for you to find a job and gain some important Swedish work experience. It might be an idea to write in your CV that you are entitled to nystartsjobb.

You are entitled to nystartsjobb if you arrived in Sweden less than three years ago and have been granted a residence permit as a refugee, person in need of protection or because of a connection.

(Information in English).

Introduction package – Etableringsprogram (only for Newbies covered by law 2010: 197)

Some Newbies are entitled to extended integration benefits. The purpose of this benefit is to give newly arrived Newbies the support they need in order to learn Swedish, find work and become self sufficient as quickly as possible. The support covers etableringsplan (introduction plan), etableringsersättning (financial support) and help to find housing.

The law (2010: 197) aims toward Newbies between 20 – 64 years of age, who have received a residence permits as a refugee, quota refugee or person in need of protection. The law also covers unaccompanied children at the age of 18-19, as well as close relatives to people covered by this law. Contact your nearest Arbetsförmedling if you are unsure about whether or not you are covered by this law.

Introduction interview – etableringssamtal

Start by setting an appointment for an introduction interview at Arbetsförmedlingen. This interview serves the purpose of providing an overview of your current skills and possibilities.

Introduction plan – etableringsplan

An essential part of the introduction interview will be to set up an individual introduction plan – a so called etableringsplan. An etableringsplan can consists of several activities, like:

  • Learning Swedish at SFI
  • Completing or complementing your studies at Komvux
  • Making an internship – praktik, at a Swedish work place

The purpose of your etableringsplan is to provide you with the skills needed to enter the Swedish labour market. You are supposed to spend 40 h/week on activities related to your introduction plan.

Introduction support – etableringsersättning

You are entitled to financial support when participating actively in your introduction plan. This is called etableringsersättning and is supposed to cover your basic expenses like accommodation, transportation, food etc. You are also entitled to a complementary supplement if you have children.

(information in Swedish)

Housing

It is generally up to you to find a place to live. However, Arbetsförmedlingen can help you find a place if you take part in an etableringsplan. It comes with a certain twist though: Arbetsförmedlingen will search for a place for you and your family, but they will search for a place where you have the greatest chances of finding work or receiving education.

This could mean moving to the other side of the country. You can’t influence their decision, but you are free to turn their offer down. If you do turn it down however, you will not get another housing offer from Arbetsförmedlingen.

Etableringslots

Looking for an etableringslots but not finding one? The Swedish government recently decided to end this integration service. They are, however, planning to compensate it with another service provided directly by Arbetsförmedlingen.

E-learning courses for your best job experience

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed about finding work in Sweden? Or do you have a job and feel your salary doesn’t match your skills. Or, do you not quite get the unwritten rules at your new job? We’ve got you covered. We know how hard it can be to find a job, get the right pay and feel comfortable in your new Swedish job so we’ve created digital courses with all the information you need:

 

After finishing these courses, you will be able to navigate your Swedish work situation with skill and comfort.

Missing something? Or does something feel unclear? Contact us and help us improve.

 

Job seeking tools

The Public Employment Service – Arbetsförmedlingen is an important authority in the Swedish welfare system, but they have lately struggled with their tasks and goals.

You may hear some unflattering stories about them and some of them may be true, but nonetheless – there are plenty of reasons for you to sign up with Arbetsförmedlingen anyway.

Arbetsförmedlingen’s main tasks

  • matching jobseekers and employers
  • managing integration support and benefits for Newbies
  •  giving extra support to people with limited work capacity
  • supervision of the use of unemployment insurances

 The job bank – Platsbanken

Platsbanken is Sweden’s largest job bank; it lists thousands of vacancies in every occupational sector. You can subscribe to job alerts in your professional field and have them sent to your e-mail address.

Yrkeskompassen

Curious about the work prognosis for certain work fields? Or interested in knowing more about a certain profession? Yrkeskompassen provides you with information about different professions and the need for them in the future. An interesting read if you consider complementing your studies.

Employment officers / Job coaches

A job coach can help you with many things, such as writing application letters and a CV, help you prepare for job interviews or give you advice on how to contact potential employers.

  (information in Swedish)

Recruitment meetings at Arbetsförmedlingen

Arbetsförmedlingen arranges recruitment meetings at local employment offices throughout the country. You can meet employers who are recruiting in different job fields, from full-time financial controllers to part-time snow clearance staff. Ask your local office about the next recruitment meeting.

E-learning courses for your best job experience

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed about finding work in Sweden? Or do you have a job and feel your salary doesn’t match your skills. Or, do you not quite get the unwritten rules at your new job? We’ve got you covered. We know how hard it can be to find a job, get the right pay and feel comfortable in your new Swedish job so we’ve created digital courses with all the information you need:

 

After finishing these courses, you will be able to navigate your Swedish work situation with skill and comfort.

Relocation Allowance

You can get relocation allowance, if you find a job in another location in Sweden (and sometimes also Europe). Ask your job coach/employment officer about it.

  (Information in many languages)

Platsjournalen

In Platsjournalen you find useful tips and articles about the Swedish job market.

  (Information in Swedish)

Useful links

Missing something? Or does something feel unclear? Contact us and help us improve.

Fired?

There is no good way to loose your employment. But there are better and worse ways. The better way is called uppsägning, the worse way is called avskedad.

The Good Way

If you are uppsagd you will receive full salary during your whole notice period – uppsägningstid and you will also have accesses to all other work benefits that you might already have. Getting uppsagd does not necessarily mean that you’ve done something wrong.

Usually uppsägning is due to work or financial shortage within the company where you work; circumstances you cannot influence and that have little to do with your performance at work. 

Getting uppsagd is therefore not necessarily something that will affect your future employments negatively.

Note: you can get uppsagd if you repeatedly fail to meet the agreements in your contact.  

The Bad Way

Getting avskedad is another story. If you are avskedad, you have to leave your work immediately and you won’t be able to claim the right to salaries or benefits.

Getting avskedad is unusual and mostly happens when you’ve made yourself guilty of physical abuse, threats of violence, theft, misappropriation, unfair competition, or refusal to work.

Getting avskedad is not a good thing, and it will affect your search for future employments negatively.

Missing something? Or does something feel unclear? Contact us and help us improve.

 

Work searching tools for foreign-born graduates and professionals

Academic Newbies is a growing group in Sweden. The number of foreign-born graduates in Sweden increased from 180 000 to 310 000 between 2006 and 2013.

This means that one in five graduates are born abroad. This is good as there is a real need for qualified workers in Sweden. Yet this group is having a hard time entering the Swedish labour market. The unemployment rate among foreign-born graduates is four times higher than among native-born graduates. Why is that so?

Studies have shown that the main problems academic and professional Newbies including foreign-born graduates, encounter are; lack of contacts, language skills and confidence. However the good thing is that all of this can be fixed. Contacts can be made, language learned and confidence built.

And note, that the same studies that point out the difficulties also show that three out of four will have a qualified work within a couple of years.

There are three initiatives of particular interest for academic Newbies.

  1. Integrations- and training programmes (like korta vägen)
  2. Specialised language courses (like SFX and SIFA)
  3. Networking communities (like SIT)

Korta vägen – Integration and training programs for academic Newbies

Korta vägen is an integration and training program for academic Newbies. The aim is to provide you with the skills needed to enter the Swedish labour market. Korta vägen is held at 20 universities and institutions of higher education in Sweden. The program is free and open for academic Newbies with at least three years of documented university studies. Admissions are made by a language test and motivational interview. The duration of the programme is between 12-26 weeks. Korta vägen helps you:

  • identify and assess your academic skills
  • get a qualified internship – a so called praktikplats at a Swedish company in your field
  • improve your Swedish through specialised Swedish courses
  • and provide you with  professional coaching and shorter job training programmes

Korta vägen is a cooperation between the national employment service – Arbetsförmedlingen,  the Swedish industry –  Näringslivet and 20 institutions of higher learning in Sweden. It was launched in 2012. Stockholms university has done a study showing that 95% of the participants received a qualified praktikplats and that 59% of the participant got a job within their field after finishing Korta vägen.

Interested? Contact your local Arbetsförmedling if you think Korta vägen may be for you. They will provide you with more information and help you with the application process.

– information in English provided by SACO.

E-learning courses for your best job experience

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed about finding work in Sweden? Or do you have a job and feel your salary doesn’t match your skills. Or, do you not quite get the unwritten rules at your new job? We’ve got you covered. We know how hard it can be to find a job, get the right pay and feel comfortable in your new Swedish job so we’ve created digital courses with all the information you need:   After finishing these courses, you will be able to navigate your Swedish work situation with skill and comfort.

SFX (Svenska för yrkesutbildade)

Swedish for professionals, SFX, offers specialised Swedish language courses for professional Newbies. The course focus on professional language and the aim of the course is to provide professional Newbies with the accurate Swedish skills. There are currently language courses for eight different work fields:

  • Swedish for bus drivers
  • Swedish for entrepreneurs
  • Swedish for craftsmen
  • Swedish for engineers
  • Swedish for truck drivers
  • Swedish for medical staff
  • Swedish for educators
  • Swedish for lawyers, economists and social scientists
  • Swedish for IT programmers

Stockholm intensivsvenska för akademiker, SIFA

Another Swedish language course is an intense Swedish course for academics – Stockholms intensivsvenska för akademiker, called SIFA. This Swedish language course offer specialised Swedish teaching for academic Newbies eager to proceed rapidly. SIFA takes you from a beginner level to more or less fluid Swedish in 1.5 years.

Sveriges Internationella Talanger, SIT

International Talents of Sweden – Sveriges Internationella Talanger, SIT is a great initiative by academic Newbies for academic Newbies. The idea behind SIT is to create a common network for all academic Newbies in Sweden. The aim of SIT is to become a voice for academic Newbies by gathering information and exchanging experiences.

Validation

Validating your studies and work experience is an important step in approaching the Swedish work market. This process can be time consuming and complicated. So it’s good to get started as soon as possible. Arbetsförmedlingen can help you with the validation, so make sure to bring all certificates and “proofs” you have of your studies and work experience to your first meeting with Arbetsförmedlingen.

SACO’s Omstart

The Swedish Central Organisation for academics, SACO has a useful website that gathers information concerning work search, education, labour legislation in Sweden with special focus on  professional and academic Newbies.

Missing something? Or does something feel unclear? Contact us and help us improve.

 

 

Step three: Expand your network

Most jobs are found within a person’s own network. You know someone; who knows someone; who has a friend that is looking for someone just like you.

The probability of finding a job through your network is significantly bigger than through work agencies.

People in your network are people who know and trust you. They are familiar with your abilities, qualities and strengths. They “get” you. Your network is therefore crucial. Yet, being a Newbie is a lot about not having a social network to fall back on. Is there anything that can be done about it? Quite a bit actually, here are some tips and tricks.

Get yourself out there

Take every chance to meet people. Real people. In real life. Approach people with an open mind. Widen your social horizons – future friends and companions might hide in the most unexpected places.

Be clear about what you’re searching for

Be open about the fact that you are searching for a job and communicate it to your social channels. Verbalise. Put words to your hopes, skills and qualifications. You never know who might pop up with a good tip or idea.

Make it easy for others to help you

Make sure to make the ground work before asking for a favour. Need a phone number? A recommendation letter? Or just a ride? Try to do as much as you can before asking for that crucial favour; most people are glad to help but short of time.

Dive into your hobbies

What makes your heart beat faster? Singing? Movies? Books? Knitting? Running? Or a dynamic yoga session? Exploring your passions is a great way to meet people. A common interest can make you overcome your own shyness but also compensate for limited language skills.

Explore social networking sites

There are all sorts of social networking sites on the web. They can be a great starting point. It is nice to meet up with people who are going through the same adventures as you are and exchanging experiences can be very strengthening. Check out our get social and connected section to find organisations that matches Swedes with Newbies.

Go for a fika

Socializing in Sweden mostly comes with a fika. It looks like regular coffee and snack but fika is the moment where all the really juicy (but informal) matters are discussed. So, don’t turn down a fika invitation and makes sure to taste the cinnamon bun – kanelbulle. Check out Nya Kompisbyrån who matches Newbies with Swedes for fika.

Join your student union

Are you a student? Don’t miss the opportunity to sign up with your studentkår. They organise pub nights, talks and fun things in general.

Write Fan-Email

Ok, this might sound insane, but it isn’t all that crazy. Write to people you admire and tell them you like what they do. It can end there, in a nice gesture, but it can also develop from there; becoming someone you can turn to for advices.

Don’t enter the isolation bubble

Some may love every inch of the networking process while others find the whole processes overwhelming. It is ok to feel like that. Networking is not everyone’s cup of tea.

However, try not to enter the “isolation bubble”. If you feel overwhelmed, take a break, but make sure to get back out there again.

Be patient

It takes time to build a social network and Swedes are particularly slow and conservative in building friendships. Give it time, you will get there, eventually.

E-learning courses for your best job experience

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed about finding work in Sweden? Or do you have a job and feel your salary doesn’t match your skills. Or, do you not quite get the unwritten rules at your new job? We’ve got you covered. We know how hard it can be to find a job, get the right pay and feel comfortable in your new Swedish job so we’ve created digital courses with all the information you need:

 

After finishing these courses, you will be able to navigate your Swedish work situation with skill and comfort.

Missing something? Or does something feel unclear? Contact us and help us improve.

Step two: Get visible on the work market

How are employers going to find you if they don’t know that you exist? Making yourself visible on the Swedish work market is a crucial step in your job search.

Register with the public employment agency – Arbetsförmedlingen

Your first step should be to register with the national work agency – the so-called Arbetsförmedlingen, AMS. You will enter the whole official “job-seeking-process” by doing so. It is smart to do this right away, as you may be entitled to establishing support – etableringspaket, or some other kind of work program.

The purpose of these programmes is to facilitate your entrance into the Swedish job market and they do sometimes come with some sort of financial support.  But, don’t settle for just registering with AMS, make sure to try other channels too. Learn more about the Public employment agency – Arbetsförmedlingen here.

Register on different job sites

This is a simple way of showing the labour market you exist. Upload your CV and personal letter on various job sites and make sure to keep track on the different job offers that might pop up. Search on Google or Bing for “Jobsites + Sweden” and you will find a number of job sites that cater to the non-Swedish speaking.

Register at staffing agencies

Another option is to work for a work agency – a so-called bemanningsföretag. The number of staffing agencies in Sweden has increased rapidly over the last years. Working for a staffing agency means that you belong to their “staff” and they send you out on “working missions” to different companies.

There are however certain downsides – you never really know when or where you will work, making it hard to combine with other commitments like family and friends but it can be a good starting point. Learn more about staffing agencies here.

Use the Internet

The internet is a great way to connect and let people know you exist. It is cheap and remarkably effective when properly used. Some alternatives are:

  • LinkedIn. Create a profile, connect and make sure to keep your profile updated.
  • Keep track of organizations, companies and people on social media. Following people, organizations and companies you admire can be quite instructive. Seeing what others do and how they do it can give you ideas on how to do it yourself. It can also work as an inspiration that encourages you to keep on searching.
  • Make your own website. Why don’t you make your own website or blog? It is a fairly easy way to make work samples accessible for a broad public. Give it some thought, especially, if you e.g. work within a creative field where work samples are important.

E-learning courses for your best job experience

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed about finding work in Sweden? Or do you have a job and feel your salary doesn’t match your skills. Or, do you not quite get the unwritten rules at your new job? We’ve got you covered. We know how hard it can be to find a job, get the right pay and feel comfortable in your new Swedish job so we’ve created digital courses with all the information you need:

 

After finishing these courses, you will be able to navigate your Swedish work situation with skill and comfort.

Missing something? Or does something feel unclear? Contact us and help us improve.

Step one: make yourself interesting for employers

There are some basics things that you can do to increase your attractiveness on the Swedish work market.

Learn Swedish

To work is to give, take and process information in spoken and written form. You must interact with Swedes – on their own terms  – in order to work here and that means speaking Swedish. Learn more about where and how to learn Swedish here.

Study

Another way to be more interesting to the work market is to study (or to complement your studies). Study something you always dreamt of or something needed on the Swedish work market. Getting the right skills can work as a key into the Swedish work market.

Get a driving license

A driving license isn’t only a requirement for many professions, it will also increase your mobility and make it possible for you to actually get to work. Learn more on how to require a Swedish driving license here.

Value yourself

Note your strengths and qualities. What are you good at? What makes you special? You’re usually good at things you like to do. Ask yourself what you enjoy doing and why. Note that your strengths can change over time. Yet, note that Swedes are generally humble and bragging is frowned upon.

Figure out what you want

Knowing what we want is a crucial step in actually getting it. Approaching the work market without the slightest clue about what you like to do is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Do you like to work with people? Words? Or maybe digital solutions? Do you want to work fulltime? Part-time? Or would you rather be a freelancer? The options are endless.

Move where the work is

Moving to a different location in Sweden can make things easier work wise.

E-learning courses for your best job experience

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed about finding work in Sweden? Or do you have a job and feel your salary doesn’t match your skills. Or, do you not quite get the unwritten rules at your new job? We’ve got you covered. We know how hard it can be to find a job, get the right pay and feel comfortable in your new Swedish job so we’ve created digital courses with all the information you need:

 

After finishing these courses, you will be able to navigate your Swedish work situation with skill and comfort.

Missing something? Or does something feel unclear? Contact us and help us improve

How to start looking for work

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start looking for work. Here are some tips to get you started.

  1. Register at the Employment office – Arbetsförmedlingen. This you must do at one of their offices.
  2. Look for jobs at Arbetsförmedlingen. (This section is in Swedish so you may need help from a friend).
  3. Read up about being new in Sweden at Arbetsförmedlingen.
  4. Tell family and friends that you are looking for a job.
  5. Verbalize your knowledge, your experiences and talents in a CV and personal letter.
  6. Use social media to let people know you are looking for work.
  7. Take personal contact with possible employers.
  8. Want to start your own business? Arbetsförmedlingen can help newbies in this venture. (This page is in Swedish but there are PDF’s in a number of languages)

E-learning courses for your best job experience

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed about finding work in Sweden? Or do you have a job and feel your salary doesn’t match your skills. Or, do you not quite get the unwritten rules at your new job? We’ve got you covered. We know how hard it can be to find a job, get the right pay and feel comfortable in your new Swedish job so we’ve created digital courses with all the information you need:

 

After finishing these courses, you will be able to navigate your Swedish work situation with skill and comfort.

Missing something? Or does something feel unclear? Contact us and help us improve.