Work in Scandinavia

If you are looking for work in Scandinavia you might find your next job here.

Necessity of having a job in Scandinavia

If you have to have a wonderful experience as an expatriate in the Scandinavia then work is a must. It is common mistake for people to think that just moving to Scandinavia guarantees their prosperity. This is not the case. If anything, to succeed in the Scandinavia and wider Europe, it even requires extra hard work.

Why do I say this? In the Scandinavia, you must pay for virtually everything that you use. Without a half a kroner, the bus driver will not ride with you. Again, bills have to be paid within the given deadline or else extra fee is charged for the entire period after the lapse of given last date.

Being a developed region, you expect that utilities including heating, electricity, water, garbage collection and rent are all provided, but at a fee. Without a job, you will likely slump into financial crisis and be thrown out of your apartment.  

Jobs in Scandinavia

The nature of jobs in the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway and Sweden are more or less the same. You will have a variety of jobs including professional, unskilled and semi-skilled ones.

The most competitive professional jobs which should also attract an expat due to scarcity of local workers include engineering, information technology, medicine, nursing, public health, construction, agriculture, maritime, and food industry.

There are also seasonal unskilled jobs in the agricultural sector, hauling and shipping sectors. During summer, most Scandinavian countries experiences a surge in the number of tourists hence a lot of jobs are available in the hospitality industry.

Typical part time jobs in the Scandinavia which in most cases are open to semi-skilled or unskilled workers is in cleaning, distribution of mail, and being shop attendant. 

Secret to Finding a job in Scandinavia

One guarantee for any expat is that you will never mis something to do in the Scandinavia. In essence, there is a job for everyone in Scandinavia. However, there is a rider to this notion.

If you are going to discriminate the jobs as an expatriate then you have lost it even before you embark on a search. Some of the jobs that anyone would dismiss as being a preserve of failures in the society such as cleaning, bus driving, taxi driving, receptionist, dish-washing or service attendant in supermarkets are actually done by educated people.

The overriding idea is that most jobs, including the ones which require physical effort are to a great extent automated. This means you will not expend a lot of energy to do it. Moreover, occupation health and safety is a priority in every workplace. 

Networks and Referrals

You must also be ready to make social networks who will connect you to every available job opportunity. If you are introvert then Scandinavia will force you to change it. You must talk out with everyone especially if you do not speak the native language i.e Swedish, Danish or Norwegian.

Most jobs are advertised in the local languages which means you will need a speaker of that language to give you a heads up. The greatest advise an expatriate should take is never to ignore contacts whatsoever.

Because you are a foreigner on a job hunt, you cannot afford to lose any opportunity to strike a rapport with someone who knows someone else with information about a job. Scandinavians value referrals because they trust someone known to the network than an absolute stranger. 

Job Application

As much as you have a variety of qualifications, Scandinavia is not where you will need to carelessly list everything in your C.V. It is important to read through the specific job advertised and tailor your application to it. You only need to highlight the elements of your qualification which match the job so that it stands out.

The rest of irrelevant information will be disregarded as fluff. You must know that job applications sometimes attract several applications and being an expatriate, all you need is to grab the attention of the selection panel. Besides, you can make both random/unsolicited application as well as targeted ones to job advertisements. 

Job Openings in Scandinavia

Typically, there are feeds of information on new job openings in Scandinavia on a minute to minute basis. All you need to do is check out on the right channels where they are advertised. Being the first one to see the advertisement gives you ample time to structure the application or send it in before anyone else does.

Some of the places to check out jobs include local dailies, job sites, referrals, Facebook groups and pages, and just random applications to a company of interest. Again, each municipality has a job center and a job website. The Job center is tasked to help every legal immigrant to get a fitting job. They connect the employers and matching employees. Always check out the job center within your locality when living in Scandinavia.