FAQ: WORKING IN SWEDEN
Whether you’re looking for a job in Sweden while living abroad or while currently in Sweden, or would like to expand your network or improve your CV, we've got you covered.
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How can I start looking for jobs in Sweden while living abroad?
It is always good to start looking for jobs before coming to Sweden. LinkedIn is widely used and very popular among Swedish professionals, and could be a great place to start!
You can also look for jobs at various job sites, such as The Local Jobs, Indeed, CareerBuilder, Monster, Lediga Jobb, Jobbsafari and Jobbland (learn more about Swedish workplace culture and find jobs). Some of these sites are only available in Swedish, so you might need a translation feature on your browser.
The Swedish Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) also has its own jobsite, which is called Platsbanken. It is important if you are a non-EU jobseekers who needs a work permit to make sure that the job you applied for is advertised in Arbetsförmedlingen’s Platsbanken or EURES job portal for at least 10 days before you receive an offer for the job.
EURES job portal is the site you can go to find a job in Sweden if you are an EU citizen. EURES has different services to support EU job seekers including consultation and financial support under the mobility scheme called “EURES Targeted Mobility Scheme”.
Where can I start looking for jobs if I am currently living in Sweden?
Apart from the job sites mentioned above, you can use recruitment agencies to find a job in Sweden. You can create an account and register your CV on these agencies’ websites. You can also browse through many job openings at companies and organisations that cooperate with the agencies. If there is an opening that matches your CV, you will be contacted by the agency consultants and the interview process will begin.
These are some of the biggest recruitment agencies in Sweden where you can register your CV, some of which specifically aim for international talents:
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Incluso (specific for international talents)
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Beyondo (international talents-friendly)
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Jobbentren (for migrants with refugee background in Stockholm area)
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Whether you’re still living abroad or if you have already moved to Sweden, you may be keen to know if and how your foreign qualifications can be validated in Sweden. For general information about the authorization and recognition of foreign qualifications in Sweden, check this information provided by the Swedish Council for Higher Education (Universitäts-och högskolerådet/UHR) and perhaps try out their Qualification Assessment Tool.
How can I start building my network in Sweden?
Many jobs in Sweden are not advertised openly at job sites! A closed recruitment within the employer’s network is quite common. Because of this, networking becomes one of the keys to the Swedish job market. Research about job-seeking newcomers shows that the most helpful entry path in the Swedish labour market is a network with Swedes and other international professionals!
The easiest way to build your network is through LinkedIn, which is extremely popular among professionals in Sweden. After signing up, complete every section on your profile to showcase your skills and achievements.
Introduce yourself in the “about” section to make sure your visitors know who you are and what you are looking for. Follow key people within your field and interact with their posts. You can also be active and create your own posts. You will soon be within the radar of employers and recruiters from your target companies!
To learn more about how to build your LinkedIn profile, follow New to Sweden and especially Working in Sweden on LinkedIn. We regularly post tips for jobseekers, including how to improve your LinkedIn profile!
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An additional way to help you expand your network is to go to job/career fairs, which are recruitment events which facilitate face-to-face interaction between job-seeking individuals and potential employers. Attending such events, for example in Stockholmsmässan (in Stockholm) which facilitates a wide range of trade fairs, conferences and events, can be extremely useful in that it allows jobseekers to directly meet and engage employers without having to rely on recruiters. As such, they are useful networking opportunities and this interaction can give you a much better insight into the industry/organisations/companies you’re interested in. Once you’ve gained new knowledge through direct interaction, you can not only build rapport and network with relevant people who work for a given company, but also find out which firms are open to English-speaking hires.
Finally, you can also expand your professional network by connecting with an established professional who has a similar background to yours. This can be done through the digital matching service Yrkesdörren. The main aim of this integration initiative is to shorten the path of foreign-borns into the Swedish labour market. They do this by connecting foreign-borns with knowledge/experience in a given industry with established Swedish people who also work in this industry. It is therefore a very good opportunity for internationals who are not yet established in the Swedish job-market to exchange their professional knowledge and experiences in one or several meeting(s) with another professional (called ‘Door Opener’) and by doing so, expand their professional network in Sweden.
Which organizations can help me build my network with established Swedes?
If you need more help to build your professional network in Sweden, these organizations or programs may be able to help you:
Yrkesdörren is an online platform where international jobseekers can sign up and be matched with an established Swede in their field. The matching pair will arrange a one-hour meeting where the newcomer can learn more about the industry and the job in Sweden, as well as receive some tips regarding the job search and application. At the end of the meeting, the established Swedes should introduce or refer someone within their network to the newcomer to broaden their network.
Mitt Liv Chans is a mentoring program created by Mitt Liv AB that occurs 2 times a year for 4 months. Newcomers with an upper secondary education may register themselves and they will be matched with an established person in the labour market as a mentor. Together with their mentors, the newcomers will learn about the job application process and the work culture in Sweden.
Nema Problema is an NGO with a mentoring program which lasts for 8 months. A newcomer will be matched with an established Swede based on their similar education and job experience. They will meet at least once per month and exchange knowledge, experience, and contacts during the mentorship period. Nema Problema's mentoring program is only available for newcomers in Stockholm or Uppsala. See the website for more information.
Where can I get help and advice on my CV, cover letters and interview skills?
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In Sweden, the recruitment process typically consists of the following stages:
• Applications collecting and screening
• Job Interview(s)
• Assessment tests/Case studies
• References and background checks
We regularly post job search tips to help you improve your CV and cover letters, as well as tips on how to help you ace your interviews! We also have a Ready to Work program specifically for international job-seekers on how to write a CV, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile that attracts Swedish employers. And stay tuned to our LinkedIn company page, New to Sweden to learn all about our work with employers and advocacy for internationals in Sweden.
As a newcomer, you can also register at the public employment service (Arbetsförmedlingen). You can receive help from a job coach/case officer in planning your job search and skills development. Arbetsförmedlingen’s website offers some tips and templates on how to write your CV and cover letter in Swedish. They also have some useful tips on their Youtube channel.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools
In addition to the support New To Sweden and Arbetsfördmedlingen offer with CV, cover letters and interview skills, you perhaps also want to employ AI tools to help you with these aspects. Both Careerflow.ai and Teal are modern AI-powered platforms that can help you with ATS-friendly resume building, keyword optimization, tailored cover letters, job tracking and even auto-filling applications. They could also be useful in terms of helping you adapt your CV to a writing style commonly used in the Swedish context. Careerflow has a free tier that's quite generous.
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This article/guide created by Talentinsight explains quite clearly how AI is nowadays increasingly being used in recruitment to support tasks such as job advertising, CV screening, interview scheduling and candidate communication. It highlights both the potential benefits and the challenges of using AI in recruitment processes and offers some good practice tips in terms of building recruitment processes.
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Preparing for an (AI) interview
If you’re interested in how it might feel to do an actual AI interview during the job-hunting process, you might find this article from the British newspaper The Guardian of interest. This short video-recording created by Indeed offers some helpful advice about how you could prepare for an AI job-interview.
Should you be or hope to soon be an international student in Sweden, you could read these tips from the Study in Sweden website. They focus on what’s best avoided when doing a job-interview in the Swedish context.
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Preparing for recruitment tests
As part of the assessment stage, applicants are often required to do one or even several tests to assess to what extent a candidate is suitable for a given job. If you’re not used to doing such tests, it may be helpful to familiarise yourself with common test providers used by Swedish companies. Below are a few examples of such international test providers which are often used by Swedish companies - you might want to take advantage of the practice tests on their websites. See for example here for AON’s practice inductive logical reasoning task. SHL is specialised in designing ability tests and personality questionnaires. A range of practice tests can be accessed on their website to help you prepare for taking such tests. Finally, Hogan offers some very clear general information about personality tests on their website. You may also find the Truity website of interest – see for instance these example questions about the five main personality traits often focused on in personality assessments in Sweden.
However, please note that many large international companies might use their own personality/culture fit/cognitive/professional tests.​
Where can I find an internship in Sweden?
Internship positions are usually advertised on LinkedIn and job sites as well. However, if you need more help or to increase your chance in getting an internship, you can participate in these programs:
Jobbsprånget is a four months internship program at various Swedish companies organised by the Royal Academy of Engineering Science (IVA) in Sweden. If you are a non-EU professional with an academic degree in architecture, engineering, business, science, or other, you can apply for an internship program through Jobbsprånget. In order to participate in the program, you need to have a working permit which is not a student visa and be registered in Arbetsförmedlingen.
If you are registered with Arbetsförmedlingen and have a university degree or two years of higher education, you might have an internship opportunity through the Korta Vägen program. Korta Vägen is a program to speed up labour market integration of academic migrants. It entails full time study within your professional field, job coaching, profession-specific language lesson, and an internship at a Swedish workplace. Depending on where you live, you might take part in Korta Vägen in various educational institutions, such as Folkuniversitet and Academicum.
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The Swedish social enterprise Mitt Liv offers specialised support for international jobseekers, especially foreign professionals with post-secondary education, so this may apply to you. Support is offered in the form of a fully digital mentorship program and it is aimed at helping jobseekers overcome barriers in the Swedish labour market. Their program focuses in particular on networking, job search strategy and on helping participants develop their cultural understanding/awareness.
Where can I volunteer in Sweden?
Volunteering can provide you with some valuable Swedish experience, and volunteer activities on your CV help employers better understand your personality and motivations. It's always a good option to volunteer while searching for jobs!
Below are the organizations in Sweden where you can look for volunteering opportunities:
And if you would like to volunteer with New to Sweden, just let us know! You can contact us for more information.
Is there a practical training program for jobseekers in Sweden?
There certainly is. New To Sweden’s Ready to Work program is a free 3-course online program for jobseekers in Sweden who are looking to launch their careers here. Each course is a 90-minute interactive session led by an award-winning recruiter. You’ll learn the most effective ways to write your CV, build a strong network, connect with other jobseekers, and practice job interviews! You can register for the program whether you’re based abroad or in Sweden. For more information, follow this link.
Keep an eye on our website and social media platforms and you will be notified whenever there is a new event. You can find information at:
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The Ready to Work page on our website: newtosweden.org/readytoworkprogram
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LinkedIn: New To Sweden and Working In Sweden
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Instagram: @New To Sweden
What’s the typical work culture in Sweden like?
The typical work culture in Sweden can be a bit different from the culture we might have come from. Swedish workplaces are non-hierarchical, which means that even if there are job titles and various management levels, you still call your managers and supervisors by their first name.
Regular meetings ensure that everyone is kept up-to-date with what happens and to make sure their opinions are heard and considered. At most Swedish workplaces, you can wear comfortable business casual clothes. You do not need to wear suits for men and high heels for women.
Swedish workplaces also have fika time, which usually happens around 14.00. It's a time when everyone takes a break from their work, drinks a cup of coffee or tea and socializes with their coworkers. You usually do not talk about work during fika, since it’s the time to get to know your coworkers.
And finally, working overtime in Sweden is not seen as a good thing and taking some hours off to pick up your children from school is normal. Work-life balance is highly respected and employees get many weeks of paid holidays.
