(edit title) Swedish Fluent Enough to Work? How long did it take to find work in your field? Options

[gplusa]

I think you're spot on with your thoughts. Already having a visa, and even a basic level of Swedish will help employers look past those potential issues and onto the skills that you do have. That was certainly my experience. The knew that my Swedish was crap, but could see that I was trying to fix that problem, and it wasn't going to be a problem they would be stuck with forever. I've been working for 4 years now with an engineering consultancy and I would say that 95% of my submitted written work has been in Swedish, and probably 99% of verbal work has been in Swedish. Which meant of course, that I was of bugger all use at the start, having just a couple of months of Swedish under my belt. The only time I've used English at work has been with offshore clients. Occasionally I get calls from people in our other offices around Sweden who are wanting a correct technical translation either to or from English. It's not a total disaster, mind. Once people realise you're from out of town (which takes about 2 words) they are pretty good at tuning into you. I often see a glint of confusion from a new client or colleague when I first speak, but it's completely gone the next tme we speak. You'll pick up the technical language reasonably quickly, the same words and phrases pop up again and again. TNC (Terminologicentrum) supply some very good technical language translation dictionaries.

[CameraMan]

In my experience it's the same as any country - it's more who you know than what you know. After 2 months here I got a good job in my field thanks to a friend. My Swedish at the time was very poor.

Recently I've moved to a new town and can't get a job washing windows or cleaning plates in a bar. And this 5 years later with a very decent Swedish level.

[dejan.p]

Thank you for your both for your useful responses. My plan is to first have a crack at applying for a sponsored visa first, because I cannot afford to go to sweden and study for months and wait and hope to get work. If I dont have any luck then I will go back to Australia and work while studying Swedish while I wait for my partner visa to be approved. This way I can save up and go to Sweden with a better visa, some Swedish and more money. Does anyone here by any chance know how long that visa takes to process? Also does anyone have any experience on the employers preference, working holiday or partner visa? Gplusa, can you recommend any engineering consulting companies to apply for? Also I have heard that in the mining sector there is a lot of work, is that the case and is it any easier to get a job there?

Thanks Guys.

[gplusa]

My visa, which was relationship based as I had been married to a Swede for a few years, took about 5 months to come through. 4 of those 5 months were spent siting in a processing pile on a desk in Sweden. The embassy in Canberra did their part very quickly. What branch of engineering do you work in ? There are a number of international consultancies in Sweden and large mining engineering companies which might be of use to you. And vice versa.

[dejan.p]

That is what I was worried about, that the visa will take too long, so I think my plan to try and get sponsored first is good, as that is a very quick visa (at least I heard). I am a civil engineer and my experience is mainly in design of highways and infrastructure projects, however I have done small civil jobs too. I am however happy to consider anything such as mining, if I must, or take a lower position even as a drafter just to get over there and get started.

[gplusa]

Roads and bridge design are a great ticket in. Those departments in my company have not had to go chasing a single contract in the 4 years that I've been working with them. The government transportation agency has started contracting all its design work out to private consultancies. If you've got good Cad skills then you won't have too much trouble getting a foot in the door.

[gplusa]

Sweco and WSP are currently looking for roading designers. Check out their websites to give you a bit of background info for when you're ready.

[dejan.p]

I have a lot of experience with CAD, and modelling and designing of roads. You have given me a little bit of hope! Cheers. I will give them a crack.

[gplusa]

Give me a yell if you're looking to apply to any of those companies. I've been through the exact same process from the same distance with the same companies. So I can give you a bit of a heads up.

[HannahSwain]

I got really lucky. I was about to move from Amsterdam to London for my career (IT consultant/information architect in SharePoint, high demand), was already in contact with headhunters and whatnot. But because I had always wanted to move to Sweden, I chose two companies that looked interesting: neither of them had specific job openings specific to my skill set but I liked the branding, the company sizes and location (Stockholm). So I wrote them both an application letter, telling how I had picked up Dutch and understood how important it was to learn the language. I also said that my goal was to be at a basic conversational level within six months.

Much to my surprise, one of them jumped on me and I started a new job in Stockholm two months later. It's a real struggle when everyone around you is speaking Swedish, when most of the work documentation is in Swedish, etc. On the other hand, I'm learning very, very quickly.

I haven't gotten into SFI yet due to dealing with the personnummer, personbevis, then the cutoff date is about two months before the course actually starts... so I'm keeping my eyes open for ways to learn Swedish more formally.

My tips would be to be open about your level of language, discuss what impact it might have on your work/profitability and explain what you're going to do to learn Swedish. In hindsight, I wonder if I'll make the six months but it's a good goal to work towards. I think my personal conviction and drive to learn made a huge difference.

[dejan.p]

Hanna, thanks for your response. I want to do the same, select a few companies that I am very interested in and just get in touch and see if there are any opportunities. I am unsue in what manner to do this; to talk to HR and exchange a few emails about job opportunities or just go straight in there with the Cover Letter and CV. In my CV I have a section that lists that I can speak English, Serbo-Croatian as well as Spanish and I have also Swedish and within brackets that I was very keen to learn Swedish once in the country. Do you think it is necessary to talk about learning the language in the Cover Letter? If so, should it be a large section? I am unsure how it works in Sweden and how to balance my technical experience and reasoning for moving to sweden in the cover letter without making it too long.

[HannahSwain]

I'd send a well written email to HR/recruiting, then follow up after whatever time seems to make the most sense (a full week or 10 days, for example).

If all of their job openings are in Swedish or say that they require Swedish, then I think it's silly to not mention it at all - especially if you're applying English. Recognize it, address it and get on with your letter. One paragraph should be plenty.

How you write and communicate will be just as important as what you say.