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Poor Swedish shouldn't stop English-speakers from getting job
'Why won't Swedes hire English speakers?'
After six months in Sweden, US native Joe Beaumier reflects on the difficulties foreigners who speak English face landing a job in Sweden when they're unable to speak advanced Swedish.
Published: 03 Jan 2013 14:41 CET
Usually I'm the one critical of those who complain. That's why I need to initially beg your pardon for this therapeutically cathartic article.
What is the big deal about learning Swedish before someone will hire you? Do I really need to speak Swedish to clean your toilet or shovel snow from your steps?
You can't imagine how many times I've heard someone say I need to speak Swedish because, “our clients only speak Swedish,” or, “there are safety issues you need to understand.”
Really?
I moved to Stockholm six months ago, and being a new immigrant I knew I would be starting from scratch. Hence the jobs I've been applying for are your typical manual labour: cleaning, dish washing, janitor-type work.
I calculated that since Stockholm is the capital of Scandinavia, and because every Swede I've ever met speaks better English than I do (and I'm from the US) that I could probably find a basic entry-level job and be able to get by with beginner Swedish vocabulary.
Not so. I was even passed over three times to dress and wave at people as a Christmas elf!
I'll admit my CV probably isn't in perfect Swedish or as articulate as I would like it to be. I only have a BA and it's in the humanities field. But I'm a young man in my late 20s in good shape; can I at least do some labour jobs?
One of the best ways to learn a language is total immersion - exactly what I would get working here.
I'm waiting for my personal number to come in the mail (yes, it's also taken six months to get this far, but that's a different story), and unfortunately I'm not independently wealthy enough to continue with Swedish classes before hopefully finding a job.
Is it because Swedes are afraid their language will become a minority in their own country? That was my initial thought.
I read about the Million Homes (Miljonprogrammet) project Sweden started in the 1960s, and I can understand if Swedes aren't accustomed to immigrants, at least compared with what I'm used to coming from the United States.
And I can see how these fears would be reinforced because from what I see Swedish is already a minority language in some of the districts around Stockholm.
Which brings up the second reason why Swedes might be so persistent in a Swedish-only policy: in the long-term people can integrate into Swedish society better if they speak Swedish.
I'll concede I have to agree with that. And as I understand it, people can even receive a stipend while they attend government-sponsored Swedish courses.
Good, people in the Swedish government are thinking in the long-term.
This doesn't help me though because I'm only here for a year, and I can imagine there are lots of other people who would also like to be working instead of waiting for their personal number and then going to classes for who knows how long before they can start searching for a job.
Especially with English-speakers. Our languages are already almost mutually intelligible.
Are there really so many Swedes that can't give basic commands in English? “Wash this; put the trash here.”
I was once turned down for a job as a dishwasher because the boss was trying to encourage the three other Spanish dishwashers in the restaurant to speak more Swedish.
“That's fine,” I said, I can also speak Spanish.
No, they wanted to encourage Swedish. It's not even a major European language. I know Americans have a bad reputation for expecting everyone to speak English, but that's not me. I can get by in several other major languages, but sorry, not Swedish.
At least I'm not living in Finland.
So for all the Swedish people who happen to read this, my message for you is this: it's okay to hire someone who speaks English. You may even have a pleasant cultural exchange with someone from a different country.
Joe Beaumier came to Sweden to be with his partner while she studied. He is interested in immigration and history and enjoys living in new places.
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I've been living here for over 9 years and have had NO problems in finding work for Swedish companies even though I initally only spoke English. Every company I've worked for (total of 3 now) I've never spoken Swedish as a core part of my role and every company has found my native English as a benifit for their business.
Maybe it's your experience, personality or choice of roles, Joe.
Well that might explain something (unless it's a big exaggeration).
I majorly speak English here. I have no problem till today at my work place.
I think, Swedes do not like 'pushy' and 'bossy' people which really makes sense. Since I never found a Swede who is pushy and bossy as some other nationalities.
Wow, that is a sad statement on your education and ability, frankly.
"Swedish is already a minority language in some of the districts around Stockholm"
Sorry, but you have not been here long enough to make such sweeping and inaccurate observations. I think you are mimicking something you heard over a beer from some down-on-his-luck racist. I lived in V?erg/Sk?olmen for a while and Swedish was by far the dominant language.
"I know Americans have a bad reputation for expecting everyone to speak English, but that's not me."
Oh please. You just wrote an article bitching about Swedes who want to speak Swedish rather than English in the Swedish workplace. They did not create their companies to make you comfortable and you should not demand that they speak a language they are not comfortable with just to satisfy your needs. There are plenty of Swedish speakers who need such jobs, why in the world would you expect them to give those jobs to you? You sound as if you think you are entitled. If you owned a company in America and someone who could not speak a lick of English but spoke Spanish applied for a job, would you even consider them? Get real.
Joe, I'm an American and have been here 10 years. I got a job in an English-speaking environment within a week after my arrival in Stockholm, and no, I did not prepare for it before my arrival; I just sent out some CVs. It was an excellent job that lasted six years and was not in a field for which I was trained. It certainly was not washing dishes or shoveling snow. But my story is not unusual since most of my English-speaking expat colleagues were in the same boat. In fact, in my rather large network of expat friends from English-speaking countries, I cannot think of one who is unemployed currently. But it took them some time to land their first job. The key was that they had to speak a bit of Swedish, enough to show they are serious about integrating. Apparently, EVERYONE knows that but you.
You haven't been here long enough to whine this way. And why are you getting a personnummer if you are only here for -a year? I really get the impression you want everyone to adjust to suit your situation. Sorry, the world does not work that way.
Anyway Mr Beaumier, your ancestor were probably French and between 30% to 50% (if you consider direct or derivative use) of all English words have a French origin.This fact suggests that more than 80,000 English words are actually French. Your statement regarding Swedish is therefore valid for French: "Especially with English-speakers. Our languages are already almost mutually intelligible".
Despite this "proximity" one of your ancestors understood that he could not make it with French language only and he had to learn the local language when he emigrated to the US. I believe that you should understand that you should speak the local language in Sweden.
You are either a complete moron, or this is just another ficticious article by TL to draw in advertising revenue.
You're an American , that's the answer ! They're afraid of you . They're jealous of you , simply because you were born in the united states of America .
Sweden literally copies every F.... Thing from the USA . They even believe they speak better English than everyone else in Europe , that their accen sounds like American , Lmfao :xD
I know when you move to a new country you should speak their local language , but Joe is here for a year . Get it ? He'd be able to get a job in every country but not in Sweden , do you know why ? because Humanity doesn't exist here . They're as cold as their Winter ! It's sad tho .
Learning this useless language would be the biggest waste of time, I've been here three years and I know what I'm talking about .
I hope You will get a job anyway , try to find someone who's background is foreign . They understand what humanity means .
Every swede who travels or lives in America should be treated the same .
These people are so in insecure , you should never ever trust them .
Expert engineer (say, software developer), project leader, CEO - no problem only speaking English.
Shovelling snow, delivering packages - then you need to know Swedish. Your boss might not speak anything else than broken swedish and arabic. Or estonian. Or turkish. Or whatever... :p
I am signing up to learn Swedish before I send in any paperwork. I want to show respect to Sweden, her citizens and visitors. Sometimes it is just that simple.
Best of luck!
Joe I am with you... sort of... I am an American that moved here 7 months ago (residency permit w/ personal number) and haven't found work yet either (I was a portfolio analyst before coming here). At one time I was applying to between 10-15 jobs a week. I have changed my CV and cover letters probably 25 times since I have been here (which may be important even for basic labor jobs) and am still not sure I have gotten it right. I agree it is difficult but maybe you approach is all wrong. May want to think about going to someone who specializes in this field, or a temp agency (though I haven't been able to find one) to see if they can help (also job coaching though I have heard some horror stories). I had a friend of my father in laws take a look at my CV and give me some advise.
Truth is its tough out there. The only advise I can give you is keep your head up and keep trying. if all else fails there is always the asking for change on the train with a fake crutch trick...haha
Good Luck and don't let these haters get you down...I'm sure they have never had a tough time in their life because of their "work ethic and go-getter attitude" that you and I obviously do not share.
I was recruited from Australia as a professional engineer, and with a global company our official business language is english. So I have had no troubles, and am able to learn Swedish at my own leisure, and gradually.
My partner, who is an administrative worker, automatically qualified for a work permit along with me, and would like to remain independent. After 18 months is still looking for work. Now is changing Swedish schools after spending too much time struggling at one full of immigrants who are paid by the Swedish government to attend each day.
My partner receives no government payments as my salary is too high. And it seems that for manual labour jobs Swedish employers prefer a more foreign looking employee.
My advice is, if you don't already have a job lined up, don't come to Sweden until you have learnt Swedish to a high school level.
The only place I had problems with people refusing to speak English and generally being unhelpful in regards to people unable to speak the language was, ironically, Migrationsverket.
Everywhere else, from highly trained engineers to sausage stands and supermarket workers, people have been nothing but helpful and switching to English as soon as they got the slightest inkling that I had troubles speaking their language (sometimes even more than I would have liked - I need to practice, after all).
I agree that it is likely a problem with the attitude of the writer and/or the level of the jobs he applies for. In an engineering environment, the correspondence language might already be English, whereas in a low-level job, people will not be expected to speak English in the first place.
However, my money is on the attitude. In my experience, Swedish people will fall over themselves to help you if you as much as try to reach out a hand from your direction to show that you are interested in solving a problem and creating communication. If you go in with the idea that this is something only they have to solve for your sake, they will however not be so inclined. It is a group effort, not a "I don't speak Swedish, deal with it" situation.
You are from a country that is not in shambles. You're not here for work, you're j here for your girlfriend. You have no children. You're educated and have a college degree in "humanities". And you don't speak the language.
Have you worked in restaurants before? Have you mopped floors before? Everyone with a college degree thinks just anyone can do that, but it turns out hard work is actually hard. Most people quit.
Take it from the employers perspective. If you can't speak Swedish, you need to make up for it in other areas, mainly in the "probability you'll be sticking around longer then a few weeks" area. You might say otherwise, but the chances of you not sticking around very long are high. You'll either leave the country or eventually find a better job (probably doing tourist stuff in the summer) or just get sick of washing dishes or mopping floors and not show up one day. Why hire you when they could get someone who's here with their family and are very happy just to have a job?
Maybe work on your applications a bit. Leave out the fact that you have a degree... whatever humanity it's in is detrimental to getting job that's not in the Peace Corps. Highlight any work you've done that is related to work being offered.
Also, you're probably going to have to just wait until the personal number comes in before anyone will hire you, unless you find something under the table....
Good luck!
"Is there some innate aversion Swedes have to hiring someone who doesn't speak Swedish? "
Innate aversion? Is it in the genes of the Swedes? Are they genetically inferior to the Americans? Are other people superior over the Swedes? You sure use some scary words.
Why not ask if people in general have issues hiring someone who doesn`t speak the same language as they do? As it is now your article just looks like Swede bashing.
Yes, it is in the genes of the Swedes. Whether it makes them inferior to the Americans or not is subjective. Americans are quite geneticallty mixed compared to Swedes, where inbreed has been popular until quite recently.
I am now retired and reside in Canada but have European roots. Life is not always a piece of cake. Take a deep breath, start observing and learning what is around you, If you do not understand a behavior or a custom, ask for an explanation from a Swede. I am sure you have talents that your host country will appreciate, you just have to get that chip off your shoulder.
There are other reasons for turning you down, and it is most probably NOT because you are an immigrant.
But employers are seldom honest when telling WHY they turn you down, and just grab what is close at hand as a reason. And the language comes in handy in that situation.
Of course you should learn Swedish - if not by other reasons then at least because it would be polite to do so. I learned Swahili when working in East Africa, and it gave me a lot in return.
Swedes are "afraid" to employ people, because it is more difficult to get rid of them again when they are not needed, than to divorce. I am sure you have met that stance in the "right to work"-debate in USA.
One real reason to turn you down MAY be because you are an American with a BA, but not because of what you think.
The thing is that if somebody need labor for cleaning toilets, they don't look for academic people who can speak for themselves. To start with, an academic is not likely to stay on the job for long. Secondly, he may be harder to get rid of when he are not needed. It gives responsibility to hire somebody with education, but less if hiring a vulnerable person from the street. "Easy come, easy go". I am not talking of deliberate policies, but about subtle and unconscious feelings.
There could f course be special cases when an employer already has 9 guys from Iraq, maybe he is hesitant to bring in the 10th from USA.
But in general, I think Americans are fairly popular in our society.
So keep trying, and please change position on Swedish. Much of what is English, actually comes from Scandinavian vikings.
Within the first month of moving here, I had 3 job interviews (waitress, social media manager, and games writer). All of the interviews went really well and only the waitress job asked if I spoke Swedish. All jobs 'required' swedish in the job description though.
I ended up getting offered the games writer and social media management jobs with not a word of Swedish at all. The waitress job I think I didn't get because I'd never waited such a busy place before, but it is a tourist bar at a hotel so I don't even think the English would have been a problem.
So within one month I had two great offers (after being scared that I would never ever get a job because of the horror stories on the local). I took one of them and it is the best job I've ever had in my life. I am so happy, and so happy that I took the leap to move here!
So the reason for this post is to say that it is not impossible at all to get a job here if you don't speak Swedish! Network at the expat meetups, start taking SFI right away, if they ask for swedish in a job posting apply anyways if you have the other skills, call up startups for interviews (they get major tax breaks for hiring immigrents - ask your local tax authority) and never give up!
To the original poster, it sucks that you haven't found a job yet, but I guarantee that you will find a job if you are persistant! Good luck to everyone!
good luck though!
Coming from an English language background, this should not take you more than one month, even working in the meanwhile.
Your refusal to learn is not based on lack of resources or time, low education or high difficulty of the task. What exactly is your excuse then? That it is not a major language? That just sounds snobbish. I would hire any person with less endowment in either of those factors but an actual desire to learn and to overcome those language problems over you.
To Joe, I say... you can't get a job without a person number. You cannot get a bank account without a person number. As companies pay by direct deposit, if you worked... they could not deposit your pay. You are competing with a huge group of unemployed Swedes for entry level jobs... why should they hire you over a Swede? If you contacted the Swedish consulate back home as one is supposed to do, and followed all the steps before entering Sweden and-or studied the requirements, you would have read the part about having at least a years resources when you arrive... plus a return ticket.
In my own experience, Joe, I am a highly educated and experienced exec from the States with a Swedish wife. 4.5 years in Sweden. My target companies had huge layoffs within months of my arrival. As a result, I do substitute teaching and carpentry, etc. My wife also works as a vikariat. Both of us are victims of age and economics. I still study Swedish at night school. We feel fortunate!
I realize that at 20 years of age, you probably know everything... I did! When you reflect upon your experiences in another 10 years or so, you will realize that you ran to Sweden with massive blinders on.
If you go home... you may find things nearly as challenging. Home town preference in hiring. Who you know rather than qualifications. Limited work experience. Limited training in practical or technical subjects.
Best wishes!
I went to the govt-funded SFI classes and then worked part-time as a casual English teacher in primary schools while I studied higher levels of Swedish. I also came here with a BA in humanities to be with my partner. I studied Swedish to high school level and then went to uni to study my masters over two years (ironically all in English even though Swedish was a requirement, go figure). I was offered three full-time jobs in teaching while I was working casually for a few years but I wanted to get my studies completed.
Now I'm working as a teacher full-time (and am now qualified) and get this, I work with many foreigners who are not qualified to teach, but just have a degree in something other than teaching. So my message to you is, don't give up. I know many people in positions such as teaching, admin, IT who are not qualified but their employers like them because they have studied and speak English either natively or fluently.
Don't worry about the haters too much here. Some have it easy with walking straight into a job, and more often than not it's not because they're qualified and speak Swedish (or not), but because they know someone who can get them a job (and going by much of the English spelling/grammar of many writing comments, they aren't really qualified to do whatever it is they're doing, otherwise they would at least say their field). Therefore, these people who get jobs through people they know (and not necessarily through what they know) have no idea how it is to struggle with getting a job. It's easy for them to say you're getting nowhere because you're an American with a BA. Trust me, I know these kinds of people and they don't get paid much either. Just keep trying, you'll eventually find something and when you do it will be a good job.
If you're interested in teaching, there are some places that hire casual teachers. Otherwise, good luck and don't give up!
Fact is, Swedes have strong aversion to hiring someone who "is not Swede", not just someone who "doesn't speak Swedish."
Most of Swedes believe to be something special, and the rest of us is worth nothing in their eyes. So, what they really want is you to worship their superiority: by learning their awful language.
The advantages of speaking the local language are so numerous and obvious that they need not be enumerated.
I live in Sweden (and speak the language), but regularly spend time in a part of Africa where people speak Shangaan. With about 700,000 native speakers it is hardly a major language, and there are no courses or other material available for those who want to learn. Nevertheless, I've made a point of acquiring a very rudimentary vocabulary, and strive to expand it at every opportunity. It is amazing how many doors that opens. People may laugh when they hear me struggle, but most also appreciate that I try, instead of just expecting them all to communicate with me in English.
Your position is not helped by your attitude or your fluffy degree, which is probably only good for mopping floors with here anyway. ;)
There are certainly elements of Old Norse in the English language, due to the events of Norwegian Vikings in England and then Danish Vikings settling in Northern England, however there was far more influence from the French after the battle of Hastings, Latin, from the Romans and then entirely English words (from the renaissance, industrial revolution, trade era and modern day) than any of the Old Norse roots.
Infact, there are about double the amount of Old Norse words from other Proto-Germanic cultures present in modern day English.
I would even wager that there are more words originating from English in all of the Nordic languages than there are English words originating from Old Norse or Danish.
If you haven't lived here in sweden as a non-swedish speaker seeking job( not expats!!!), to hell with your advice.
I have so many friends who have graduated with engineering, computer science masters programs, with some having 2, 3 masters... these folks have lived in sweden for several years and speak swedish to professional working proficiency.. most of them still end washing dishes, cleaning. Where else is the world does that happen???
Your English is better than every Swedes. While many Swedes love to hear how great their English skills are and how awesome everything is in Sweden from immigrants, don't prostrate yourself (well a little humble pie does sadly open some doors, but it tastes like butt). Swedes are not superior. Plus, a BA is more educated than the 70 percent of the population that has a gymnasium education. The idea that a high school equivalent education is anything to brag about, allm?ildad, is a confidence trick that has been well played by the government.
Good luck to you. It is not easy here.
An academic degree from an American school is more a disadvantage than a merit in Sweden. You will have had a better education than most Swedish graduates, and it will be held against you.
If nothing else, learn the Swedish expression "jantelagen."
I studies the language become I came and speak fluently, though with an unmistakable accent. Knowing Swedish was irrelevant to finding work. It's all about connections, connections and connections.
I
Having lived in Sweden for about 6 years for family reasons, I learned the language to the degree that I have even done smaller translation jobs from Swedish, but speaking it was not super easy for me. With that, and with better English than of an average Swede, plus with 3 other languages under my belt and a personnummer, I couldn't even get manual jobs such as cleaning (with a professional experience) - because I didn't speak perfect Swedish...
And had to forget about doing anything significant in my own profession, because cultural, academical proficiency is not considered a "decent job" in Sweden.
#47 Tja, j?elagen rulez, big time.
Joe, as an American, from the Land of Free, entrepreneurship and all that, you want to fit into the Swedish socialistic obsession of "you need to look for a job", "find a job", "have a secure job", "you need a job", craddle-to-grave, 9-5 comfy box life?
Well, if you are in Sweden anyway for only a year, why don't you look for some other kind of income? Why do you spend your precious time with looking for a J.O.B. (a.k.a. "just over broke") where you will be dependent on some boss?
There are for example great online businesses you can do with a small starting cost and build it up just in a few months to a level so that it will give you your daily bread.
Did you know? When you do get any job in Sweden, for the first two months you will anyway have no any money for food or rent, because you will get your first pay only after that - so why even spend time with such a thing?
(I am happy to be now in another, smaller, poorer, less developed country where my profession is so much higher appreciated and the entrepeneur spirit is so much higher, people are ten times more open to actually DO things, regardless of that their own language is much more isolated than Swedish.)
For the first time in my life i feel shame for being of swedish heritage....These are not the people my Grandparents had told me about or were so proud to be.....
Is this really a heritage to be proud of....I had often dreamed of the day i could return to the roots of my heritage, but now that i know that i would be accepted this way, simply because i dont speak swedish, has me thinking twice about ever wanting to go their.......
I see your point of view. I have seen many people experience the same. And one thing, if you are applying for a job and your CV does not have a Swedish surname you are in trouble unless you are applying for an area Swedes don't like e.g. some engineering jobs or physics.
I have seen many married woman who by simply changing their surname they started getting positive replies when sending their CVs.
English is the lingua franca. Swedish falls between Uyghur (a Turkic language) and Akan (Niger-Congo) in languages ranked by number of native speakers. It is in the range of #300 in importance. The motivation to learn English is 300 greater than to learn Swedish. Deal with it.
In general, the main fears can be listed as these:
1. Fear that your potential future co-workers will feel uncomfortable, since it is actually embarrassing and difficult for most swedes to speak proper english. I think it's a combination of shame and a frustration that the flow in the conversation isn't easily found since people will avoid lengthy discussions and smalltalk as a consequence.
2. Lack of same culture. Many people do get annoyed when foreigners can't relate to references to popular culture, history, expressions and so on. This makes people uncomfortable.
3. Official communication. Since most information, including things that are essential to understand, are only posted in Swedish (see reason #1), people fear that you will be trouble since you might not understand that essential information, or at least not seek to understand it.
So, what's the conclusion? Well, swedes in general seem to have a poor self esteem, combined with a breast fed fear of conflict. Thus, you experience these symptoms. In the end though, it's bad for both the employer and the potential future employee, as employers potentially miss out on good employees. However, the light in the tunnel is that in the future, as these situations become more common, it will be a competitive advantage to those employers who are to take a chance when they have a job applicant with similar properties (good skills, poor swedish language skills), which would in turn fix the problem since no employer can have a competitive disadvantage over time on a free market.
Hmm . . . it that doesn't happen anywhere else in the world, then why don't these friends of yours pack their bags and move to anyhwhere else in the world, where their multiple master's degrees will be apprieciated and they will promplty be offered jobs commensurate with their education and experience?
As far as I know living in Sweden is not compulsory.
I applied for a job with the following main requirements:
-At least two years of experience in the field (I have three years of multinational experience)
-Fluent English speaking because the person whom I report to is sitting in England (I have been speaking English since I was four)
-System related competence (I consider my knowledge to be advanced in that program)
I got a big fat NO!!!
Later, I called the contact person and her explanation was that I lack enough experience. FmL! Big time Fml! I told her to go through my resume again while I stayed on the line. She opened my resume and was speechless for a few moments. Then the Swedish language issue was mentioned. My Swedish is at the intermediate level but still I switched to Swedish and explained it to her that I fulfill all the requirements and the only answer I get is "not enough experience."
"May be next time you could give an opportunity to someone off the streets. That would change a lot of lives" I said in a friendly tone and hung up.
This is the way employers work here. Sweden is number 1 when it comes to nepotism.
You made me smile... Yep, it is sooo true, exact same thing happened to me. Only difference was I had a few more years experience and broader experience than required.
when confronting the clerk i got the distinct feeling that they did NOT read the CV, I mentioned things and she would go "Ohhh, interesting" and I'd say.. "Its in the CV"...
I too changed my CV a million times, had 300,000 cover letters, toned it down and excluded everything one could be proud of achieving, only then did I finally get an interview.
Now I do speak Swedish to a normal level, don't put me in a room with a bunch of politicians, I came prepared, did the studies etc etc etc.. at least I thought I did what was needed, but no.. not so.
One thing I did find out later was that swedes are very ashamed of showing achievements.. it is not good to show that you have earned a bonus and can afford a new car, it is not good to show that you can afford a luxury boat, weirdly enough it is ok to run around a pole drunk as a piggot shouting stupid things and taking an intentional dump in front of your neighbors house. Also ok is to load your car full of butter and sell it at huge cost to the Norwegians, but then.. don't boast about it. It is ok to take a ferry to Germany to load up on booze but it is not ok to try and shop for cheaper articles locally.. the list goes on and on and on and is basically one contradiction followed by another.
Still trying to figure them Sweds out but sometimes all I can do is shake my head in disbelief.
Hang in there, go with the flow, skip the drinking and dumping and you should be fine.
There is no chance of getting any work because you do not have a green card.
This can be had after jumping hoop after hoop, time taken would be counted in years not months.
If you are lucky you may enter the green card lottery, time of process, 18 months. This only apply if you are in the right ethnic grouping. (UK citizens need not apply, too many already in the US apparently)
Please do not throw stones when in a green house.
Dan
While living in Sweden during the past two years, I have applied for numerous job vacancies seeking a native English speaker who is experienced in a particular profession to handle work related to writing in English. Despite being a professional with over 20 years in a particular field, the employer would not grant an interview. Four university degrees doesn't even make a impression either. As one job coach admitted, the employer probably complied with the law and made the announcement although having someone, such as a friend, in mind to hire. The canned rejection letters I've received always state, "we have found someone with better credentials." Is a native English speaker with 20 years of experience and living in Sweden truly faced with such greater competition? No. The fact is...jag talar inte svenska.
Oh yeah...The Local is just as guilty of doing the same thing.
Good luck, Joe.
What the hell did this guy think when he wrote it?
Swedish people speak Swedish in Sweden, not english.
Stop moaning and move to an English speaking county. There are plenty of them.
I struggle with Swedish every day but I try and I am doing OK. So, learn Swedish and do your best to find work.
It took me 2 years to find a job here. Its low pay and nothing like what I did back home. This is how it is for immigrants. Learn to live with it.
Rather, this is how it is for immigrants to Sweden.
I have lived in three different countries.
In the first two it took less than one month to find a job and they were good jobs.
In Sweden it took four years.
what a lame excuse! you think just because you are born american with english language you don't need to put any effort to develop yourself? this is the minimum effort you could've made! look at all those other foreigners who struggled with all difficulties here and didn't give up. do you think it was not difficult for them to learn swedish in their 40s or 50s? sure it was, but they did that. unless you are mentally retarded (which I assume) you can learn some basic swedish. otherwise leave this country.
If a Swedish person travel to the US on a visitor's visa, the max period you can stay is 6 months.
To be able to work in the US you require a green card, this takes a very long time to get. If you are "lucky" ? enough you might get a green card after 18 months. ( Normally with employment and accomodation / living expenses available )
How fair is that?
Now you are a US Citizen in Sweden complaining about your, self-imposed position,
No Visa required, have been allowed to stay for a year. Swedish registration number / card in process. Who is the fair play country here?
Danfrov
That's because Sweden desperately needs immigrants if the country is to survive. Not many people want to immigrate here compared to places like England, France, Australia or the USA--unless they're running away from a, uhhh, situation in their home country.
The USA can pick and choose who to let in because, in the past, it was the first choice for people wising to make a better life for themselves and their families.
I repeat, "in the past." Not so much anymore.
Still, there are millions of immigrants to the USA--legal and illegal, especially from Mexico. And they have found work---without a green card.
Today the teacher met with me regarding my daughter and seemed to go out of her way to show me how badly I speak Swedish, and to assume that I hadn't understood her. Doesn't bother me because I understood her and I admit I'm not too comfortable speaking Swedish, but I hypothosize that she is getting back at me for my daughter's English skills. Not that it matters, of course.
HA HA HA the laugh is on you Sweden, now I live and work in Norway earning 72,000 NOK a month.
So I can not be stupid. That is Swedens place.
Probably because they don't have to, there are plenty of competent Swedish-speaking people. I found that Swedes are risk-averse and will generally go with the safer options. This means it does not matter if a foreign person may be a better candidate, if there is a competent Swede, the Swede will meet the minimum criteria and is probably viewed as a safer option.
If a Swedish person travel to the US on a visitor's visa, the max period you can stay is 6 months.
To be able to work in the US you require a green card, this takes a very long time to get. If you are "lucky" ? enough you might get a green card after 18 months.
How fair is that?
Now you are a US Citizen in Sweden complaining about your, self-imposed position,
No Visa required, have been allowed to stay for a year. Swedish registration number / card in process. Who is the fair play country here?
Danfrov
What concerns me is the extremely poor response from organisations in Sweden employing volunteers to sign up and advertise on the relatively new Volut?yr?English website. If things don't improve soon then unfortunately the initiative is in danger of failing. Are there really no real voluntary openings for Englsh speakers in this country?
I agree to a certain extent that you technically don't NEED Swedish for a lot of the manual jobs that you mention, of course one could get by without Swedish, but why should someone hire you over someone else if the other person can speak Swedish? This argument of not needing to speak Swedish, and this is a common kind of article on TL, baffles me. If the situation was reversed and someone applied to your company in the states but only knew Swedish and Spanish..... chances are you would not hire them as they could not speak English (despite the fact they could speak another major language). There are plenty of immigrants working in labour jobs that perhaps are not fluent in Swedish but they have at least learned the basics and can have a conversation in Swedish.
Yes Swedes speak generally speak English very well but that does not mean that everyone is comfortable speaking it. In fact, while the majority understand English very well I find that a lot still are not always comfortable speaking English, especially at work. The bottom line is without being able to speak the local language it could create 'extra work' for an employer to accommodate you, regardless of what kind of job it is, and therefore it will be tough to find work. Fair enough in my opinion.
@KimaAnn, I salute you. Those of us who have moved here with a positive attitude and realization that the lingo will have to be learned have survived and settled in just fine. Don't listen to the haters and there are plenty of them on TL.
Joe - good luck to you mate, I hope it works out for you.
If a Swedish person travel to the US on a visitor's visa, the max period you can stay is 6 months.
To be able to work in the US you require a green card, this takes a very long time to get. If you are "lucky" ? enough you might get a green card after 18 months.
How fair is that?
Now you are a US Citizen in Sweden complaining about your, self-imposed position,
No Visa required, have been allowed to stay for a year. Swedish registration number / card in process. Who is the fair play country here?
Danfrov
From another point of view, once you speak some Swedish (good enough at least for a simple conversation) it goes very smoothly. At least from my own experience.
i know americans who use swedish last names on their cvs and the response difference for job interviews is amazing ( and much higher)
for all the swedes or people who say this is bs, you must have great contacts or are extremely lucky job-wise. and please spare us the ' i learned swedish in 3 months story and speak 4 languages' for many of us who are not bilingual the first language outside of the mother tongue is the toughest from what ive read.
ive been here in sweden ( im american) for over 4 years and this is an OLD OLD story..... its just small country mentality from nervous swedes seeing a flood of immigrants coming into their forest utopia.
"I've never spoken Swedish as a core part of my role and every company has found my native English as a benifit for their business."
sorry, just found this ironic. *benefit
My experience 10 years ago was to not get a job at a top international firm, which in fact is British owned but manned entirely by Danes here in Denmark, was that because I couldn't speak Danish well enough to make it easy for the Danes to chit chat around me in Danish... because they were self conscious... it wouldn't work. This although I have a law degree, the job involved my legal skills, the work would all be in English including that of the Danes who would not feel they could chit chat around me in Danish. Because my family were shocked ... I even got a letter in writing confirming the reason i wasn't being hired... just to make it crystal clear to those around me how the Danes are and can be. By the way, the HR person was from Sweden and told me of problems Swedes had in Denmark re employment.
Anyway, I have no helpful words of wisdom about getting work. No one here making comments will have any either. If you were in Sweden for the long term you'd definately have to get your Swedish together. For the shortterm... no reason not to try freelance English teaching through a firm, or seeing if the local job's agency can help. Good luck. PS: disclaimer.. I'm not proofing this so pls excuse any mistakes.
Many nice people in a nice Country spoiled by bigotry and gross insecurity.
To reduce your personal predicament to an issue of Swedes being insecure or threatened by your language skills seems like a really unfair assessment of the situation.
I know you think that you should be qualified for manual labor or janitorial work but you are one of many applying for that job. There are likely more things that did factored in to you not being hired.
With these things said, I do agree on the frustrations with Swedish language classes (SFI) offered for free. They are a trap for MANY individuals who have no intention of learning Swedish in a timely manner or contributing to their peers' success. As long as that check comes every month, its okay!
Swedes are mostly are working mostly managerial, sales or administrations jobs which suite them but these posts requires multilevel language people who can work with different culture people.
On the other way they are doing good efforts to promote language but learning perfect Swedish takes 2 years its proven. I have myself example one of my friend came here directly as he married here. He started Swedish full time in SFI 5 days a week and I started my study full time master degree. Now he is on that level like he can say a perfect swede. The point is if somebody want to stay where for longer term he/she will their self learn language because otherwise there is no enjoyment of life. Swedes also need to understand that speaking perfect swedish is not few days game. Its difficult language specailly for english speakers because its written in same way like english but when you speak its hell difference which need time and it make you confuse.
Contries like Australia and Canada is immigrants heaven because they think them as the part of the county.
Who is the editor? Who approved this article?
When I read the title I was expecting a sociologist or ethnologist giving us an explanation of the phenomena. Those of us who have been living in Sweden for a long time (7 in my case), already speak Swedish and still have problems to find work having experience and masters deserve a bit more than this.
6 months? Seriously? This guy needs a therapist to talk out his frustration not a job in a newspaper. This is ridiculous!
The same thing happened to me few months ago. One had informed me to apply for dish washing job and I applied. Then I was called for interview. The job requires standing up by the side of the dishwashing machine, taking dirty dishes from conveyor and putting them into the machine. That is all! I was happy to go to the interview because I thought I would get this job. The interviewer asked me if I have experience dish washing. I don't! Then he asked me what I know about dish washer machine, and how it works. Then I told him that I am mechanical engineer, and that luckily my degree project was designing of dish washer machine(for which I have evidence document) , so I explained at least how the machine functions, the safety rules how to handle them ! Then, he asked me if I know Swedish! I said that I had taken one course but interested to learn more. Finally, I could not get this job! This is Sweden!
I was not looking to do something professional. I truly believe professional jobs require Swedish coz this is Sweden and they have developed in their own language, and thus every discipline and system is booked in Swedish. But to do daily work, Swedish language? To clean asphalt??
I came to Sweden a year ago. I got a personnumer first, then I went to Arbetsformedlingen. Believe it or not, I got a LOT of help from them. They enrolled me in a special program for immigrants that grants a small stipend of about 4,000 SEK per month to go to SFI classes to learn Swedish whilst working part time for an immigrant friendly employer.
You are not getting work or offers because you are not entitled to work here. Stop bitching and making the rest of us Americans look like the sad twats they think we are.