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Sweden Welcome
A Guide to living and working in Sweden
A guide, with information, advice and useful addresses
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Working in the country

Before leaving :

Languages : It is advisable to take language lessons, or improve your existing level. The quality of job that you could aspire to will depend on your knowledge of the language. There are several language institutes where you can take Swedish lessons.

Formalities to be completed : If you are employed by a French or international company you don't have to deal with any formalities, the administrative services usually take charge of all the formalities for expatriate staff. It is only if you are the only representative of your company in the country (eg commercial or in charge of a liaising office..) that you would have to deal with any administrative formalities yourself.

Preparing for your departure and looking for a job : You could start by looking for information by writing to French associations existing in the country, to Trade Commissions, to the commercial services of Swedish banks in France or French banks in Sweden. The French consulate has usually a service dealing with jobs and training and can put you in touch with companies wishing to employ French personnel.

The French Chamber of Commerce also offers information about the job market, the most dynamic sectors of the economy and they also edit a bulletin for French companies and local members. You could publish a job application in this bulletin.

The Trade Commission in Stockholm or the CFCE in Paris can let you see their list of French companies set up in Sweden.

There is a comprehensive documentation about the country available from the cultural service of the Swedish Embassy in Paris.

You can also make a personal appointment with the Franco-Swedish Chamber of Commerce to complete your information and to obtain professional advice.

While you are looking for information you could also contact companies directly and send an application proposing your services.

There is often relevant information to be found in international Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Directories and files on the country will be useful in looking for important bits of information concerning the sectors of activity and the local economic conditions.

Specialized organisms such as the ANPE, the APEC, the APECITA and the ILO can also be of help. There are local ANPE (Labour exchange) delegations and ILO representatives in the larger towns.

Get names of companies from the Swedish Yellow Pages directory which you can get from the post office.

Where to look for job offers :
In the French press (Le Monde, Le France Soir, Figaro, Moniteur du Batiment, Expat magazine..) for French companies sending people abroad.

In the international press nearly all the big daily papers have a column or a section of job offers (The European, The Guardian, Vacature, Corriere della Sera, La Tribune de Genève ...)

You can often find international job offers via the bigger employment agencies and temporary work agencies.

Via Internet you can get easy access to several data banks of local job offers.

Writing your CV and the accompanying cover letter (see more details below in para 'In Sweden') :
Sending in information about yourself is the first step to getting an interview, so it's very important that you do it properly.

Your CV must be clearly set out, typewritten and very detailled, in Swedish or in English.

Don't forget to attach a recent photo, preferably where you are smiling.

It is not necessary to send in all the documents as proof of your diplomas, work certificates etc with the first letter. If you mention all the important points in your CV and give the addresses of former employers, so that they can eventually be contacted, it is sufficient initially.

If ever you should think of arranging a CV to suit the employer's requirements, you should know that according to a study made by the Florian Mantione Institute, your CV has a 45% chance of being checked by the prospective employer, 34% of the candidates are eliminated following that verification, and that 60% of the checks are done with the previous employer.

So, whatever your motives for adapting your CV, you should know that it will not help you during future interviews and could possible play against you.

Questions you should ask yourself before expatriation :
Ø What exactly is the mission ?
Ø What is the length of the contract ?
Ø Are you going alone or with your family?
Ø What is the life like locally ?
Ø Have you thought about coming back, how you will manage to get reinstalled financially?
Ø Do you have the right character to be an expatriate ?

Qualities you need :
Ø emotional stability (so that you can react rapidly to all kinds of situations).
Ø autonomy, (can you make important decisions on your own)
Ø mobility and availability, are you able to relocate quickly?
Ø social contact, (don't forget that an expatriate is an ambassador for his country in his working and his social life ).
Ø accomodating (you can easily adapt to changes of culture, climate and way of life)
Ø the ability to accept and understand cultural differences
Ø tolerance and respect for other people's habits and traditions.

Family: Your partner should share your ambitions, this is very important and can play in the recruiting choice.
Some companies, particularly if the offer is for a long term job, want to interview the candidate's partner to check that there are no conflicts in the couple which could eventually disturb the mission.

For the interview :
Punctuality is appreciated all over the world. Be on time for your interview.
Whatever post you are applying for, dress well, you will be judged on your appearance and the way you dress.
First interviews can be short but can also last for several hours if your application is found to be interesting, depending on the position to be filled, and if you have to do psychotechnical tests (handwriting analyses) or aptitude tests.
Be careful not be appear pretentious about your know-how, or to exaggerate your professional abilities. Emphasise your real competence, your ease of adaption, your mobility, your ability to work in a team and your willingness to bring in any experience you have gained.

Salaries : It can be difficult to negociate a salary, especially when you are not sure of the cost of living in the country. Higher salaries could mean that the cost of living is higher also. If you are employed by a French company you will normally have a salary which gives you an equivalent standard of living to the one you had in France.

Taxes : If you are employed locally you will have to pay the taxes in the country. If you should have an international contract you could have a tax free salary. In some countries taxes are taken off the salary at source by the employer.

Working conditions : The local work conditions will be applied with their advantages and their inconveniences. The working hours are 40 hours a week with 5 weeks paid holidays a year. Foreign companies are subject to the laws in effect in the country. Swedes are very exacting professionally. Generally speaking there is more liberty in organizing your work time and work load, than in France.

There are two ways in which you can look for a job

1°) From France :

The first step should be to contact the Swedish consulate nearest you to get some information about the job market and working in Sweden.

Get the list of French companies working in Sweden from the CFCE (the French Centre of External Trade) or by writing to the trade commissioner at the French Embassy in Stockholm. When you receive this list you can send your candidacy to the headquarters of these companies in France and also to their representatives in Sweden. While you are waiting it is a good idea to learn Swedish and get the necessary documents together for your health and welfare cover.

2°) In Sweden :

On arrival get in touch with representatives of French companies in Sweden, the French Chamber of Commerce will give you this information free of charge. Consult the employment ads in the local newspapers : Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Daglabet are two leading dailies which publish job offers.

Contact head hunting companies e.g. Heidrick and Struggles at Birger Jarlsgatan 25, 11145 Stockholm,
tel 8 402 19 00.

If you are unemployed and have managed to get your unemployment benefits transferred, go to the labour exchange, the Arbitsförmedlijin, to consult job offers. You have to respect certain conditions if you are answering a job offer :

- a Swedish curriculum vitae is presented in a different way from a French one. It does not go into detail and is a chronological list of merits (Meritförtreckning). Your married state, diplomas and professional experience must all be mentioned.

- it must be written in Swedish or in English

- it must be signed

- the covering letter should also be typewritten. It should a brief introduction to your CV. It is advisable to say that you have the intention to settle permanently in Sweden.

The CV should be accompanied by one or more reference letters. You should have a letter from your previous employer which comments on the work you have done in his company and not just a work certificate. You should keep copies of these letters on you while you are job hunting.

During interviews you must remain very professional and avoid appearing too relaxed.

Losing a job :

It is advisable to get information before you go about the consequences that could arise from losing your job in Sweden. You can get this information from the ASSEDIC.

Get the necessary forms in case it should happen : E 301 and E 303...

If you find yourself in this situation you must register immediately at the French consulate which is the nearest to your residence in Sweden and get a consular card from them.

 17 - Health
No vaccination is obligatory to enter the country.

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