First of all – I am still searching a job, but I am happy to share all the doors I have knocked.
Of course, language is important so I am as most of you enrolled in SIFA (http://sifa.stockholm.se/) (well, now I am pausing SIFA, because I got place in Korta vägen).
ARBETSFÖRMEDLINGEN:
– can help you get place in Korta vägen. Besides Korta vägen in Uppsala, I heard there are going to start with KV in Stockholm. So, ask around. Be persistent with your handläggare and if you get no for an answer, ask again next month, and the month that follows. Show that you care! Remember, 85% of all hiring goes through contacts (AFM statistics). KV gets you praktik wich gets you contacts. Google about KV, I found couple of people who went there on linkedin and sent them messages to ask about. Basically, program has 3 months of language studying and then you get praktik. You get help from yrkescoach all that time and have presentations about CV (what is ok to write, or not in Sweden cause some of the stuff that are standard in our countries are not standard here). I just started so I can´t talk more cause its all ahead of my KV trip.
– there is also another program Stöd och matching (http://www.arbetsformedlingen.se/For-arbetssokande/Stod-och-service.html). Don´t know much about it.
– AFM should help you with translation of your CV. It is their job so don´t settle for “no, we can´t do that”
OTHER:
– ask around in your komun. Sollentuna t.e. has http://www.sollentuna.se/Jobb–arbetsmarknad/Jobb–arbetsmarknad/Mojligheternas-kontor/ where you can get help of a coach, get your CV translated etc.
– mentorship program which helps you to get contacts and practice your Swedishhttp://mittliv.com/mitt-livs-chans/
– ask in your komun or your komun´s vuxenutbildnung to get your certification of English for free. Basically, you need to have engelska 6 for most of the companies and to get to University
– join union! This I still have to do, but they also offer help with CV and job coach.
Korta vagen – This turns out to be very interesting topic these days in Sweden, when talking about academics who immigrated here.
I’ve heard that it is not easy to get the opportunity to enter this course. It seems that I was the lucky one.
Korta vagen is intensive course where you can learn Swedish language, related to working environment, with plenty of information about Arbetsmiljö in Sweden. Everyone at the course gets an HR coach, who prepares the candidate for the job interview and helps find an internship. It seems like everyone has to start with an internship, doesn’t matter where you come from, where did you study etc… Probably there are some exemptions from this, but this is what majority has to go through. And, the most important part about entering the Korta vagen is that your supervisor at the Employment office has to decide and register you for KV. So, be persistent!
Many friends asked me about this course, so I decided to write it down here and share my experience with everyone.
As almost every other thing in life, especially when you need to put your effort, there are days when you don’t like it and there are days when you do. One thing is obvious and we all agreed on it – We started speaking Swedish. Speaking…out..loud..! 🙂
My colleagues from Korta vagen were at different courses, from several months to several years, trying to learn some Swedish, but most of them did not dare to speak. And it is so easy not to speak Swedish because everyone in Sweden is speaking English. But, at KV somehow they manage to make things happen. You learn, you speak, you speak with each other more and more, you like your teachers or you don’t, you don’t like changing teacher every week because it is summer and teachers go on holiday, but the fact is that you start speaking Swedish more and more. One day you will forget all things you did or you didn’t like, all hours you spent in traveling to Uppsala and back to Sthlm (in my case), and you will only be better and better in speaking Swedish. And even better, your colleagues will become and stay your friends 🙂
At the beginning you might feel like they at KV are treating candidates like babies, who were born but skipped one big part of life and suddenly appeared to live in adulthood, in Sweden. Even if you don’t like it, probably this is a good approach to realize a serious difference, otherwise you are convinced that it can’t be that different… And when it comes to ‘serious’, you quickly realize how seriously you take things that you shouldn’t and vice versa. When it comes to working in Sweden, there is nothing strange when Swedes tell you: “…but, your CV is too serious, like too German!” or “…you should not be outstanding, super duper candidate, you should fit to majority, be one in the group”, or very serious question “do you think you can FIKA in Swedish (FIKA is a short break from work when you have a coffee or something else and chat with other colleagues)” etc…
At the beginning it doesn’t even get to your brain, but after a while it starts to make sense. And it really makes sense… but you will get it.
Regarding HR coach – this is probably the best thing with KV! Or I was lucky to get the best coach 🙂 This person helps you very much with consultations, contacts, prepares you for the job interview, gives you suggestions regarding your CV, companies, etc. This is something I would definitely pay for but at KV you get it for free. And I really appreciate it. I got two interviews, and I appreciated what my coach did for me. It is so good when you have someone you can give a call and consider all the doubts you have. My HR coach was Karin Persson, who works for “Incluso” which is HR company. This is also very important, to get the coach who is really doing this for job, not something else. It turned out to be the best combination, which is logical. And, doesn’t matter how much you have heard or read about the labour force that Sweden needs from abroad, when it comes to hiring foreigners, it is very hard and not that open as you expected. That is why you need your HR coach… and praktikplats.
It took more than I was thinking but let me just summarize all the information I wrote here:
With Korta vagen you finally start speaking Swedish 🙂
You meet group of wonderful people from all over the world. This makes me a rich person; every day I find out something interesting about other cultures. We have to discuss different things at KV, so we get the chance to find out interesting facts about other countries.
You get HR coach. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Very strange thing: You start using Swedish words when you speak English again, after a while…
When it comes to me, I got two places to choose for praktikplats. One is in English and another one is in Swedish. I chose another one. Even it is harder for me now, it will be better for me and my future in Sweden. Thanks to Korta vagen I managed to have a very successful job interview in Swedish after 5 months living in Sweden. 🙂
Hope that all of you who are interested in KV will now have a clear picture and get this opportunity to go to KV 🙂 If you have any questions, I am looking forward to help if I can 🙂
