How to Build a Career in Sweden

• Information Technology
• Biotechnology
• Telecommunications
• Wood Pulp Manufacturing
• Paper Manufacturing
• Machinery
• Metal Products (Iron and Steel)
• Precision Equipment
• Automotive
• Processed Foods

• Pharmaceutical
• Consulting
• Retail Exports
• Environmental Exports

• Preschool teachers
• School teachers
• Dentists
• Dental Hygienists
• Doctors
• Physiotherapists
• Nurses
• Psychiatrists
• Psychologists
• Opticians
• Biomedical Analysts
• IT Architects
• Civil Engineers
• Electronic Engineers
• Mechanical Engineers
• Clerical Officers

• Vice Presidents across various industries and businesses
• Chief Investment Officers (both executive and management) across all industries
• Creative Directors in the fields of graphic design, event management and advertising
• Physicians (especially those with specializations in Oncology and Haematology)
• Enterprise Architect Managers
• Managing Directors
• Project Managers (executive and management)
• Aviation Manager
• Product/Brand Manager
• Mathematicians

• Volvo Group
• H&M
• Electrolux
• Ericsson
• Tetra Pak
• AstraZeneca
• IKEA
• Scania
• Atlas Copco
• Skansa

Sweden is unsurprisingly filled with startups.

Startups do well here as the country provides the ideal atmosphere with an ample amount of investors and strong community support.

SUP46 was created in 2013 in order to unify the startup community and in 2015, they created a manifesto to ensure that Sweden would remain a startup friendly country.

If you dream of starting your own company, Sweden is without a doubt a great place to get started.

EURES (European Job Mobility Portal)

The EURES database is a comprehensive listing of job openings in Sweden that cover a range of industries and requirements.

While the main aim of EURES may be to encourage mobility within Europe, non-EU citizens can also benefit from this portal as it covers one of the requirements your future employer will have to meet, which is advertising the job opening within the EU for a minimum of 10 days.

In addition to helping with this requirement that will enable you to secure a work permit, EURES also helps ensure that your terms of employment correspond to those set by Swedish collective agreements, as well as those within the industry or occupation. Labour Shortage List The Swedish Migration Agency and the Public Employment Agency join together to put out a list of job vacancies that need to be filled on priority.

As a student, one of the benefits of seeking a job from this list, is that you can directly apply for the job and do not need to return to your home country to do so.

Privately-Run Job Portals

Like everywhere else in the world, these portals are a good place to find some of the most current jobs available in the market.

Good portals you can turn to include: Blocket Jobb, Jobbsafari, StepStone, Career Builder, Academic Search, The Local, Monster and Metrojobb. LinkedIn also has an initiative called Welcome Talent that helps newcomers find prospective employers and be found by them for internships.

Recruitment Agencies

Private recruitment agencies are worth considering as well. You can find a list of these recruitment agencies from the Swedish Yellow Pages (Gula Sidorna) or from the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies (CIETT).

These recruitment agencies will make your search a lot easier and will usually find you a job and company that perfectly suit you. Some of these private employment agencies include Incluso, Adecco, Proffice, Academic Work, Undutchables, TNG and Manpower.

Newspaper Listings

Several employers still prefer to advertise job openings in newspapers. Three great newspapers to find job listings in are Dagens Nyheter, Dagens Industri and Svenska Dagbladet.

Swedish Public Employment Service

Most job vacancies in Sweden are listed here. With around 320 offices across the country, they not only supply job seekers with information regarding the jobs on offer, but also provide career guidance. The Swedish Public Employment Service also organizes Korta Vagen, a national program that helps foreign academics break into the Swedish job market quickly and easily.

The Swedish Migration Agency

This agency ensures that all people seeking asylum in Sweden have the opportunity to find suitable work in the country.

• While a regular work week consists of 40 hours, these hours could vary depending on the workload, and the number of work hours per week can reach 50
• Sweden requires workplaces to provide their employees with 25 days of paid leave in a year
• There are 11 bank holidays
• Residents of Sweden have to pay tax. This also applies to people living in Sweden for over 183 days. Non-residents will have to pay 25% tax on income.