Job Hunting
> ARBETSFÖRMEDLINGEN (National Employment Agency)
After receiving your Swedish national ID card and personal number (personnummer) the next step is to register yourself at Arbetsförmedlingen (employment agency). This registration is crucial to be eligible for internships, support activities, job matching, unemployment funds, and other services.
The timeline to receive support from Arbetsförmedlingen varies based on one’s Swedish residence permit/ visa type. This depends on your country of origin (EU or non-EU) and the reason you moved to Sweden (Asylum seeker / Swedish partner/spouse’s job / other reasons).
If you have a Swedish bank account with a Bank ID, you can register yourself via the link (to the right) using your electronic identification (mobile bank ID for example). After you have registered, you should make an appointment for a planning discussion with an employment officer.
> Internship Eligibility
- Do you need to gain work experience to increase your chances of getting a job? Then a work experience placement, arbetspraktik, could be right for you. Experience in a workplace can also be a useful option if you are preparing to start your own business.
It is important to note that in Sweden interns are compensated either with pay or as a part of academic training. They do not work for free. This is not the case in other countries. There should also always be a mentor who guides the intern as well as a plan or program that leads the learning and development. An intern does not replace a regular full-time, paid employee. The link below offers more information about the eligibility to do an internship.
> SVERIGES ARKITEKTER
(The Swedish National Architecture association)
‘Sveriges Arkitekter’ is a professional organization, a union for architects, interior architects, landscape architects and spatial planners. Here you’ll find information about the association and its activities.
You also find information about the Swedish architectural market for employees and how to become a member of Architects Sweden.
> Internship Opportunities
A few links to internship opportunities in Sweden.
> Work Opportunities in Neighbouring Countries while residing in Sweden
Copenhagen: Living in Skåne? Are you or your parents born outside of Sweden? Are you struggling to find a job? If working in Copenhagen sounds exciting check the links below for more information:
List of Architecture Firms in Copenhagen - Link
Oresunddirekt is a Swedish/Danish information service that conveys public information from authorities to those who want to work, move or study or run companies in the Oresund region. Link
> Becoming a part of Swedish labour market
For those who are newly arrived in Sweden and have no professional contacts in this country it can be challenging to network, get contacts, and learn about the culture and labor market. While the journey might not be very smooth, there are a number of NGOs that help foreign-born academics with international merits to speed up the job-seeking process through mentoring programs.
A mentorship program aims to match a foreign-born academic (adept) with people who are established in the Swedish labor market (mentors). The matching is done after careful mapping of both mentors and adepts. Here is a list of organizations that offer mentorship programs.
* Please note that it is not uncommon to be matched with a mentor from a completely unrelated field to architecture and design. This can still be useful to gain a general understanding about the Swedish labor market as well as Swedish culture. Please see our "SWEDISH CULTURE & LIFESTYLE' section for additional information.
> ARBETSFÖRMEDLINGEN (Support and Activities through National Employment Office)
- Jobb och Utvekling (Job and Development)
The Job and Development Guarantee programme is a programme for people who have been unemployed for a long time and need help to return to working life. We give you support to end your unemployment.
- Korta vägen (The Short Way)
The short way to Folkuniversitetet improves your opportunities to use your academic education in Sweden and is for you who are looking for work and have studied at least two years at university or college. At Folkuniversitetet, as a job-seeking academic, you meet skilled teachers in Swedish and other subjects. Our supervisors have large networks in all industries in the labor market. Together we find the shortest path for you: directly to work or through supplementary studies.
Examples of content in Korta vägen: Academic guidance. Vocational coaching including study and career guidance, Academic Swedish Internship in your professional field
- Activitietsstod och utvecklingsersattning (Activity support and development compensation)
This is financial support one can get when on an unpaid internship/praktik. Försäkringskassan also offers compensation for travel expenses that exceed 600kr per month.
- Etablerings program (Establishment Program)
- Nystartsjobb
Depending on one's residence permit, people who have been enrolled in Arbetsförmedlingen, etableringsprogrammet and have been unemployed for 12 of the last 15 months (if 25+yo) and who were granted it within the last 36 months are entitled to it. The employer that hires this newcomer gets compensation for 12 months to cover part of the employee’s salary.
The employer is the one who applies for it to Arbetsförmedlingen.There are exceptions on how the unemployment time counts for certain grounds (refugee, person in need of protection or in some cases due to affiliation) or if the person has turned 20 and has not reached the age of 25.
> Interviewing in Sweden
The interview process and questions are quite different in Sweden compared to other countries.
> Recruitment Companies with whom you can
register your CV
register your CV
> Match Making Event/Recruiting Fairs
- Skåne
- Copenhagen
- Stockholm