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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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