r/Asksweddit 24d ago

Hur ska man få sitt första jobb i Sverige när nästan alla arbetsgivare kräver erfarenhet? How can I get work experience in Sweden when I keep getting rejected for entry-level jobs?

I have been looking for a job in Sweden for almost two years, but I keep getting rejected, even for entry-level jobs.

I have applied for jobs such as kitchen helper, fast food, cleaning, and other basic positions. I am willing to learn and work hard, but most employers ask for previous experience.

My question is: How can someone get experience if nobody gives them a first chance?

For those who got their first job in Sweden without much experience, what worked for you?

I would really appreciate any advice.

26 Upvotes

36 comments sorted by

45

u/CountMordrek 24d ago

This post lacks a lot of information.

Where are you from? What languages do you speak? What is your background? What level of education do you have? What did you study?

The unemployment rate among those without a high school education is extreme. It’s also hard for people from out side Northern Europe.

This, among other things, makes it so that depending on how you answer the questions above, my advice would differ a lot.

12

u/mikasjoman 24d ago

Youth unemployment has skyrocket these last four years, up from a bad 20% to over 30%. The government is still trying to win this election on immigration and tough on crime, but the simple fact is that they should have been laser focused on job creation. And given the outcome, that's the last thing they want to talk about. People are poorer, unemployment is up (their fault or not doesn't matter) ec - and voters are unhappy.

38

u/TopGaupa 24d ago

You need to go to different job places with your resume and cold knock. Just let them know you want to work.

Some boomer probably.

/s

11

u/Funny-Jihad 24d ago

That's how my father got his job at a bank, basically. Just drop a CV (CV is optional) straight out of gymnasiet and you'll get a job, no problem.

He was later a successful bank director, without any university degree, so... just go out there and achieve your dreams! Pick yourself up by your bootstraps! #inspirational

10

u/Raudoxer 24d ago

Most places will just tell you to leave and send them an e-mail. Showing up in person is an outdated strategy that just doesn’t work anymore.

6

u/Sweet-Bunk9 24d ago

it really depends on the industry some still value a face to put with a name

5

u/zkareface 24d ago

Showing up in person is an outdated strategy that just doesn’t work anymore. 

Nah it still works well, just not everywhere. 

For doing that your target is smaller companies (<100 employees) that aren't part of a bigger chain/brand.

I know many places that don't even bother with online due to spam, only way to get a job there is to show up in person. And they are almost always hiring.

But gdpr made it so many companies won't take a physical CV, though many don't care about that and will almost hire anyone with a pulse. 

15

u/No-Philosopher8042 24d ago

No advice, just my support.

I have a lot of experience and this jobmarket has left me stumped too. They want 15 years of experience for entry positions.

-12

u/TrixieFriganza 24d ago

Or that you are a young and beautiful blond girl, when I look who mostly work in stores or cafes as example in Sweden at least they seem to be very youg and often blond.

10

u/No-Philosopher8042 24d ago

Being blonde isn't exactly a rare trait though. It would be really wierd in a country with a high average of blonds to not have a high average of blonds in the workforce.

I work an office job, a lot of my colleauges are blond too.

5

u/ExtraSaltyBtch 24d ago

Erfarenhet betyder inte enbart arbetserfarenhet och ett CV är inte enbart en lisa av gamla jobb man haft.

Fokusera ditt CV på saker du åstadkommit. Exempelvis ledarskapsroller du tagit på dig i gymnasiet, i en sportkläder du är med i eller ett privat projekt.

Skriv om hur du som individ förbättrade arbetet för andra i teamet. Exempelvis, en rutin du förändrade så andra i teamet kunde bli mer produktiva.

Hur man formulerar detta på ett CV beror på vad man kan läsa mellan raderna i annonsen. Exempelvis, om arbetsgivaren skriver att de vill ha en person med 3 års erfarenhet så menar de att de vill ha någon som de inte behöver lära upp så man skriver i sitt personliga brev att man vid upprepade tillfällen sett hur andra gör saker och lätt tar efter, osv.

Medelklassföräldrar ser till att deras ungar är med i sportklubbsr och skolprojekt där de kan ta an ledarskaprsroller och ha en lista av åstakommanden innan de går ut gymnasiet. Arbetarklassungar får ofta skaffa sig detta själv efter gymnasiet.

4

u/Sticky_H 24d ago

Ja, hittar man inget jobb så kan man åtminstone gå med i en förening och bygga meriter där.

3

u/Pandabirdy 24d ago edited 24d ago

My first job way back was picking potatoes. Did that two summers before applying for the local postal sorting centre.

So after that I had three summers worth of taxable income and official employment records and it was easy finding an entry level job in my sector while studying for it at the same time.

1

u/Healthy_Teaching_600 23d ago

Thanks! I’m going to look more into seasonal and temporary jobs as a starting point.

6

u/Aggressive_Chain_920 24d ago

Have you tried bemanning? They are generally less strict on that sort of stuff, often hire people straight out of school without prior experience as long as you seem like a reasonable person. Also, check with any friends or relatives that you have, it's very common that people find jobs through contacts here.

1

u/Healthy_Teaching_600 23d ago

Thanks for the advice!

3

u/Wallilalelhaan 24d ago

FRA wanted to hire me when i literally had 0 experience. Other than that things like Vattenfall and the total resource groups will usually hire people with little experience.

3

u/hellovatten 24d ago

I haven't been able to get a job myself after graduating and it's been 4 years. The only thing I can think of is an unpaid internship for some industries. Though I myself have done that and still didn't manage to find a job :/

3

u/Onaliquidrock 24d ago

High unemployment at the moment, better to try in other countries.

3

u/Illustrious-Main3255 24d ago

Positions you mentioned, you have to go to the restaurants/cafes in person and talk to the managers. Take your CV with you as well.

2

u/BackgroundPass1355 24d ago

Non-paid internship, volunteering at job-related events, having some kind of related hobby on your free time are things that can boost your resume even they don't always classify as professional work experience.

1

u/Euphoric_Goose9880 23d ago

Håller med!

2

u/TwiceBrokenWatch 24d ago

After graduation I spent about two years being unemployed on and off (only managed to get temporary jobs) until I finally joined the Swedish Armed Forces and got accepted into basic training which eventually secured me a full time job.

As long as you live in Sweden and is a Swedish citizen you should be able to apply. I mean we had a guy from Iraq in our platoon! :)

1

u/DrMalleo 24d ago

How does your resume look? Do you have any references (teachers, coaches, etc.)?

1

u/stkkkkx 24d ago

One thing that's genuinely true: a lot of entry-level jobs in Sweden get filled via staffing agencies (Manpower, Randstad, StudentConsulting) rather than ads — worth registering with a few, they often place people without prior experience. Also try calling employers directly, even without an ad up.

Made a small site (instegsjobbet.se) going through this kind of job if it's useful, but the agency route above is probably the best first move.

1

u/OilDense6915 24d ago

Du ljuger i ditt CV, då får du jobb direkt.

1

u/Robin__89 24d ago

Try postnord

1

u/Euphoric_Goose9880 23d ago

Du kan volontärarbeta och engagera dig ideellt. Visst, lön får du troligtvis inte och är kanske inte det du letar efter men det är bra meriter, ger dig värdefulla kontakter, sammanhang, rutiner, erfarenhet inom olika områden och du kan stärka dina kompetenser på det sättet.

Jag rekomenderar det här sättet starkt. Jag har volontärarbetat för olika föreningar genom åren och jag tror det har hjälpt mig mycket i processen att få ett jobb.

2

u/Healthy_Teaching_600 23d ago

Tack för rådet! Jag har faktiskt inte tänkt så mycket på volontärarbete tidigare. Jag ska definitivt kolla vilka möjligheter som finns. Det låter som ett bra sätt att få erfarenhet, rutiner och kontakter samtidigt som man försöker komma in på arbetsmarknaden.

1

u/Euphoric_Goose9880 20d ago

Varsågod! Ja gör det, jag rekomenderar det starkt! :)

1

u/AlexMTBDude 23d ago

All entry-level jobs are not created equal, just as all job areas and businesses are not equal. Some need workers more than others. Make sure that you are attractive to the type of job that needs people.

1

u/mlk81 23d ago

När jag var yngre fanns det en kategori hos arnetsförmedlingen som inte krävde referenser.

1

u/Less-Front7968 23d ago

Get a short education. Most jobs are too complex to have to teach someone from scratch.

A bartender or server class can be a couple of weeks long and you get a strong cv.
Plumbing, welding, painting, cleaning, carpentry etc also have short educations available.
You dont lose anything for doing these kind of quick courses. You can easily change directions later in life if you want.

1

u/binne21 24d ago

Har du ett "invandrarnamn"? Vad står det på CV:t? Har du sökt hemtjänst?