Whether you are already an expat in Denmark or whether you are still thinking of moving to Denmark, you will probably have read on every single expat website the importance of building a network. My blog is not excluded from this - I have mentioned in past posts about the job hunt that networking is important. The thing is, you read about building networks so much that it almost seems like flippant advice. Take it from me, though - it's not flippant. It genuinely is important.
How do I find work in Denmark?
<insert generic job sites>, <government websites>, oh, and networking is important.
Oh. No new info, I guess.
So yes, many many posts on why networking is important in your job hunt, but fewer posts on how to do it. When I have mentioned the importance of networking to people in person, I can see that they have heard that advice many times and it is often met with a slight nod of the head, a yes-I-have-heard-that-already answer, or even an eye roll (this actually happened to me once). But what the eye-roller and many others didn't and don't seem to realise is that by talking to me and/or others, be it at language school or an expat event, they are networking. Every time you shake hands with somebody new, every time you are introduced to somebody even in a casual way, every time you chat with people at language school, you are networking.
Take the eye-roller. That irritated me. I had been asked a question and I had tried to give practical advice, which was met with what I think is an incredibly rude gesture. But what if I had actually been in a position to help this person? As far as this lady was concerned, I was just another expat in Denmark at language school, learning the complicated language that Danish is. But for all she knew, I could have worked in recruitment. She could have had the skill set for a job I was trying to fill. But after being met with that attitude, I didn't really want anything further to do with her other than be civil. It's the way I feel about bad service - treat me badly and I will put up with a bad waiter (for example) for as long as I am forced to, but once our time is over I will not come back and certainly not recommend the establishment. I'll give another example closer to what we're talking about, in one of my old jobs I had an assistant. She started out well but then started to come in late, started to come back from lunch nearly drunk and then got into the habit of coming in hungover. She soon left, and I was relieved. A few months down the road she applied for a job where a lady worked with whom I had a very strong professional relationship with strong mutual trust. She had gotten the CV and saw the old workplace, where she knew I worked. She called me for a recommendation and of course I could not give a glowing one, after the behaviour I had seen. We call that burning bridges.
Don't get me wrong. I understand the frustrations of job hunting in Denmark and I know it's difficult - I was unemployed for seven months with very little to apply for, let alone have a chance of interview. However, even if you have heard the old networking advice for the umpteenth time do not eye-roll, do not dismiss - for when you are talking, no matter where you are, you are networking without realising.
Still with me? Good.
So yes, I believe that you are nearly always networking. Whether posting on an expat forum, LinkedIn (especially if you are posting on LinkedIn), going along to an expat event or language school then you are networking.
Please do not get sucked into the downward spiral of moaning and eye-rolling, no matter how frustrated you are with the job search as, again, you do not know who might be able to help you. You won't be able to help feeling frustrated but use this energy in the search for a job. I got SO frustrated but every knock back just made me more determined. I got rejected from one job after the first interview stage and when I spoke to the interviewer for feedback I asked him at the end of the conversation if he minded me adding him on LinkedIn and he was happy to oblige - as I kept it professional and friendly, I knew that if I heard of another opening in that company then I would be able to contact him and ask him about it.
And what would a blog post of mine be without a list? Here's a very quick guide on how to network at different places.
1. LinkedIn (ok, so you may have read this before - I always write about it)
- Join Denmark based groups relevant to your job field
- Introduce yourself and explain your career experience but do NOT use this introduction to ask for a job
- Participate in discussions - this is your chance to shine and show off your knowledge. By doing this you are getting your name out there and showing the Danish job market what you are made of and what you can offer
DO NOT
- beg for a job in your first post
- simply click 'Add Connection' without any personal message as you will more than likely be ignored, and I fully agree with this. I hold my hands up as guilty for when I first arrived - I thought that simply by trying to add people in similar circles that I would really up my network. Some people added me without questioning but one day somebody simply said: "we have a policy of not connecting with people we do not know" - was taken aback at first but I now agree. Networking is not just about having 500+ on LinkedIn - it's about what you do with the existing ones you have, and building up quality contacts over time - not quantity.
2. Expat events*
- If, like me, you are a member of InterNations then try to research who will be at the event
- Again referring to InterNations, message one of the guests to tell them that you noticed they worked for Company X/have experience in Y/etc .. and would they like to meet at the meet up for half an hour? There, you can exchange email addresses and LinkedIn info
- For all expat events; look for somebody on their own. They will be willing to talk to you and it will be less scary than trying to infiltrate a group conversation. Introduce yourself confidently, smile, explain what brought you to Denmark, what you are doing now, and what you would like to do in the future. Perhaps they know somebody ...
- Firm handshake. Always a firm handshake.
- If there are no meet-up groups that suit you, why not start your own? I met a very good professional contact of mine via a marketing professionals meet up group that he started. Before I got my permanent job I was seriously considering going freelance - I happened to mention this to him and he suggested that he make some introductions for me (two weeks after that conversation I got a permanent job but it is a good connection to have there)
DO NOT
- stand alone. Do not wait for people to come to you but at the same time, do not force yourself on a group either. Introduce yourself with "hi, would you mind if I joined you?" - nobody will mind.
- get into the habit of slagging off Denmark. No matter how you feel about the place, this is not the time nor place to do it.
3. Language school
- Smile!
- Talk to your classmates in the break. Put down your phone and talk to people. Get to know them. Eventually you'll know what their professional background is, they'll know yours, you can exchange details for Facebook but also get their LinkedIn details. Use each others' networks. Who knows who knows who.
DO NOT
- see the second DO NOT under 'Expat events'. Although language school is more relaxed, if you get into the habit of slagging off Denmark/Danes with others, you'll get sucked down into a negative spiral and it'll start to show in the way you present yourself. By all means, voice a frustration but come back with a solution: "I feel X way, but to rectify this, I shall do Y .. " etc.
4. Online forums inc. expat groups on Facebook
- similar to LinkedIn. Introduce yourself and give a little bit about your professional background, why you are in Denmark
- start a relevant thread that is relevant for you. Do not piggy back onto the back of somebody else's thread. Otherwise who exactly are responders supposed to give advice to?
- always acknowledge when somebody has replied to you. Remember that nobody is obliged to give you any advice so when they do, thank them for it. When people ignore my advice on online forums, it is tantamount to the eye rolling girl - I do not like it as I believe this to be rude, and will be very unlikely to help them again (I will however give the poster the benefit of the doubt as they may have not seen it the first time)
DO NOT
- ignore people's advice
There you go. It's been (another) long post, but I hope you found it useful. Any other tips please leave below.
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Things on the bicycle lanes
I'm a relatively new cyclist in Copenhagen. Before I moved to Copenhagen I hadn't been on a bike for 17 years. And that was at an outdoor pursuits week in Wales. Not the same. It took a while before I was able to head out on the bike on my own but I'm a lot better than when I first started. However the Copenhagen cycle lanes are not filled just with everyday cyclists. No no. I have made a list of ten things that I have seen (well, nine I have seen ... the last one is a tale told to me by my husband) on the lanes local to me.
Some of these are quite impressive, some of these are dangerous. Obviously do not try these yourself. Especially drunk cycling - I am vehemently against this.
1. Someone rolling up a cigarette
2. Someone sending an SMS
3. People who dismount the bike with that graceful arabesque - I CANNOT get the hang of that.
4. People who carry the weekly food shop on the handlebars
5. A man cycling in flimsy flip-flops
6. A lady cycling in stiletto heels
7. A very drunk guy who could barely walk unlock his bike and then cycle away in a straight line
8. Roller bladers and mopeds (I HATE the mopeds on the bike lanes - get onto the road!)
9. Eating a gelato whilst cycling one-handed
10. My husband also told me a "legendary" story of a guy he invited to a party at his old college dorm. My husband had asked him to bring some spare chair, the guy turns up with two wooden, non-foldable chairs. Husband asks whether he drove; no. Husband asks whether he cabbed it; no. Husband asks how he carried them; the guy had hung them off his forearm and cycled up. Impressive (but not recommended).
Anyone seen anything impressive, funny or just downright weird?
Some of these are quite impressive, some of these are dangerous. Obviously do not try these yourself. Especially drunk cycling - I am vehemently against this.
1. Someone rolling up a cigarette
2. Someone sending an SMS
3. People who dismount the bike with that graceful arabesque - I CANNOT get the hang of that.
4. People who carry the weekly food shop on the handlebars
5. A man cycling in flimsy flip-flops
6. A lady cycling in stiletto heels
7. A very drunk guy who could barely walk unlock his bike and then cycle away in a straight line
8. Roller bladers and mopeds (I HATE the mopeds on the bike lanes - get onto the road!)
9. Eating a gelato whilst cycling one-handed
10. My husband also told me a "legendary" story of a guy he invited to a party at his old college dorm. My husband had asked him to bring some spare chair, the guy turns up with two wooden, non-foldable chairs. Husband asks whether he drove; no. Husband asks whether he cabbed it; no. Husband asks how he carried them; the guy had hung them off his forearm and cycled up. Impressive (but not recommended).
Anyone seen anything impressive, funny or just downright weird?
Friday, 31 May 2013
Getting a job in Denmark
Ok, I'm slightly later with this post than I thought I'd be. I haven't got any excuses. But I am back!
I would like to state that this blog post isn't going to be yet another post which is just littered with tips you've already heard about getting a job in Denmark. I've mentioned my top ones in this post and I'll also add more tips at the end of this post. The aim of this post is to be about what you have the potential to be in Denmark. Read on.
I start my job on Monday. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm really looking forward to becoming part of the work force again. I'm going to be working in a similar role to the role I had back in London and I am hoping I'll be able to bring something positive to the team, drawing on past experience. I now joke to my Danish friends that I'll be paying for my own Danish lessons now - this is technically true as I'll be a tax payer. Trust me, this is the ONLY time I'll be excited about paying Danish tax.
Anyway, I was sitting in language class a couple of weeks ago. It was a module 3 class and it consisted of very experienced and highly educated women. All of whom had perfect English and a module 3 level of Danish which is to say, intermediate. All of them are capable of holding a decent conversation in Danish. The lesson we were on was, I think, about job descriptions and CV writing. I think. This particular teacher is of an older generation and isn't very exciting. I tended to drift in her lessons, which was a shame. I did try not to. But I digress.
So as I said, the lesson was about work, in some form. If I recall correctly, we were playing 'spot the odd one out' within the jobs. Ridiculously easy for a module 3 class, but hey ho. One of the jobs that came up was rengøringsassistent. For those of you that don't speak any Danish, this means 'cleaning assistant'. Our teacher read it out and said "this is probably going to be the first job that you get in Denmark".
It STUNG. Did I mention the make up of our class on that day? All of us there were highly educated, professional women, who had professional backgrounds and careers that we had formed in our home countries. We ranged from IT engineers to sales and marketing managers. We had gone over this in class when describing our education. Did I mention that the level of English was very high and that we all had the ability to hold a decent conversation in Danish? And that all of the other ladies spoke at least one other European language? And yet, despite all of this, our language teacher was flippantly just telling us that cleaning was the first job we would probably get?
I object!
Now, I don't usually get drawn into these arguments. I am certainly not going to use this as an excuse and finger point the Danes as being ignorant as this was just one person, and I'm not going to judge an entire country on this person. I'm not a fan of popular sweeping generalisations. But, speaking to others, this is a misconception held by some (mainly older) Danes. It grated me. It's a problem when highly educated foreigners are not seen as such, with these sorts of assumptions made without even asking about individual backgrounds. I know, I know .. I was lucky in that I had the financial backing of my husband, and also my own savings. I know that not all foreigners who move to Denmark have this and that, ok, sometimes in order to pay the bills one will have to get a more menial job to make ends meet. But I don't think that this is where people should start, if you have a professional career with high qualifications to back this up.
However my main issue here is the fact that the sentence was "this will probably be your first job in Denmark". Why 'probably'? Why not "if you can't get into your profession and need to pay the bills, you may want to consider doing X, Y or Z". I feel there should be a little more understanding and encouragement, particularly from language schools who are surrounded by foreigners every day. It was the flippancy of the comment that annoyed me more than anything. People who work with expats everyday need to understand that we ARE educated, we HAD careers at home, we ARE experienced and we CAN contribute a lot to the country. Therefore people who work with expats should be more encouraging, don't you think? I'm the sort of person who, if told that I can't do something, will happily ignore that person and try my hardest to prove them wrong. I have proved my teacher wrong with the fact that I got that job. I never wanted to give up and it has paid off. But not everyone is like me.
What I will say to anyone reading this who is thinking about moving to Denmark who wish to further their career here, please please please do as much research as you can before applying for that visa/buying that plane ticket etc. I strongly believe that highly educated foreigners can contribute a lot to Denmark and can continue their careers here but it will not happen overnight. We are still in crisis and we will, most of the time, be competing against highly educated and experienced Danes who have an established network here. No-one has a right to a job over anyone but it is dog eat dog, and you need to be prepared for it. Here's how to research.
LinkedIn
Any highly educated professional worth their salt will have an up to date and detailed LinkedIn profile. Make sure that you list your responsibilities and, if applicable, the results you achieved. Really sell yourself on your personal profile. There's no time for being overly modest. Really tell the world what you have achieved. Always question: why should Denmark hire me? What can I offer? Also join Denmark based groups which are based around your profession. For example, my career is in marketing. I therefore joined a Scandinavia based marketing group, and a Denmark based direct marketing group. Join in on discussions and get your name out there. My key piece of advice here is do not simply join these groups asking for a job. This is a key time to showcase your skills and expertise. Show these companies what you can offer - treat it like a stage.
Online expat groups
Join as many as you can and be active. See if you can find like minded professionals in these groups who are in your field of expertise and ask them how they found their job, do they have any advice to give, are there any specific pointers that they can give? I would advise against private messaging anyone at random - I get several people private messaging me on one forum, asking me questions which I cannot answer as they are not relevant to me. One person asked me how to make it as a masseuse in Denmark - I haven't the faintest idea as it's not my field. What I did advise is that he posted the question on the main forums where he could meet people who knew. Once you find somebody like this, then I think it's ok to private message them (but ask their permission first). Here's a few groups which are good for newcomers and would-be arrivals. A quick google will bring up similar groups - I don't think you can join too many.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/30050586332/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/expats.copenhagen/
http://www.expat-blog.com/
https://www.internations.org/ (this one is great as there are a lot of Danes here too)
Get a feel for the job market
Before you even consider applying for a visa, before you even consider spending money on a plane ticket, check out the job market. Look at your field and see if there are any patterns in what companies are looking for. Is there anything in your skill set that you could add before you move to Denmark? Remember that employers of any nationality like to see initiative. For example, the Danish marketing scene required a lot of people who knew about search engine optimisation (SEO for short). Although I knew the concept, I didn't know more than that. And so, this blog was born. I wanted to see if I could improve my skills (and also keep my web analytics skills sharp). So although I didn't have concrete experience in a work environment, I was and am able to show that I had the initiative to fill that gap in one way or another. Is there anything similar that you could do? Could you start a blog about your thoughts on your field and where it's going? It could get your name out there. Just a suggestion.
Jobsites on this post and more useful links here (scroll down to the comments as there are loads more suggestions).
So, in a nutshell - if you want to continue your career over here then aim for that! Do not listen to anyone who tells you that your first job will "probably" be something menial. If you are qualified and able, then you are more than capable over here, trust me. However, at the same time, it is still difficult - so please do as much research as you can. Don't move over blind.
EDIT: Very important to state that furthering your career here will very much be industry dependent. Furthering a marketing career will be easier (not necessarily easy, but easier) than furthering a law career. I don't think I need to explain why. But again, I will reiterate that it is absolutely vital to do as much research as you can before even thinking about applying for a visa. Lots of research will not guarantee you an immediate job but it is a lot better than moving over in the dark.
That's the end of that post ... feels good to get back into writing again. As always, do share your thoughts and experiences.
I would like to state that this blog post isn't going to be yet another post which is just littered with tips you've already heard about getting a job in Denmark. I've mentioned my top ones in this post and I'll also add more tips at the end of this post. The aim of this post is to be about what you have the potential to be in Denmark. Read on.
I start my job on Monday. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm really looking forward to becoming part of the work force again. I'm going to be working in a similar role to the role I had back in London and I am hoping I'll be able to bring something positive to the team, drawing on past experience. I now joke to my Danish friends that I'll be paying for my own Danish lessons now - this is technically true as I'll be a tax payer. Trust me, this is the ONLY time I'll be excited about paying Danish tax.
Anyway, I was sitting in language class a couple of weeks ago. It was a module 3 class and it consisted of very experienced and highly educated women. All of whom had perfect English and a module 3 level of Danish which is to say, intermediate. All of them are capable of holding a decent conversation in Danish. The lesson we were on was, I think, about job descriptions and CV writing. I think. This particular teacher is of an older generation and isn't very exciting. I tended to drift in her lessons, which was a shame. I did try not to. But I digress.
So as I said, the lesson was about work, in some form. If I recall correctly, we were playing 'spot the odd one out' within the jobs. Ridiculously easy for a module 3 class, but hey ho. One of the jobs that came up was rengøringsassistent. For those of you that don't speak any Danish, this means 'cleaning assistant'. Our teacher read it out and said "this is probably going to be the first job that you get in Denmark".
It STUNG. Did I mention the make up of our class on that day? All of us there were highly educated, professional women, who had professional backgrounds and careers that we had formed in our home countries. We ranged from IT engineers to sales and marketing managers. We had gone over this in class when describing our education. Did I mention that the level of English was very high and that we all had the ability to hold a decent conversation in Danish? And that all of the other ladies spoke at least one other European language? And yet, despite all of this, our language teacher was flippantly just telling us that cleaning was the first job we would probably get?
I object!
Now, I don't usually get drawn into these arguments. I am certainly not going to use this as an excuse and finger point the Danes as being ignorant as this was just one person, and I'm not going to judge an entire country on this person. I'm not a fan of popular sweeping generalisations. But, speaking to others, this is a misconception held by some (mainly older) Danes. It grated me. It's a problem when highly educated foreigners are not seen as such, with these sorts of assumptions made without even asking about individual backgrounds. I know, I know .. I was lucky in that I had the financial backing of my husband, and also my own savings. I know that not all foreigners who move to Denmark have this and that, ok, sometimes in order to pay the bills one will have to get a more menial job to make ends meet. But I don't think that this is where people should start, if you have a professional career with high qualifications to back this up.
However my main issue here is the fact that the sentence was "this will probably be your first job in Denmark". Why 'probably'? Why not "if you can't get into your profession and need to pay the bills, you may want to consider doing X, Y or Z". I feel there should be a little more understanding and encouragement, particularly from language schools who are surrounded by foreigners every day. It was the flippancy of the comment that annoyed me more than anything. People who work with expats everyday need to understand that we ARE educated, we HAD careers at home, we ARE experienced and we CAN contribute a lot to the country. Therefore people who work with expats should be more encouraging, don't you think? I'm the sort of person who, if told that I can't do something, will happily ignore that person and try my hardest to prove them wrong. I have proved my teacher wrong with the fact that I got that job. I never wanted to give up and it has paid off. But not everyone is like me.
What I will say to anyone reading this who is thinking about moving to Denmark who wish to further their career here, please please please do as much research as you can before applying for that visa/buying that plane ticket etc. I strongly believe that highly educated foreigners can contribute a lot to Denmark and can continue their careers here but it will not happen overnight. We are still in crisis and we will, most of the time, be competing against highly educated and experienced Danes who have an established network here. No-one has a right to a job over anyone but it is dog eat dog, and you need to be prepared for it. Here's how to research.
Any highly educated professional worth their salt will have an up to date and detailed LinkedIn profile. Make sure that you list your responsibilities and, if applicable, the results you achieved. Really sell yourself on your personal profile. There's no time for being overly modest. Really tell the world what you have achieved. Always question: why should Denmark hire me? What can I offer? Also join Denmark based groups which are based around your profession. For example, my career is in marketing. I therefore joined a Scandinavia based marketing group, and a Denmark based direct marketing group. Join in on discussions and get your name out there. My key piece of advice here is do not simply join these groups asking for a job. This is a key time to showcase your skills and expertise. Show these companies what you can offer - treat it like a stage.
Online expat groups
Join as many as you can and be active. See if you can find like minded professionals in these groups who are in your field of expertise and ask them how they found their job, do they have any advice to give, are there any specific pointers that they can give? I would advise against private messaging anyone at random - I get several people private messaging me on one forum, asking me questions which I cannot answer as they are not relevant to me. One person asked me how to make it as a masseuse in Denmark - I haven't the faintest idea as it's not my field. What I did advise is that he posted the question on the main forums where he could meet people who knew. Once you find somebody like this, then I think it's ok to private message them (but ask their permission first). Here's a few groups which are good for newcomers and would-be arrivals. A quick google will bring up similar groups - I don't think you can join too many.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/30050586332/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/expats.copenhagen/
http://www.expat-blog.com/
https://www.internations.org/ (this one is great as there are a lot of Danes here too)
Get a feel for the job market
Before you even consider applying for a visa, before you even consider spending money on a plane ticket, check out the job market. Look at your field and see if there are any patterns in what companies are looking for. Is there anything in your skill set that you could add before you move to Denmark? Remember that employers of any nationality like to see initiative. For example, the Danish marketing scene required a lot of people who knew about search engine optimisation (SEO for short). Although I knew the concept, I didn't know more than that. And so, this blog was born. I wanted to see if I could improve my skills (and also keep my web analytics skills sharp). So although I didn't have concrete experience in a work environment, I was and am able to show that I had the initiative to fill that gap in one way or another. Is there anything similar that you could do? Could you start a blog about your thoughts on your field and where it's going? It could get your name out there. Just a suggestion.
Jobsites on this post and more useful links here (scroll down to the comments as there are loads more suggestions).
So, in a nutshell - if you want to continue your career over here then aim for that! Do not listen to anyone who tells you that your first job will "probably" be something menial. If you are qualified and able, then you are more than capable over here, trust me. However, at the same time, it is still difficult - so please do as much research as you can. Don't move over blind.
EDIT: Very important to state that furthering your career here will very much be industry dependent. Furthering a marketing career will be easier (not necessarily easy, but easier) than furthering a law career. I don't think I need to explain why. But again, I will reiterate that it is absolutely vital to do as much research as you can before even thinking about applying for a visa. Lots of research will not guarantee you an immediate job but it is a lot better than moving over in the dark.
That's the end of that post ... feels good to get back into writing again. As always, do share your thoughts and experiences.
Thursday, 16 May 2013
I'm back from honeymoon and ready to blog!
Just not right this minute. I have so much to talk about and am planning to write over the weekend, if not this evening.
Good news, though - I got a job! A real marketing job and everything! I really am so pleased. More details on that to follow.
Will write soon,
Nicola
Good news, though - I got a job! A real marketing job and everything! I really am so pleased. More details on that to follow.
Will write soon,
Nicola
Friday, 12 April 2013
Reason for my brief hiatus
I have not posted for ages! Reason is -. I got married at the weekend! All my energy has been thrown into the last minute jobs and seeing friends and family for the first time in a long, long time. It was a brilliant day and a mix of both Danish and British traditions. I'll write something more extensive when things have calmed down a bit but for now, have a picture:
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