Your five step path to a good Danish job

Want to get a Danish job? The University Post asked three experts to give us their insider tips

by Patricia Trincado

Times are tough, and there are not that many jobs out there, ripe and ready to be plucked.

Getting a good job in Denmark is not easy, and this goes for Danes, just as it goes for international students and graduates.

But, our experts assure us, it can be done. Here is the University Post’s step-by-step guide. It will give you your best shot at the Danish labour market.

1st step: While you are at university

While you are studying it is a good idea to learn the local language, agree our three experts.

Tip: Learn some Danish

Many industries are positive towards receiving students and graduates who are talented, bright, and motivated, regardless of their nationality.

»However, many jobs require a knowledge of the Danish language, or they are distributed through Danish networks and this makes it more difficult for internationals«, explains Helle S. Waagepetersen, our first expert.

She is head of studies at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, now merged with the Faculty of Health. It was recently awarded the International Study Environment Award for its efforts in getting international graduate students to create networks and stay in Denmark.

Ana Mosneaga, our second expert, is a PhD student researching how international students get jobs here. One of the tips her informants provided for her while studying was as follows.

Tip: Be specialised in at least one area.

Bear in mind that you will need to be able to translate the competencies you have attained during your studies to professional qualifications that companies need. Therefore, »be specialized or good at something«, Ana sums up her research article.

2nd step: When you graduate.

Helle has helped students in her department make themselves attractive to the Danish labour market.

»We have also helped them formulate what their strong points are in comparison with Danish graduates«, she explains, adding that it is important to have relevant work experience that outplays the Danish opposition job candidates.

Tip: Formulate what makes you strong relative to a Danish candidate.

Søren Kibsgaard is from Work In Denmark, an employment service for Danish companies and foreign job seekers.

He also underlines the importance of exploiting your condition as international. It is the added value to sell yourself that Danish students do not have.

Søren strongly recommends that in case you can’t find a job, it is a good idea to volunteer in the meantime in order to show that you are interested and to get some of this experience that many companies require. His tip is therefore: Volunteer.

He calls on international students to think out of the box.

»Don’t limit yourself to certain job titles, open the range of possibilities«, Søren says.

Find out how to network, contact companies and succeed at interviews in the second part of our guide here.

universitypost@adm.ku.dk

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