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Foreigners taking fewer jobs in Denmark: report

Danish employers are experiencing increasing difficulty in filling jobs due in part to a fall in foreign citizens coming to work in the country.

Published: 4 December 2017 09:58 CET

Foreigners taking fewer jobs in Denmark: report

File photo: Stine Bidstrup/Polfoto/Ritzau

An analysis from the Confederation of Danish Employers (Danmarks Arbejdsgiverforening, DA) is the latest study to report the growing need for foreign labour force in the Scandinavian country, reports Finans.dk, the financial arm of newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

The Confederation of Danish Industry (Dansk industri) has previously raised concern about the issue.

DA’s figures show that the number of EU citizens coming to Denmark to work has fallen by 65 percent in the space of 15 months.

That statistic is related to a sharp decrease in Polish citizens taking jobs in Denmark, according to the report.

The number of newcomers from other EU countries has also fallen sharply since the second quarter of 2016. The number of arrivals in Denmark from EU countries has fallen from 14,500 in that period to under 5,000 in 2017’s third quarter.

EU citizens took 87 percent of newly-created jobs in 2013 compared to 11 percent currently, according to the analysis.

“It is very, very concerning that the movement of European labour to Denmark from Poland and Eastern Europe has gone from a strong, flowing river to a small, still stream.

“If the flow from Eastern Europe dries up, we could quickly end up short of qualified people,” DA’s director Jacob Holbraad told Finans.dk.

The trend can partly be attributed to improved wages and living standards in Eastern Europe.

Danish Economic Council (Det Økonomiske Råd) advisor Michaer Svarrer also told Finans.dk that the trend was cause for concern for Denmark.

“There will be consequences for Danish businesses as well as for how much public finance can grow,” Svarrer said.

Employment minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that there was a risk of companies leaving Denmark if there was a lack of available labour.

The minister told Finans.dk that he would look into initiatives to boost the available Danish and foreign work force.

READ ALSO: More must be done to draw international workers to Denmark: DI

Ten ways to improve your chances of finding a job in Denmark

CVs in Denmark often have certain aspects of layout, presentation and content in common. By writing a CV that sticks to some of these recognisable customs, you may improve your chances of catching the eye of a potential employer.

1. Length

“Keep it to one excellent page, or two if you’re more senior. I’d say if you’re aged 30 and under, one page will be enough. Only add the jobs that are relevant. Employers don’t want to hear about that restaurant server or babysitting job if it’s not relevant to the role,” Mellish said.

2. Format

At the top of your CV, a paragraph describing your experience, skills, education and character is a common way to lead into a CV. This text can be adapted depending on the job you’re applying for and how you want to present your skills.

“Add three adjectives about yourself that you can support with an example, rather than ten adjectives with no story. For example, say you are innovative for this reason. People don’t like hot air in Denmark,” Mellish said.

Aside from the profile text, chronological lists of qualifications, relevant employment history and other relevant experience should be kept brief enough to fit the one to two pages.

3. Show your personal side and a photo

It is expected that applicants include a section about their hobbies, even family situation on their CV in Denmark, as well as a photo, to give a sense of who they are as a person.

“Danish employers are interested in you as a human, more so than employers in other countries so include information about yourself, including your age and your hobbies.

“Choose a good quality photo that is not too serious but shows you looking friendly and approachable,” Mellish said.

4. Story telling

“Think in terms of story telling”, Mellish advised. “Pure letters and numbers don’t mean a lot to employers in Denmark, they need to know what projects you’ve done, what role you played and what kind of person you are through your CV.

“So rather than writing ‘I have these grades’, it’s better to say ‘I worked on this project, it took this long, I achieved this'”, Mellish said.

5. Hit the ground running

Mellish called this “plug and play”, where you show you will slot right into the company and get going with the role.

“When employers are reading your CV, they want to know what you can do on day one of the job. Sell your ability to solve someone’s problem. You need to give the impression you can add value straight away.

“In Denmark the average length of time in a job is two and a half years, because you can take your pension when you move, so employers don’t want someone they need to spend time training,” Mellish told The Local.

READ ALSO: Five tips for writing an effective Danish CV

6. Teamwork

“Group work is very important in Denmark, more than individual achievements. So talk about your teamwork and how you worked with a group to produce a good business result. It shouldn’t be ‘me, me, me’ – that’s a turn off,” Mellish said.

7. LinkedIn

“People in Denmark love LinkedIn so you need a fabulous LinkedIn profile with a good picture. Before anyone calls you for an interview they’ll have looked at your LinkedIn profile.

“In your profile, include the storytelling, explaining the projects you’ve worked on. If your job involves a uniform, I recommend wearing it in your LinkedIn photo so people get that impression of you right away. Your background photo should also be work-related, not rainbows or puppies. Use it to tell the story of who you are,” Mellish advised.

8. Unsolicited application

This is when you approach a company or department you would like to work for, without a job being advertised. The Danish term for it is uopfordret ansøgning.

“Many people make contact on LinkedIn and ask to meet for a coffee, where they chat and rather than pitch for a job, they ask if the person knows anyone looking for someone like them. Danish employers welcome this and many people are hired this way,” Mellish said.

Another way to network is to join a union, Mellish advised. They often have career events but can also help read your contract when you get a job offer, or help with any problems in the workplace.

9. Ring the recruiter

The phone number of the hiring manager will often be in the job advert. Mellish advised finding a quiet place to ring them from and spending ten to fifteen minutes asking some good business questions.

“This also helps you work out if you might want to work for this person,” Mellish said.

“Send your CV within 24 hours of the phone call and mention you spoke to them in your application,” she added.

10. Patience

“On average it can take six months to find a job in Denmark. If it’s under this, you’re lucky. If it takes a year, it’s not you, it just takes a long time because employers are looking for someone to fit into their team.

“I wrote 100 letters, I got ten responses, three interviews and one job which I had for eight years,” Mellish told The Local.

“Danish employers are not always good at getting back to you. If you don’t hear anything, just keep applying for other jobs. If you sent an application on June 1st, you could send a follow-up email on June 15th, then you’ll have to leave it and move on,” she advised.

Kay Xander Mellish’s book ‘How to Work in Denmark’ offers both job-searching advice and tips on how to succeed in the Danish workplace.

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