Job and career

In general Danish workplaces offer good working conditions, an attractive work-life balance, informal and low hiearchy management style, and good opportunities for professional and personal development.

However, finding a job in Denmark as an international might be time-consuming and competetitive. To get you started, we have gathered some useful info about the job search process below.

Job in Aarhus is a collaboration between the major stakeholders for job seeking internationals, which provides you with an overview of your opportunities when searching for a new job.

Workindenmark

Workindenmark is a public employment service for highly qualified international candidates looking for a job in Denmark - and for Danish companies searching for talented foreign employees.

The three Workindenmark centres are placed in Aarhus, Odense and Copenhagen and offer a series of recruitment services to employers and information and guidance to jobseekers living and working in Denmark.

For inspiration we suggest that you visit workindenmark.dk and for instance take a look at their publications, in which you will find tips for job search, settling in, your rights when working, and much more.

Jobcenter Aarhus

If you are a foreign jobseeker living in Aarhus Municipality and are not currently receiving benefits, Jobcenter Aarhus offers you guidance in your job search. This includes advice and practical support for company internship programs and wage subsidies in private or public companies.

The International Employment Unit - Are you an International looking for a Job?

If you are an international jobseeker who is:

Living in Aarhus as an accompanying partner to an international specialist worker; highly educated International job seeker, or repat.
Not receiving benefits from an unemployment fund (A-kasse), or social security payments.

Then you may be entitled to assistance from the International Employment Unit of the City of Aarhus. As a part of the Job Center we can provide guidance and support in your Job Search.

We are part of the Business Region Aarhus Program for Accompanying Partners to specialist workers, which seeks to help international accompanying spouses partners on their way into the Danish job market.

You can read more about this program here: Business Region Aarhus Program for Accompanying Partners

If you would like to learn more, please do not hesitate to write to us at ieu@aarhus.dk.

We look forward to hearing from you.

The International Employment Unit
Værkmestergade 15 B
8000 Aarhus C
www.aarhus.dk

Mette Skautrup
Business Consultant
Mobile 4185 4857

Camilla Johansen
Business Consultant
Mobile 4185 6080

How-to guide

Moreover, visit the page How to get a career in Denmark for tips on networking, job goal areas, and much more.

CV

A general suggestion is that you adapt your CV according to the Danish requirements. This is the first step in getting through to the interview and being considered for a job. It is thus very important that you make a special effort to write a good CV that reflects your competences and skills. An employer will typically scan your CV to see if you fulfil the minimum criteria for the job. If you do, he/she will read your application to assess if you are qualified to take on the job. That is why your application should elaborate on your qualifications and show their relevance for the specific job.

You can find principles of how to write a good CV as well as templates and examples here.

Another thing you can do to build your CV is to join the job search seminars organized by WorkInDenmark.

LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn has become a very useful tool for job seekers in Denmark. Therefore, we advise you to create a profile with full background information and to start following the companies that you are interested in. Discover how to build your profile and promote yourself on LinkedIn here.

Furthermore, pay Zety Career Blog a visit for some free, handy guides on how to build an online profile on LinkedIn and learn how to use it successfully in your job search. Zety’s guides are recommended by 150+ universities.

One of Zety’s guides is about how you optimize your LinkedIn profile for opportunities search, in which you get an expert advise and winning techniques from a LinkedIn representative on finding a job through LinkedIn and building an online network.
In another guide, How to Upload a Resumé to LinkedIn, you are presented with very useful tips for using LinkedIn Resumé Assistant and turning your LinkedIn profile into a resumé.

Assessment of your qualifications

In order to help the employer understand your non-Danish qualifications, you can get an assessment from the Danish Agency for Higher Education. It is a brief statement saying what your foreign qualification corresponds to in Denmark. You can include a copy of the assessment with your job application. For more information visit ufm.dk/recognition.

Job search websites

You can find an overview of job search websites here.

Jobindex - among other things - offers free career guidance and an "Application Engine", which can help you write an application.

Jobsearch is another job-searching database. Visit their website (in Danish) to create an overview of vacancies in Denmark.

The news site The Local Denmark also has a job database where you can search for jobs by type and location.

Submitting your application

Solicited

The most common way to apply for a job is through a job ad. These days, job-seeking activities usually take place online. If you are applying for a position within a large company, they will often provide an online application form for you to fill out and submit. If this is not the case, you will typically have to send your application via email before the deadline. In most cases, companies also accept applications sent by regular post.

Unsolicited

The unsolicited job application is characterized by being the type of a job application where you are the one to take the initiative and contact a certain company of your interest in order to offer your skills and competences. It is worth considering that option, especially because lately employers have found unsolicited applications more and more attractive and consider them to be the 3^rd most popular medium used for recruiting new employees. If you are sending an unsolicited application to a smaller company, it might be an advantage to hand in your application personally. Ask for the manager and explain why you’ve come. If you can not get to talk to the right person, ask for his/her contact details. Hand in your application and then call the person responsible or turn up again a week after your first visit.

The interview

Depending on the position, company, and whether or not tests are involved you can expect two, maybe three job interviews. The first interview is the one where the employer gets an overall idea of you. The second and third are the ones, where they go even more into details, and which might involve test of various kind. Be aware that you should prepare yourself for all kinds of questions even in the first interview. Danish recruiters will ask about your professional competences, career ambitions, personality, and most importantly – your motivation. Prepare examples where you describe yourself in terms of your experience, etc. It is not enough to state that you have good logistic skills – an example will underline your statements!

Further inspiration:

The Danish job interview
Guide for job interviews

Good luck with you job search and career in Denmark!