The Job Search Process in Denmark from A to Z (Å)

The approach to job search is different in Denmark. At least in some aspects. 

There are different aspects to work on, some you will have to focus on all the time others depending on where you are in the process.

If you have questions or comments on this article, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. Remember to let me know in the invite that you are connecting because of reading this article.

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I have created a graphical overview of the job search process. 

I have divided that job search process into three areas:

• Ongoing Activities – These are the things I suggest you also continue working on after you get a job.
• Creating Your Base – These are the things I suggest you start doing before you start your actual job search. Having done these will give you a much stronger foundation in your job search.
• The Job Search – This is where the specific job search happens and the process around this from start to finish.

I see a lot of people struggle with the basics, and that means that they struggle even more with their job search and career development. However, they never connect the two, and thus keep struggling. That is why I have included this part for the article. 

Networking

One of the first things you will hear in Denmark when speaking about job search is that networking is one of the most important things to focus on. Over 50% of positions are filled through people’s networks.

The way I see it is that networking is both a short-term and a long-term strategy when it comes to your career.

Short-term because you never know who you will meet and who they are connected to, that might be able to help you.

Long-term because it will help you with everything in both your future job search and when you need help in other aspects of life. Just be sure to also give back yourself.

LinkedIn

Approximately 43%-55% of the entire Danish population had a LinkedIn profile in 2021 (depending on who you ask – One number is from LinkedIn the other from Danish statistics).

That means that this platform is preferred when people in Denmark network, look for jobs, look for employees as well as brand themselves within an industry or knowledge field.

I encourage you to build an online network using LinkedIn if you have not done so already. Connect with people you have met, and follow people and companies you find interesting.

You can even start posting yourself, and if you don’t quite know where to start, then start to notice what kinds of posts catch your interest and think about how you can write something similar. A small piece of advice – It is okay to share your personal stories so that we get to know who you are.

As part of Career Network Denmark Elevate, you gain access to at least two workshops, focused on LinkedIn, one on setting up your profile and one on how to use LinkedIn to network and get noticed. 

Danish Culture

Danes are interesting but also strange people. That is why it’s a great idea to learn more about the Danish culture, both in general, but also in terms of your job search and career.

Here are some things I suggest you could look into:

Hygge (Coziness)

Punctuality

Informality

Janteloven (the law of Jante)

Biking culture

Small Talk (we like talking about the weather)

Danish language (More about that below)

This is just a place to start, and there is so much more you will learn with time. 

Learning Danish

Even with the high level of English in Denmark, you will help yourself a lot by learning Danish. You can even get free Danish courses (only a refundable deposit is required) for the first 5 years after arriving to Denmark.

By starting to learn Danish you will show a potential employer that you are serious about living in Denmark. Also knowing the language will often give you a better chance of landing the job.

You can even start laerning Danish before arriving in Denmark – Babbel is one platform you can use for this.

Health

Having focus on your health will help you in your job search – I see a lot of job seekers struggle mentally because they are in a stressful situation.

Good health is always a great foundation, but especially when you are in a situation where other things in life might be a bit hard. So focussing on your sleep, eating and exercise habits is really important. Even more so when going into the dark and cold months in Denmark during fall and winter.

When you are building a house, it is a great idea to have a solid base. This also goes for your job search and career development. With a strong base, you are more likely to create a career and life that you value and where you can grow and have fun.

Here two things are important – the first and most important are knowing your core values, and the second is doing your research.

Your values

Your values are a big part of your base and being aware of what they are is what will make you find a job that suits you. Not only that it will also help you ask better questions and spend your time wisely in your job search. 

If you want to read more about this and have a guide on how to figure out what your core values are, you can read the article I wrote about it here.

Do Research

A good base also consists of some basic research about a couple of different things. As mentioned a bit earlier, it is a great idea to research Danish work culture in general, the structure of the companies, and how we communicate with each other (hint: very informal).

The next thing you want to research is your industry. How is it different from where you come from? Are there other industries and sectors in Denmark, which could be of interest to you?

Who are the important people in your industry in Denmark? Are you already connected to any of them? If not how far removed are you from them?

In what geographical area are you going to apply for jobs?

If you are not yet located in Denmark, there is also the area of VISA to look into, depending on if you are a EU citizen or not.

Do research and learn Danish with BookBeat (promotion link)

Job search is a skill like so many other things – Of course, there are also other things involved as it is often up to other people to make the decisions. However, the more you prepare and develop your job search skills the more you will get invited to interviews.

That is why I have broken down the application process for a posted position for you in this part.

If you find this and the other parts of this article valuable, I would love it if you would share it with your network.

The Job Ad

The first thing you need to do is find a relevant job ad and read it carefully.

When you read the job ad I encourage you to take great notes. Write down all of the questions that pop up in your head as you read. In addition to that also write down the things in the post you can relate to your CV, either a former job, your education, or maybe voluntary work or projects you have worked on in the past.

Being very detailed in this part of the process will help you throughout the entire process of the search, especially when it comes to the interview. To be able to turn back to these notes later is priceless.

Remember there are always questions to ask about the position, the team and the company – even if you think you know the job type, then find great questions to ask about the company or the team. This part is important.

Another small note – It’s OKAY to apply for a job where you only match 60-70% of the requirements. If you match 100% you are probably going to be board pretty fasy and the company might see you as overqualified.

Research

After you have finished reading the ad, it’s time to do your research. I suggest starting with the company website and using the questions you have from reading the job post as your guideline. Some of the questions will probably be answered while new ones will emerge, write those down.

Now broaden your search to the company’s social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, wherever they are present. You will most likely be able to find the links on the company website.

The great thing about looking to social media is that you will get an idea of what is important to the company at present, in terms of their customers. Something you might be able to use in your application or the interview.

And lastly going to search engines and newspapers to find information. It is ok to also take note of the more negative things said and written about the company. For one you can use this to ask some good and courious questions (not critical), second it can also help you get an idea of the company and use it to evaluate if you want to spend your time applying with them.

After this, you call the company if there is a number available and ask them the remaining questions. If there is no contact number, but only an email, write them and ask if you can speak with them, do include the questions in this email as well. 

Write CV & Cover Letter

With all the information you have from the job ad, your research as well as the conversation you had with the contact person, you now write the CV and Cover Letter.

Do not write your material before you speak to the contact person! You will get information in this call that can help set you apart!

Your CV is about you in relation to the company, so remember that you always want to adjust it to reflect the tasks important in the role you are applying for. Include the information you got from speaking to the contact person – This will put you way ahead of the competitors.

Focus on the things you can do, and not the things you cannot do. Ex. do not write Newly graduated unless they specifically ask for people who recently graduated in the job ad. It just shows that you only have little, if any, real experience.

Your cover letter is NOT just a re-write of your CV, I unfortunately see this again and again. If a Cover Letter is needed for the position, make sure to use the page (Yes, 1 page) to tell them about the value you can bring to the company. Write about the things you know is important to the company, based on the conversation you had, and how you can contribute value to that.

Feedback

Now before you send your material to the company it is time to get feedback, and the first person to give that to you is going to be… Yourself 🙂

Start by reading your material out loud to yourself, you will catch a lot of spelling mistakes this way, as well as things that could use a rewrite.

A personal and a bit embarrassing example: In Danish, we have the word SAMT, which means As well (as), but I had a bad tendency to make a typo with the word and write SMAT instead, which means mud 🙁 That gives it quite a different meaning, and to be honest it is such a stupid mistake. For things like this you might catch yourself by reading out loud, you can also use programs like Grammarly to help you out, or even put the material through ChatGPT.

I also encourage you to get someone else to read through your material, preferably a Dane if possible. Because there is also the tone you write in which can be important. This is one of the (many) reasons that ChatGPT is not a great solution for writing Cover Letters for the Danish market. 

Send

This next part is fairly easy, now you send your material to the company. Make sure to use the link or email they provide in the job posting. You want to make sure to do it right.

Unless they specifically ask you to send your documents in one large document, you have to send each one as a separate file. One document for the CV, one for the Cover Letter and so on.

Interview

All of the hard work has paid off and you are invited for the interview – YAY!!

To prepare for that interview, you do more research and go back through your notes. In Danish we also call this a job conversation, which I love, because that indicates that it is not a one-way thing. Yes, the company has questions to ask and they evaluate you, but you also have to ask them questions and evaluate the company to see if this is the place for you.

You can read more about preparing for the interview in these two articles:

Ace Your Interview: Essential Questions You Should Expect

What questions to ask at the job interview?

Remember to research your pay expectations before the interview – They will likely ask you towards the end of the first interview about your expectations. Do not bring this up yourself! Ask your union, they have research in your field. 

There are a lot of other things you can negotiate than money – I also wrote about that in this article.

Here are a few other pointers for the interview:

• • • It is better to slightly over-dress than under-dress for an interview. Look at the company website or their employee’s LinkedIn profiles, and try and match the image they are conveying. That means if they are in suits wear a suit, but if they are more relaxed then maybe wear a blazer over a t-shirt.
    • The interview starts as soon as you enter the parking lot. You never know who people are and how they influence the hiring decision, so be nice and polite to everyone (as I am sure you always are).
    • Always say yes when they offer something to drink – you can ask for water if you don’t drink coffee or tea.
    • Small talk is important – weather, traffic and other safe topics like that.

Keep Applying

When getting invited to an interview, I see a lot of people spending all of their time and energy preparing for this – Understandably so, however, it is important that you still also focus on your job search. There is still a risk that you will not get the job, and if you then spend all of your time and energy on the interview and that company, you will have lost momentum in your job search after the interview process ends.

This can become a negative spiral that goes like this:

1. You focus on the interview and nothing else
2. You do not get the job
3. You do not get called in for interviews for a while (because you did not apply for any jobs)
4. This affects your mood and confidence
5. You start doubting your skills

So it is important to keep applying – I wrote an article about how job search can affect us negatively because of the influence it has on our identity. You can find it here.

Contracts

Even when they offer you a contract, keep just a little focus on the job search until the contract is signed. Things can still go wrong in the negotiation phase. I always encourage you to get someone with legal knowledge of Danish law to look through your contract before you sign it. The best way in my opinion is to find the union that fits your area of expertise.

The union can also help you with figuring out what the salary expectation is before the first interview, as mentioned earlier.

And remember in Denmark you are more or less expected to negotiate your salary, so don’t just say yes to the first offer.

Starting the Job

You signed the contract and the start day is approaching. That means two things:

• • It’s time to relax just a little bit before starting. You have most probably been in a long-term stressful situation, especially if you have been unemployed. So permit yourself to just relax a bit. If in any way possible make it so that you have a couple of weeks before you start your new job both to celebrate and to have time to get used to the thought.

The new situation will also be a stress factor on your body and mind with all the new tasks, the new workplace, and the new people you are going to encounter when you start.

• • The second thing you need to do is to prepare for your first day, week, and month as best you can. Go back through all of your notes, look at the company website, and ask your new boss if there is anything they would like for you to prepare before you start.

Create your own plan for what you expect to learn, what is your goal in the first week, month, and three months? Is it to get to know the organization’s structure, to know the people, to make your first 3 sales? 

Onboarding

In Danish companies, you will often start your first day by eating breakfast with your new team or department or lunch with them. This is a way to get introduced to everyone. Prepare a small pitch about yourself and include that you are looking forward to working with everyone.

Take notice of what others are sharing – The once that seem most interesting, start by getting to know them better by networking.

The first three months are of course about getting settled in the new jobs and with all the new tasks, but it is also about getting to know your new colleagues and the company.

Make sure to talk to your manager about what they expect from you as well as what your expectations are.

And lastly, remember to NOT give yourself 120% in the beginning, you might set standards for yourself, that you will have a really hard time living up to.

Lastly, remember – YOU GOT THIS!!!!

If you are looking for support and network – Join the Job & Career Network or book a session with me directly.