Well this is my story. I´m born in Sweden but I´m not “arian”, I´m a serb so I dont look swedish at all. I speak swedish fluently.
I´m seeking a job in sweden. Any job. Somehow the last 1,5 years I can´t find any. I dont have a record of crime. I have finished school but not a engineer. Have worked 6 months before in a factory . I send emails and dont ever get answer back. The few I get answer to is a decline or the position is taken.
I got a interview thrue a friend for a job. The interview went well til he said something that was so rasict I wanted to break him in half. I said that I have a girl in bosnia and I need work, anykind of work, so I can support her when she gets here. He said something like: yeah we don´t want you to go back there…
I was like :< but I kept my cools cause I really need work. So I all the time.
It´s gone 5 weeks since the interview. I´ve called and the phone is “busy”. I sent email and get o answer from him.
Now when I worked in the factory 1.5 years ago there where people like me, Non-swedish. They all had engineer diplomas and some had even two. They worked there because they were not swedish.
They told me horror stories about the reality about work in sweden. There was a architect that was educated in USA and had the best score in his university. Worked in USA and England. So he made the mistake to move to sweden. Worked in a factory and hoping that one day he will get a real employment. After 5 months he said he´s going to his home country in somalia to start a firm there.
There are thousands of stories like that and they are real. I feel so bad that there are such injustice in a country like sweden. Sweden is one of the most evolved countries in europe and yet the rasicm is unchanged.
Sometimes I feel sick in my gut and angry. Want to hit my fist on the table and scream. Knowing that I as a human beeing has a lower value then a swede. Thats the reality that I have to face every day.
I don’t exactaly understand your pain(I’m 15), but it makes me angry as well. People most likly do that cause they think they are actually worth something if they do.
Some people over here in America are complaining that spainsh are stealing there jobs. Which is total BS. “Places like Wal-Mart are giving them jobs illeagly”(Maddox Mission). People are so dense. They think I’m a loser, when they resort to saying stuff to make them feel better. Yeah, real loser-like of me…
87% people are stupid, not cause they can’t be smart, it’s because they don’t wanna be, cause they’re lazy.
as a swede myself I can only say I am sorry to hear this, but I can also say as unemployed myself that today there are about 400 people on each job out in a ad, so it is very hard for anyone here in sweden today to get a job, even people with very high educations/studies can’t get jobs they want…so…it is not only what you mention, but today IT IS very difficult to get job in Sweden in general…
hmmmm you should move here. i think we have the lowest unemployment rate of any western country, 4%.
as for racism, yes i think it does happen, but i don’t think it happens to me, i get the feeling that if you are Maori you are less likely to get a job with any real responsibility unless you are working for a racially orriented group that deal specifically with Maori, or pacific islanders.
i think its sad that it comes to that, but human nature is very strange when it comes to these things.
I’m a Brit but have been out of the country for the last 12 years.
You have my sympathy, it’s a tough world out there and there are a lot of people that will make simple judgments because it’s easier than learning about you.
Be proud of who you are, where you come from. Look people in the eye, talk to them as equals, be prepared to understand them as well.
I get more hassle in the UK when I go “home” because I “escaped” and now talk “funny”.
I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m in the same situation and I’m a native Scot living in Scotland. I’ve done the same thing applying to loads of jobs - well over 50. I had about 3 interviews and none of them led to anything. I have just managed to get some work locally through a friend of mine and fortunately it is doing 3D stuff and I should get some Final Cut Pro training too, which will come in very handy but has been a very demoralizing process. The most important thing is contacts and that’s why it’s even worse being in a different country.
I think he meant that he has a perception like most of the Western world do that Bosnia is not a nice place to be. He was probably trying to be nice by saying that he wants you to have a better life in a country he believes is a better place to live.
But you have to remeber that some firms will favour native workers and being a native in my country, I personally feel that I deserve more right to a job in my country than someone who moved here. Not solely based on that of course because if a non-native was far better at the job than me, that’s different. But if we had similar skill sets then I think I should have the advantage.
The reasons include that it was the choice of a non-native to come here and I shouldn’t be forced to make the choice to move based on the fact that non-natives have taken the available jobs.
Also natives know the language and customs better so might fit in better with the current staff.
One thing that is annoying a lot of UK residents at the moment is that UK firms have moved their call centres to India. This means it’s far cheaper for them but when we UK folk call up the customer service, we are met with bad phone lines and people who don’t understand what you are saying.
I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily deliberate racism in the same way hiring a man instead of a women who is likely to get pregnant not necessarily sexism. There are a lot of factors that businesses have to consider.
I hope I didn’t offend anyone with what I said. The important thing is not to jump to conclusions. Should I assume that I’m being persecuted because I haven’t been employed for 2 years? Are firms being racist against me in that they are favouring non-native workers maybe? I doubt it. I just have to keep trying and hoping that some firm will give me a break.
To osxrules:
Yes everything you say is true. But denying the rasicm in sweden is just naive. If you go to the unemployment center in stockholm there are 90% non-swedes there. So my conclusions isnt from the thin air. Its from facts.
About the language barrier. There isnt that many. Most of the non-swedes speak perfect swedish with a small accent that hardly noticed in the conversation. And even if its noticable you still understand what they are saying.
Yes thats true But in sweden it goes like this. A non-swede with engineering diploma with the highest grade in the university and a swede with the lowest grade in the same unversity. The swede is getting the job.
In some cases the swedish guy/gal doesnt need the diploma to get the position. Even if the job requires it.
My only fear is that Sweden will end up like france and germany. Goverments cant ignore the problem with racesism in its own country. Something has to be done before i gets overhand. maybe its far away from that right now but its never to soon to fix a small problem before it gets too big to handle.
I lived in Holland for 20 years. There was some racism, but not Klu Klux Clan or Nazi style stuff. Just some assholes here and there. The same as any country, including here where I live now. But I never had troubles finding a job. The most important thing is: ONCE YOU GET A JOB, MAKE FRIENDS.
It is 90% of all the instances that I landed a fine job through friends. And friends of mine landed fine jobs too because I vouched for them.
But I will attempt to give you some tips to get you your dreamjob:
Don’t bother applying for a job that doesn’t fit with your personality. If you like to kill whales, don’t go working for Greenpeace, unless you use it as a stepping stone for your next move.
Always ALWAYS do your research. Go to the company a few days or weeks before. Pick up some folders and brochures. Know the company history. Know their relations. Check out what the general dressing code is, what cars they drive etc., in short, the company culture.
During the interview:
-Don’t see it as a job interview, see it like you trying to hit on a beautiful girl or running for president or something. Don’t appear like you are begging for the job.
SO NEVER TELL DEPRESSING STORIES. Never go for the sympathy, the interviewer doesn’t know you and already you sound like a pathetic loser. Go for the empathy. Let them feel where you are coming from.
-Don’t explain your personal life to much, just scratch the surface a little, otherwise it will make you vulnerable.
Don’t let them get under your skin. Remember, you want their money, so what if some shmuck hurt your feelings? He is trained and paid to do that. And if you get the job, you won’t be seeing him/ her again no more anyway. So when they say something like go back to your country (said in a muffled polite way), convince them that you are here to stay (preferbaly with humor). Maybe they asked you that, because if you get the job, they want to be 100% sure that you won’t disappear one day.
READ THEIR FACES! READ THEIR BODY LANGUAGE. This is the best way to anticipate what they want to hear from you. Remember, you know that you are more than qualified, you don’t have to prove anything, so say what THEY want to hear, NOT what YOU want to say.
Imitate them. It’s like tuning into a radiostation. If they talk fast, talk fast too. If they have their sleeves rolled up, you do that too. Imitate anything. But do that naturaly, or else it will look like you are ridiculing them.
LISTEN and LISTEN WELL. These guys had to conduct dozens interview before you that day, so look them in the eye, listen, and don’t interrupt.
Be curtious. Don’t like you are having a sore tooth or something. It will show. They are expert body language readers too you know!
Show initiative. Show that you are interested. Ask for a tour through the building.
Lie. But beware what you lie about. Because I said once that I have extensive knowledge of a program called Uniface. In fact I was a noob, but I thought almost nobody uses it. I got the job right away, but they put me somewhere where they where doing a big migration within Uniface. ‘I’m f*cked’ was the understatemt of the year.
Be on time, or be very early. Because when you are too early, they will mention that and then you can say (lie) that you had to do something noble (use your imagination). That will work up an appetite.
Again, some companies are not for you. The CEO of a company could be a corrupt thieving bastard, and he will most likely select someone that has a devious personality. So, try to see beyond the interview, read between the lines. What is their goal and can you show them right then what you have to offer?
Essentialy, the company needs someone, but they are taking a great risk by employing Mr. X. The big unknown! So let them feel that they know you for year within the first 10 minutes (again without revealing personal stuff, just hold up an illusion).
And last and not least: Use the force.
I know a story of a guy that came from the University of Delft to work for the biggest telephone company in Curaçao. This guy was golden! He setup a kickass infrastructure and telecommunication capabilities in no time for the company. Within a year he was fired! HUH?
A year later it came out the CEO and board of directors of that company was wasting money, embessling funds and they kept funky books. Who would be a threat for the CEO? A rat of a guy that steals crumbs that fall of the table or a honest hard working man with a spotless concience?
This may or may not help- A friend of mine who found himself in a similar position (although probably much older than you) got fed up of being stuck at home, so he went to work for a charity for free. Soon he was recieving expenses, making new friends, and 8 months later found a suitable job through one of his new friends. Hard to work for nothing, but it fills the CV (resume). Interviewers like the fact that you have been busy.
Well, it’s up to the business owner to decide if you get the job. But it would be a mistake to force exceptence, it will just lead to rebellion. You thought of starting your own job, something that one person can do, how about visualization or walk through ?
Oh and if you are in the US sometime in the future maybe you should try the Cracker barrel
all the time.
like you are having a sore tooth or something. It will show. They are expert body language readers too you know!