When we hear about Denmark many think about well-fair, economic stability or even, don’t think about anything since Denmark is rarely on the news for political drama or such.
In Denmark, the unemployment rate was at 2.7% in July 2022. At that same time, it was about 5-6 times higher in Spain and about 2-3 times higher in Belgium.
All of this is to say that being workless in Denmark is not that common, at least for the Danes. If you don’t speak Danish your options and possibilities drop. However, they are not nonexistent. If you search enough you will find a job in some fast food chain or a restaurant. I bet the positions available for you will be dishwasher, waiter or kitchen assistant.
On the other side, if you are studying a major in STEM, then Denmark may be heaven for you. Denmark’s economy is composed of a multitude of biotech companies, IT start-ups and more: Novo Nordisk, NNE, apps like Too Good To Go, and biogas productions…
For me, it took me 7 to 8 months to enter a company. My first job was kitchen assistant at the university: a nice job, I was cleaning dishes but I had free lunch and I could take leftovers home. Then I got a contract in March in a restaurant: I was cleaning dishes, that is it. Then, by the coincidence of life, I managed to apply for a job in Novo Nordisk and guess what I got it. It was, I think, job number 7 I applied for in the same biotech, I always got rejected because …something… I don’t know why…
I got the job, the job I still have and like most bachelor students, my position is…student assistant. I help around the department (like in every company around the world).
I personally really like my job and the perks: free coffee, fruit, nice atmosphere, no hierarchy like in Belgium or France so you can talk to your boss with a lot of confidence, the cantine has healthy, varied, affordable meals and even “too good to go’s”, free parties for employees, courses…
Well, those are normal things in Denmark, but not in other countries (non-nordic countries at least).
My experience concludes that to find a job in Denmark you don’t necessarily need to know Danish (I worked in a restaurant with no Danish) but if you have living in a country for more than a year I think it is important and more respectful towards the locals to learn the language and the culture. I will get back to this point in another article later and discuss it a bit more.
TIP: to find a job, make a CV and motivation letter, a general letter so you just need to change a few things depending on the job. Send it to every company, cafe, restaurant and other where you could get a job. Send “unsolicited application”, even if they don’t look for workers now it does not mean they would not be interested in you at the moment or later.
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