Välkommen till Arbetsförmedlingen!
Information till dig som är arbetssökande
Engelska
In Platsbanken (the Job Bank) vacancy database you can seek work and subscribe to job ads. Here you can find a large proportion of all the job vacancies. Platsbanken is on our website and available as an app for you who have a smart phone. Remember there are other websites too where you can seek a job. You will find links to them on arbetsformedlingen.se.
Under the tab Yrke och framtid (Occupation and Future) you will find Yrken A-Ö and Yrkeskompassen, which contains information about most occupations, how you qualify for them and what the prospects are like in each occupation. You will also find information about educational courses and tests which can inspire you when choosing an occupation. There is also information about activities and information meetings at Arbetsförmedlingen (the employment office).
Under another tab on the website, CV and Applications, you can find tips about how to write a CV and personal letters. There are also films about how to look for a job and most things worth knowing when preparing for a job interview. On the last pages of this document you will find examples of what a CV and personal letter can look like.
We organise recruitment sessions where you can meet employers who need personnel. When you go to a recruitment session it is good to take along your CV (preferably several copies) which you can give to interesting employers. On arbetsformedlingen.se there is a list of all the
upcoming recruitment sessions.
Platsjournalen is a magazine with advertisements for you who are looking for a job. Also in the magazine you can find tips about new choices in working life. You also get inspiration and ideas about how to succeed when looking for a job.
The magazine is free and you can find it at employment offices, libraries, main train stations,
certain airports and universities around the country. If you want the magazine sent home you
can subscribe to it. It is free of charge. On arbetsformedlingen.se you can read Platsjournalen as
a Web magazine.
If you are seeking a job in Europe we can help you with information on the best way to success.
We have employment officers specialised in jobs in Europe. At our recruitment sessions and job fairs you can meet employers seeking personnel for jobs abroad. In Platsbanken, you can find the job vacancies reported from all public-sector European employment offices.
Support, tips and advice from our employment officers
information on how to apply for jobs
help in writing a CV and preparing for job interviews
access to all the job vacancies in Platsbanken
suggested job vacancies
recruitment sessions with employers
information on occupations and studies
up-to-date information on the labour market
advice on starting a business
Sometimes the best way to a new job can be via a traineeship, a labour market programme or help in starting a business. If your employment officer judges that you would benefit from the support, you can discuss it together.
If you have been away from the labour market for a long time, you can take part in the Job and Development Programme and the activities that are adapted just for you. The activities are designed to help you get a job as quickly as possible.
You who are aged between 16 and 24 and have not found a job within three months can take part in the Youth Job Programme. Then you can benefit from activities such as vocational guidance, work experience and education.
You who are aged under 25 can learn a profession with an employer and receive pay while you receive guidance or education. The employment is called occupational introduction
employment.
You can receive help from your employment officer if you have an illness or injury that affects your working capacity. Our specialists in employability rehabilitation can also help you with the important things ahead of employment. We always plan based on your knowledge and experience, and we can make employment easier in several different ways. It can be a question of adapting the workplace, offering personal support, or giving economic compensation to your employer.
If you are new in Sweden, you may have the right to different measures and programmes. You
may also have the right to special activities in order as quickly as possible to learn Swedish, get
a job and be able to support yourself. You and your employment officer together agree on
which activities suit you best.
If you have been without a job for a long time and are taking part in the Job and Development Programme, then when you are given employment your employer can get economic support which is called Special Recruitment Incentive. The purpose of the support is for you who have difficulties finding a job to more easily get employment. Your employer can receive the support for up to 12 months.
If you are new in Sweden and have a residence permit, your employer can receive economic support called Special Recruitment Incentive in the form of an Entry Recruitment Incentive when you are employed. As the same time as you work, you study Swedish for Immigrants (sfi). In that way you gain both labour market experience and references you may find useful in the future.
If you have been without employment for a long time or are new in Sweden, your employer can receive economic support called New Start Jobs or Special New Start Jobs. The employer usually receives compensation for as long a period as you have been without employment, but there are certain maximum limits. If you are new in Sweden your employer can receive compensation during your first three years in Sweden.
If you have reduced working capacity due to a functional impairment, your employer can receive economic compensation depending on what functional impairment you have and what you need extra help with. It can for example be a question of a wage subsidy and support for technical aids in the workplace.
If you are under 25 and lack experience of an occupation, your employer can receive economic compensation at the same time as you have an opportunity to learn the occupation. The employment is called job introduction employment. You can also get employment if you have been unemployed for at least three months. At least 15% of the working time must consist of education or guidance. The employment must be for at least six months and the employer can receive compensation for up to 12 months.
For employers to be able to receive compensation, there must be a central collective agreement
on job introduction.
When you register, you begin by creating an account on Min sida on arbetsformedlingen.se. Then fill in the details about yourself and what you have done earlier. You can either do it at home or on one of the computers at Arbetsförmedlingen. After that, you must visit an employment office within 14 days to meet an employment officer who will register you. Not until then are you counted as registered with us.
The employment officer then judges your chances of getting a job and whether you need more help right from the start. Getting more help can mean that you are in touch with your employment officer more often and perhaps also take part in our different programmes, for example job experience or a labour market programme.
It is important that we always have up-to-date information about you in our systems. Make sure therefore that you update your qualifications as soon as you have new experience which can increase your prospects of getting a job. Then it is easier for us to help you find the right job.
When you register with us, take your ID with you and certificates and diplomas that show what work you have had and what you have studied.
Once you are registered you will make an action plan together with your employment officer.
The action plan is an agreement between you and Arbetsförmedlingen on how we can help you and what you should do to find a job.
If you have been or are working in Sweden you are covered by unemployment insurance. That means you can apply for unemployment benefit from the unemployment insurance fund (A- kassan) if you become unemployed. There are some conditions you must meet to receive benefit.
If you are unemployed or risk becoming unemployed it is especially important that you know the conditions. Otherwise you risk not getting the benefit. You send in an application for unemployment benefit to your A-kassa, which decides whether you have the right to benefit.
Read more about the rules and conditions for unemployment insurance on
arbetsformedlingen.se.
1. Call 0771-416 416 and speak with an employment officer.
2. The nearest employment office. Here you can speak with an employment officer and get tips on how best to seek a job. You can also use computers to seek a job and write a CV and personal letters. On arbetsformedlingen.se you can see where your nearest employment office is.
3. Arbetsformedlingen.se.
Here you can find among other things
Platsbanken (the Job Bank) with many job vacancies throughout the country
tips on how to write a CV and personal letter
information about activities, for example recruitment sessions.
It is important that you are active when seeking work. For us to be able to give you the right support, we want to know which jobs you have applied for and what else you have done to get work. If for example you have been to a recruitment session or a job interview, we need to know.
You present your activities in an activity report. It is easiest to fill it in on
arbetsformedlingen.se. The activity report is good to use when you and your employment officer plan how to continue your jobseeking. All information about the activity report and how you fill in is on our website.
When you register with us, certain details about you are stored in our register, for example name, address, personal ID number, work experience and qualifications. We also register what jobs you have applied for and what happens during the time you are seeking a job. Your details are confidential. That means that the details may not be passed on to any unauthorised person.
We are however obliged to pass on certain details to the Social Insurance Agency and A-kassan when they are making a decision.
We are not allowed to register sensitive details without your permission, for example details about a disease. It is only your employment officer who is allowed to use your personal details to work with your case. And it is you who decide which details can be passed on to an employer.
You may at any time ask to see what details about you are stored. If you find something incorrect, it is important that you tell us. Three years after your case has ended, all details about you are removed from our register.
Arbetsförmedlingen does not automatically receive information if you change your address:
you must notify us yourself when you change address. Notify Arbetsförmedlingen also if you
are staying at another address temporarily.
There are job ads in many different places, for example on the Web, in the magazine Platsjournalen and in the daily newspapers. On arbetsformedlingen.se you will find Platsbanken (The Job Bank), which has adverts for job vacancies in Sweden and abroad. You can also subscribe to job ads and receive an e-mail when a job vacancy that suits you appears. At the library and on the Web there are also magazines and trade publications with job ads in specific areas.
When you write an application, the goal of course is to awaken the employer’s interest and for you to be called to an interview. Make use of what it says in the advert and the information you can find on the employer’s website. Think about what strengths can be useful in this job in particular and what skills you can offer the employer.
A job application can be designed in many different ways, and it is largely up to you how you want to plan it. But sometimes the employer requires or wishes for the application to be written in a special way or wants it should contain certain details. It is for example common that employers want you to register your qualifications on their website and attach a file containing a letter you have written.
Many jobs are passed on through friends and acquaintances. Therefore, tell people whom you know that you are seeking a job. Perhaps more personnel are needed at their workplace? Perhaps they can tip you off about a job? Or perhaps they know someone who can take you on as a trainee?
Many employers look for new employees in different CV databases on the Internet. It is therefore a good idea to register your CV at several such websites. Remember to keep your CV updated so that it is constantly fresh. On arbetsformedlingen.se you can present your CV to an employer. There you will also find templates and examples of what a CV could look like. You can also register your CV on eures.europa.eu if you are seeking a job abroad. There is also a European job database. At the end of this brochure you will find tips on what a CV and a personal letter can look like.
One good way to reach many people quickly is to use the social media. Today it is becoming
increasingly common to tell people via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn that you
are looking for a job. Perhaps your friends and followers can give you a tip about a job or tell
their friends that you are looking for a job.
Staffing agencies employ personnel that they then hire out to companies and organisations.
Being employed at a staffing agency often means that you work for different customers. But it is the staffing agency that pays your salary. Some assignments are long-term, sometimes for months or years. Other assignments are shorter. Sometimes work with a staffing agency leads to employment with one of its customers.
Many jobs are not advertised. It is estimated that more than half of all jobs are filled in other ways than via an advertisement, for example via contacts, networks or face-to-face meetings with the employer. When you apply for an advertised job it can be more difficult to know what it is important to mention. To increase your chances to hit the target, you should find out as much as you can about the workplace and what the occupation means. Then contact the employer you want to work for and express your interest. Even if there are not any vacancies immediately, it may lead to work in the future.
And do not forget that it is good to stay in touch with former employers if you want to find a
job. The employer knows who you are and what you can do, and can more easily see whether
there are work duties you would be suitable for.
When a job is advertised it is not unusual for hundreds of applications to arrive. Your application gives the employer or the recruiter a picture of you, which will then be used to decide which applicants to call to an interview. It often takes only 25 – 30 seconds for an employer or recruiter to decide whether you are interesting for the job or not. Begin therefore with what is most interesting to the employer, for example why the employer should employ you in particular.
CV stands for curriculum vitae, which is Latin for life description. In your CV, you should describe your education, work experience, knowledge and properties which you want to focus on. It is important that your CV is easy to read. Therefore it can be a good idea to make a selection and include only the jobs that are especially important for the work you are applying for. You can write i urval (selected) after the heading Arbetslivserfarenhet work experience.
You should also include references, or you can write that you will be supplying them later.
There are different types of CV. The most common thing is to start by writing about what you have done most recently and then work your way back in time. But you can also write your CV based on different themes. In that case you write about one type of job at a time, perhaps first about the jobs where you have worked with children, and then about jobs where you were working in a shop. Write headings, for example Arbetslivserfarenhet inom handel (work experience in retail) and then add text. If you have worked in countries other than Sweden you can have a heading saying Erfarenhet från andra länder (experience from other countries) to show the employer how versatile you are. Do not forget to include any work placements. A CV should be no more than around two pages long.
In a private letter you write among other things why you have applied for the job, why you would
be suitable for it, and why you want to work for that particular employer. Remember to design
the letter to suit the advertisement. That means you have to write a new personal letter for every
job you apply for. A personal letter should be no more than one page long.
Here you can highlight in one or two sentences what you have done earlier. The employer then gets a quick overview of who you are.
Example:
Fashion-conscious shop assistant with long experience of clothes and trends for young people.
Title, company, e.g. Shop assistant at H&M
Town, period in time, e.g. Stockholm, March 2010–November 2013 State briefly under each job what work duties you have had.
Example:
As a shop assistant I took part in all work duties in the shop. I planned purchases, picked up goods and staffed the cash register.
I also helped with marketing.
Name of course, name of school, e.g. Business Administration at Stockholm University Town, period in time, e.g. Stockholm, 2005–2006
Describe briefly the content of each course.
Example:
I studied business administration for two terms, 60 credit points in all. Am highly interested in the subject, especially organisation and marketing.
Here you write what languages you speak.
Example:
Swedish: mother tongue, English: fluent, French: working knowledge
Here you write the contact details of your references. You can also write “Lämnas gärna på
begäran” (supplied upon request) if you want to give the details later.
Example:
