Many international students come to Lund with the idea that they can find a part-time job to earn some extra money. In many cases, these students never end up finding work. Why?
1. Unless you have specialized skills (largely IT), you have to be able to speak at least some Swedish if not fluent Swedish. You may think that Swedish isn't required of you, but your employer probably truly believes that Swedish is a necessary skill for a cleaner or dishwasher.
2. The economy sucks. Youth unemployment is very high right now and although lots of different political parties talk about giving people opportunities, there has been very little improvement in regards to the situation many young people face.
3. Employers discriminate against foreigners. I used to have a non-Swedish last name. Then I changed my name to a Swedish last name. I applied for the same job I had applied for 3 months previously with the same qualifications and suddenly I got a phone call asking about an interview. Coincidence? I find it hard to believe. Now why would employers discriminate against foreigners? Many employers may suspect that an applicant doesn't speak "good enough" Swedish, claim that they've had bad experiences with other foreigners or have a myriad of other stupid reasons. None of them actually hold up when examined closely. Unfortunately there's very little you can do about this if you don't want to change your name.
4. Many foreigners don't have contacts in Sweden and networking and contacts are the key to finding a job. Unfair as it is, Sweden is not a meritocracy. It doesn't matter how many years you've worked at a pub if there's another candidate that knows someone that knows the pub owner. Go out and spread the word that you're looking for a job. Talk to anyone that might have contacts. Meet new people! And when applying for a job, if possible then try to speak with the person in charge of hiring so that they feel like they know you!
Good luck!
If you do get hired for a job, you will most likely fill out a form with your personal information and your bank account information. That's all. In all likelihood they will not take a copy of your passport, inspect your residence permit or even check your ID card. Most businesses pay salaries on the 25th of each month for the previous month's work.
God this is all so fucking true. So true it hurts. There was a brief period when I wanted to change my name to Erika Eriksson and dye my hair blonde. Doesn't matter that I'm nearly fluent in Swedish and know more about this country than my own, my lack of -son, ö, ä and å in my name were a dead give away for one of those "err dirty foreigner". Solution: work for an international company where your merits are appreciated and recognised and they don't choose you based on name and hair colour.
SvaraRadera