I was surfing through the official job site in Sweden, Arbetsförmedlingen, that is branch responsible to get unemployed people employed, foreigners into the workforce, and provide tips and information. What I noticed is a lot of the information and preparation for a job interview in Sweden is similar to the US (and I presume UK).

In my previous post about job interviews, I discussed the difference between US and Sweden are ’situation’ problem questions rarely arise in Swedish interviews. As I’ve experienced several job interviews here, that seems to be the case.

A job interview in Sweden is more about exploring your personality, qualities, and how well you work with others. You won’t be berated with logic questions but you still need to know about the company and WHY you want the job.

Before the Interview

Prepare for the interview

• Find out as much as you can about the company.
• Think about what you want out of the job and interview.
• Make a list of questions you may receive and prepare responses. This is best to do! You can use these for any interview.
• Write down any questions you would ask.
• Think through how you want the employer to find you (behavior, dress).
• Keep the employer’s phone number on hand so you can call if anything happens.
• Agree with the interviewer’s time. Don’t make them jump through hoops to find a time that suits you.

What to Bring

• Copies of your application documents, certificates and testimonials
• Any work samples
• Planning calendar, notepad and pen
• List of own prepared questions and notes about the company and its products and services

At the Interview

Questions you will receive

• Tell us about yourself – Place emphasis on the last few years and do not talk too long.
• Why have you applied for this job? – Employers want to know how interested you are to work and how much you know about the company. Describe what interests you at work and pick up your work experience, education and characteristics.
• What do you know about us? – Emphasize what is most important based on what you found out about it. Be brief.
• Why did you move to Sweden?
• Do you know Swedish?
• Is it easy to learn new things?
• Can you take criticism?
• Can you solve problems?
• Can you give some examples of problems you have solved?
• What are you most proud of?
• Can you tell us of something really good that you made?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• How do you find a good colleague to be?
• Can you tell us about any mistakes you made and what you learned from it?
• How would your friends describe you?
• How would your boss describe you?
• How does your group describe you?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses? – Always asked
• What makes you happy at work?
• How do you handle stress and time pressure?
• Why should we hire you? – Always asked

Tip: Prepare answers to ALL these questions. This way you have several hours at home to peacefully ponder them and have great responses.

When you Speak

• Be honest – tell the truth.
• Never criticize a former boss or employer.
• Speak well of former colleagues, bosses, customers, businesses and products.
• Remember that your body language means a lot – a time for you, have energy in your movements and a positive attitude.
• Keep eye contact.
• Never show that you are in desperate need of a job.
• Never talk about your private problems.
• Do not reply to a question if you have not understood it correctly – ask for an explanation.
• Find out the next step in the recruitment process before you proceed.
• End your interview with a smile, a thank you and a firm handshake.

After the Interview

• Send a thank you letter by email or mail (depending on your industry)
• Don’t berate them with calls or emails about the job unless they did not get back to you in the appropriate time.
• Keep your references on hand. The employer may want to call them.

And if this interview doesn’t work out, then the next interview will. Be positive and interested!

He was being revived by the paramedics for at least 20 minutes before he was taken to Södersjukhuset. I hope he lives but it did not look good from our position watching the tragic scene unfold.

Amen to his survival. He passed away and was declared dead on arrival.

A second man also collapsed and passed away. It was not a good night for them. Prayers go out to their families.

These photos are not graphic but are real and disturbing nevertheless. Please bear in mind.


This photo is on the cover of dn.se.




Just read that health declarations maybe required in light of these two deaths in the upcoming races.

(If you are looking to reprint these photos, you may NOT do so without permission, please contact me for information)

For readers it’s a blog to share opinions about life in Sweden, dating, more dating, and cultural differences.

LiS writes about everything from the harsh opinions about Sweden (receiving numerous “fuck you”s) to irritation with buying alcohol and renting an apartment to a happy swedish and happy indian engagements to the sad truth that violence is in Sweden too.

Reading happy stories is rarely entertaining (unless it involves cute pandas or bunnies or baby animals). What makes stories interesting involve heart break, emotion, occasional wrath and grief.

When I first started in 2007 I had 5-10 visitors a day. Today, thanks to all my readers and passer bys, the blog has 600 unique visitors a day.

Tjooohoooo!!! Thank you all lovely readers for your support and witty comments throughout the past three years. Let’s hope for more to come!

Living in Sweden Series
Living in Sweden: Finding a Job
Job Posting in Sweden
Living in Sweden: Swedish CVs and Job Interviews
Living in Sweden: Finding an Apartment: Part 1
Living in Sweden: English Bookstores
Learn Swedish: Don’t Sätt på en Skygg Lapp

I love Iceland Series
More Photos from Eyjafjallajökull Volcano
Amazing Photos from the Volcanic Eruption in Iceland
The Confusion between Scandinavia and Nordic
Photos from Isafjordur, Iceland
Iceland: A Trip around the Ring Road
Iceland: Visiting the Island Up North
Old Norse Mythology, Myths, and Gods
What we do in Iceland during the winter
Tjoruhusid: Isafjordur’s Amazing Fish Restaurant
Viking Poison Strikes: Icelandic Brennivin
Isafjordur: A buccolic city in the West Fjords
First Days in Isafjordur

On a fun note, here are the most popular search phrases (eliminating Lost in Stockholm related phrases):
swedish girls
swedish men
dating swedish men
dating swedish women
living in sweden
swedish girls are easy
swedish guys
i hate sweden
swedish girls dating
living in stockholm

And on a bizarre and funny note, weird search phrases that has a good amount of people searching:
why are swedish girls so beautiful
why are swedish men so hot
why are swedish people so boring
swedes suck
why i hate sweden
swedish people suck
swedish sex
do swedish men shave balls

Cheers to everyone! Happy birthday blog!

This is part 42 of the living in Sweden series. Apartment hunting never ends, it’s always hiding in the shadows.
Living in Sweden: Finding a Job
Job Posting in Sweden
Living in Sweden: Swedish CVs and Job Interviews
Living in Sweden: Finding an Apartment: Part 1
Living in Sweden: English Bookstores
Learn Swedish: Don’t Sätt på en Skygg Lapp

Sweden’s welfare system on first hand apartments has led to a distorted housing market. If the real estate market did not already have asymmetric advantage in knowledge, the welfare based/rent controlled model adds more corruption and consequences to society at large.

Let’s look at it this way. Residential infrastructure is the lowest in Sweden (3% of the GDP) than any other OECD country (6% of the GDP). Add to that, overvaluation of Stockholm housing prices, uncompetitiveness in the market, high barriers to entry in construction, heavy taxations, disincentives to open up land, and you can see the whole housing system is a mess.

And regarding the rental queue system in Sweden, it’s worse. “Eight percent of the Swedish population is queuing for a new apartment, with an average waiting time of 10 years.” There’s little hope, you or I as immigrants will ever have a shot at a reasonable apartment in the major cities (Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö).

How do you go about finding an apartment in Sweden then? Vigilance, determination, and the knowledge that everyone and anyone can/will screw you over. The housing market in Sweden is like legal prostitution. It exists out of a necessary evil, even though no one knows how to regulate the market to prevent corruption, abuse, and distortion.

How to find an apartment in the Swedish major cities:
1. Write an introduction letter (in Swedish) about yourself. Even if your Swedish is poor or you are very new to the country, write that your Swedish is poor. What you need to say in your letter: you found the apartment via Xxx site, you have a job, your job is in xxx industry, you don’t smoke, your partner is XXX and he/she works in xxx industry.
2. Search blocket.se several times a day for a new apartment. Email immediately.
3. If you have 700SEK to spare, get a bostaddirekt.com account. I hate those people but they have “slightly” better apartments (though I met some seriously crazy owners on there too). Better yet, if you want to share your BostadDirekt access code or want to split the cost with some, post on the BostadDirekt Free Access page.
4. Call apartments that sound most interesting to you.
5. Get your paperwork together: Reference letter from last landlord, personbevis, arbetsbevis (that you actually work and earn from a company), and other information asked about you. This information is required for the Coop board to sign.
6. Once you make it through the weeding with an owner, you will submit your application to the board. There is now a 70% chance you will get this apartment. DO NOT STOP looking for other apartments.
7. Find at least one more apartment and apply to the board there. In case you are denied from the board, you have a backup. And you haven’t lost time looking for a place either.
8. Pray pray pray.
9. Sign the lease. Take a Swedish person to read over the lease and ask any unfinished questions.
10. In peace hopefully, move in.

Signs of under the table and corrupt apartment owning:

• The landlord wants you to pay in cash
• You write one amount on the contract, yet pay another amount. This is illegal. You can sue the owner for the amount because he/she has a firsthand apartment where there is rent ceiling for secondhand renting. Obviously, this gets out of control in Stockholm since few people possess the common sense and moral values to obey Swedish law.
• Scammers want you to pay in advance a deposit to see the apartment. DO NOT!!!!
• You are unsure if the coop board approved you. Concerned? Do NOT sign until you meet the board.
• Trust your instincts. Most rentors are out to make extra money and circumvent the law. Don’t be a victim to greedy bastards.
• You are not allowed to put your name on the door. Again, this is a sign that the owner never received approval to rent.

Apartment hunting in Stockholm sucks (we’re on day 64 of apartment hunting). It’s a vicious cycle which has no hope of ending soon. The government turns a blind eye at corruption while people participate in a black market. Information is asymmetric for foreigners; you don’t know the law, the owner can trick you.

Most of all, stay positive.  You will get an apartment.  Soon.  One day.

Wow, amazingly awesome no words can describe it. Now we know how the police solve cases in Sweden: by dancing.

Even ABC news in America picked up on the story. Some cops just wanna have fun. And some cops just wanna chill out.

ja – yes
nej – no

tack – please (used at the end of a sentence); thanks, thank you
tack så mycket – thank you very much
varsågod – you’re welcome

hej or hej hej – hi, hello
hejsan – hi (informal)

god dag – hello; goodbye (literally: good day; can be used any time from morning until around 5pm)
god morgon – good morning (used until around 11am)
god middag – good afternoon (used around noon)
god kväll – good evening (used from around 5pm)

välkommen! – welcome!
välkommen till … – welcome to …

hej or hej hej – bye
hejdå – goodbye
god natt – goodnight
vi ses! – see you! (informal)
vi ses snart! – see you soon!
vi ses senare! – see you later!
ha en bra dag! – have a good day!

ursäkta mig – excuse me (to get someone’s attention or to get past someone); sorry
förlåt – sorry
inga problem – no problem
det gör inget – don’t worry about it

pratar du engelska? – do you speak English?

jag pratar inte svenska – I don’t speak Swedish
jag pratar lite svenska – I speak a little Swedish
jag pratar väldigt lite svenska – I only speak very little Swedish

var snäll och prata långsammare – please speak more slowly
kan du säga det igen? – could you please repeat that?

jag förstår – I understand
jag förstår inte – I don’t understand

jag vet – I know
jag vet inte – I don’t know

var är toaletten? – where is the toilet, please?

How much is a ticket to _____? Vad kostar en biljett till _____?
One ticket to _____, please. En biljett till _____, tack.
Where does this train go? Vart går detta tåg ?
Where does this bus go? Vart går denna buss?
Where is the train/bus to _____? Var är tåget/bussen till _____?
Does this train/bus stop in _____? Stannar tåget/bussen i_____?
When does the train/bus for _____ leave? När åker tåget/bussen till_____?
When will this train/bus arrive in _____? När kommer tåget/bussen till_____?

Link up if you have som beautiful photos of Sweden that you would like to share.

Cross Street to Bellmansgatan, Södermalm

West Coast Waters in Göteborg


Kungliga Slottet and Riksdag


Slussen, Södermalm


Hornsgatan at Rush Hour

Old Green Boat


Stockholms Riksdag – Swedish Parliament


Kungsholmen


Red Bull Racing Day, in front of Riksdag


Skeppsbron Island


Tower at Skansen with a Pink Hot Air Balloon


The Swedish Crown


Skeppsbron Hostel Ship


Super Yacht Docked at Gamla Stan


High School Invasion at Sergels Torg


View over Stockholm


Tower at Skeppsbron


Church

Doesn’t it make you want to be a tourist in Stockholm all over again?

Stockholm. It is the Venice of the North. The City Hall, Stadshuset, is model after Venice’s famous Campanile square. Swedes do love their country on the water and visiting in the summer is the best way than to take advantage of the weather, midnight sun, and countless lakes and islands.

Because my mom is visiting, we decided to go a tourist binge and see as much as possible in 2,5 days. Since I also see annoying ads for the Stockholm Card, a special card that gives access to SL and 75 museums, I thought ‘let buy it for us’. The catch is, being Stockholm, nothing is cheap. Even tourist friendly cards are not cheap.

First, other helpful posts on visiting Stockholm:
Best Bars and Pubs in Stockholm
One day walk around Stockholm
Visit to the Absolut Ice Bar
Free Museums in Stockholm

The Swedish Crown at Skeppsbron


But there is a way to maximize the card to get more than your money’s worth. I bought the 48 hour card but realized that optimal card is 72 hours. The benefit of having the card worth “hours” instead of “days” is that if you start the card at 11AM Tuesday it’s valid until 11AM Thurs (for 48 hours).

Here’s the low down on the best way to use your Stockholm Card, see the most beautiful sites and museums in Stockholm, and not run around silly like a tourist on crack.

Price of the Stockholm Card:
Adult cards
SEK 395 for 24 hours
525 for 48 hours
SEK 625 for 72 hours – BUY THIS CARD!
SEK 895 for 120 hours

Child cards – under 18 years old
SEK 195 for 24 hours
SEK 225 for 48 hours
SEK 245 for 72 hours
SEK 285 for 120 hours

Must see places to visit using the Stockholm Card. The trick with using the card is going to the most expensive museums and sites in order to maximize the value.

Some museums worth visiting
Aquaria Vattenmuseum [Aquaria Water Museum] SEK 80
Drottningholms Slott [Drottningholm Palace] SEK 80
Gröna Lunds Tivoli [Gröna Lund’s Amusement Park] SEK 80-90
Fotografiska Museet SEK 95
Junibacken [Junibacken] SEK 125
Kungsholmen Runt [Kungsholmen Boat Ride] SEK 140
Kungliga Slottet [Royal Palace] SEK 100
Livrustkammaren [Royal Armoury] SEK 70
Nationalmuseum [Nationalmuseum] SEK 100
Nobelmuseet [Nobel Museum] SEK 70
Nordiska museet [Nordiska museet] SEK 80
Skansen [Skansen Open Air Museum] SEK 70-120
Skansen-akvariet [Skansen’s Aquarium] SEK 90
Skattkammaren [Royal Treasury] SEK 100
SkyView – on Top of the Globe SEK 130
Stadshuset [City Hall] SEK 50-80
Storkyrkan [Stockholm Cathedral] SEK 30
Vasamuseet [Vasa Museum] SEK 110

Skeppsbron Island – view from Djurgården on the Hop on Hop off boat

The other benefit of buying a Stockholm Card is access to SL local transportation. This includes unlimited rides on the tunnelbanan (metro), pendaltåg (commuter line trains), and buses. Considering a single pass ride on the tunnelbanan is 30SEK (25SEK when having a 8 pass ticket), the card is great for going back and forth without worry. Even one day passes on the SL is 100SEK; definitely not cheap.

How we maximized the Stockholm Card for 48 hours, the itinerary. Cost for two people – 1050SEK
Monday -
Hop on Hop off Boat from Gamla Stan to Djurgården – 40SEK*2 = 80
Vasa Museet – 110SEK *2 = 220
Nordiska Museet – 80SEK*2 = 160
SL Bus 47 to Kaknästornet – 40SEK*2 = 80
SL Bus and Metro back home – 30SEK*2 = 60

Tuesday –
SL metro to Slussen – 30SEK*2 = 60
Hop on Hop off Boat to Skeppsbron – 40SEK*2 = 80
Modern Museum and Architecture Museum joint entrance – 110SEK*2 = 220
Bus to Odenplan – 30SEK*2 = 60
(break for mom)
Vin & Spritsmuseet – 50SEK
SL metro – 30SEK*2 = 60
Skyview (boyfriend and I) – 130SEK*2 = 260
SL to Djurgården – 30SEK*2 = 60
Skansen – 110SEK*2 = 220 (and a lucky occasion to see Allsång!!!)
Gröna Lund – 80SEK*2 =160 (for 27 kronor on the first game, boyfriend won a 2 kg box of Kex chocolates!!!)
SL back home – 30SEK*2 = 60

Wednesday Morning -
Medieval Museum – Free entrance but you get a poster with the card – 50SEK
SL to Centralstation – 30SEK*2 = 60
Kungsholmen Runt – 140SEK*2 = 280 – highly recommend this one!
SL back home- 30SEK*2 = 60
End of 48 hours!!!

Total cost of the museums, transportations, and boat rides: 2120SEK
Savings from buying the 48 hour Stockholm Card: 1070SEK
Final savings per person: 535SEK !!!

If you are around for a 3rd day, buy the 72 hour card. This is what I suggest on adding to your itinerary in Stockholm for the extra 24 hours.
Kungsholmen Runt boat ride along Kungsholmen, Långholmen – 140SEK
Fotografiska Museet – Annie Lebovitz special exhibition until Sept 2010 – 95SEK
Drottningholms Slott [Drottningholm Palace] – entrance is to the Chinese Pavilion and Theater SEK 80
Kungliga Slottet [Royal Palace] SEK 100

I would move the Photographic Museum to Day 1 as only three things are done. That way, you have plenty of time to take the boat tour, visit the Royal Palace in Gamla Stan, and go to Drottningholm (takes 40 minutes by SL).

The famous Vasa Ship – the only ship intact from the 1600s in the world


By buying a tourist card, you can visit great spots in the city without having to stress yourself out. All the days that my mom and I went out, we started at noon and continued on till evening. If we were better about time, we would start at 10AM and finish around 7PM.

Gröna Lund could take a lot longer as it’s an amusement part; tickets to the rides and the games are not included in the pass. That’s why we only played one game.

Visitors and tourists to Stockholm, I hope this helps you on your journey to navigate the city. It’s small but overwhelming with things to do. The Stockholm Card, though pricy, is one of the best ways to do this on the dime and still see the castles and museums everyone loves.

Yorn desh born, der ritt de gitt der gue,
Orn desh, dee born desh, de umn bork! bork! bork!

Recently, I fell back in love with The Swedish Chef. He was never my most favorite when I watched the Muppets but always a good laugh.

It’s funny how the subconscious Swedish culture entered America through the Swedish Chef, ABBA, and Volvo “baby carriage” station wagons back in the 80s. Today we know more about Sweden because of IKEA, H&M and the bikini team, a great achievement for America.

Here’s a collection of videos, twitter, Facebook, all social media The Swedish Chef makes himself known on.

Swedish Chef on Facebook – here

Official Swedish Chef Channel on Youtube – here

(Un)official Swedish Chef Channel on Youtube – here

LOST Slapdown, Part 15 – Swedish Chef [HD] - here

My Top 10 Swedish Chef Videos

Cårven Der Pümpkîn


Swedish Chef Reciting Shakespeare (323)


Animal and Swedish Chef Sing Happy Birthday


Muppet Show – Swedish Chef – making donut


Swedish Chef – Meatballs


Muppet Show – Swedish Chef – making chocolate moose


Swedish Chef makes Turtle Soup


The Chef goes flying into the Muppet newsroom when he pops a bottle of champagne.


The Muppet Show. Swedish Chef tries to make soup


The Muppet Show. Swedish Chef – Spring Chicken (ep.512)

Why did the chickens cross the road?
Because an angry Swede was chasing them with a cleaver!

And for Swedes being called dull and boring, the Jim Henson ensured the Chef would be the polar opposite with his eccentricities of shooting donuts and bazooka’ing pumpkins into pumpkin pies. Why can’t real Swedes be like the Swedish Chef?!

Color, excitement, madness!!

Now that it’s summer again, I am faced with the fashion horror everywhere I walk. The 80s fashion look is back in full force but in a different way. The extra large garbage bag shirts with twisty ties are replaced with smaller garbage bag shirts with neon colors.

And girls still wear black short leggings no matter what color dress they wear. Pink skirt? Black leggings. White flower dress? Black leggings. C’mon people!!! GET OFF THE BLACK OBSESSION! We don’t want to see knee length black leggings when you are wearing an adorable printed skirt.

Splendid Willow remarked that Odd Molly’s pretty summer Swedish fashion was full of flowers and romantic yet modern style. I rarely see these beautiful dresses on the streets of Stockholm.


And what’s with the men and the myriad of red pants? Did the Red Pants Shop have a sale of buy 1 get 10 free? While I do love that Swedish men have style (there’s no baggy ass jeans with dirty t-shirts), in typical Swedish style, everyone looks the same. Some women even match by wearing the neon blue pants (see photo 9). And by the way, this look originated in the 1970s according to the exhibition at Nordiska Museet.

My friends and I tried some H&M sale clothes last week. Not only was the selection disastrous in colors, prints, and styles, we figured the best way of showing off our Swedish fashion was to try them on.

Black Jean dress with frills. NOTE: A brightly yellow sticker was attached to let you know that color leaks onto furniture. Brilliant, just what I wanted to buy…

Next look: Pull up jean leggings with neon t-shirt. If you grew up in the 1980s and your parents did not torture you enough with stupid leggings and crazy graffiti neon pink tops, well, here’s your chance to do it again!

Long sleeve Grey T-shirt with Fuchsia belt and lingerie top. This horrible look says it all.


I maybe too old or unhip but I am lost in Swedish fashion. It is unflattering on women and disfigures their feminine bodies. No one should wear black leggings with pretty dresses. That’s not just wrong but sacrilegious to the airy, summer love feeling.