Working in Cph

Working is probably the best feature of Denmark.
It should become the main selling point for a country that has no rich culinary tradition, no cozy weather nor astonishing sites to visit. While all of the characteristics above are below the average of most european countries, working conditions are probably the best among most countries in the world.

Danes have understood probably better than anyone else that life is much more than working.
The working week time is 37 hours, with a half-hour lunch break (29 minutes to be precise!), this means that effective worktime is only 34 and a half hours per week. People get to work by 9:00 and get out by 16:30, a half hour earlier on fridays. If we compare that to other countries where the working hours per week are 40, excluding lunchtime which is usually an hour, we can clearly see that a dane at work spends per week 10 and a half hours less than most people. This adds up to 42 hours less in a month and 420 in ten months (which is roughly the working time per year if you subtract vacations and holidays). This means than in a 40 years timeframe (a lifetime) a dane works 16800 hours (almost two years!) less than a spaniard or an italian.

Unemployment is very low, notwithstanding a tempting welfare system that takes care of people without a job. Basically they all work, to all work less: what a simple and brilliant idea. How can Denmark be competitive then? The secret is efficiency, teamwork and fostering, concepts that in southern european countries and all neo-latin countries got probably lost with the defeat of the Roman Empire. Barbarians came from the north, illiterate and ugly, but they certainly knew how to organize an army, fight a battle and reproduce!

What does efficiency mean? The answer is exactly what can be found in a dictionary: the effective operation as measured by a comparison of production with cost (as in time, energy and money). They tend to work well, in an organised manner and just what's needed. This does not mean they are flawless, they're still humans and therefore far from excellence. There are plenty of improvements to make, but these are just improvements to a human system at his maximum expression of performance, which by definition it's far from perfect. Efficiency also means using employees effectively at the best of their potential, this process begins from hiring the right people, possibly more talented than the ones already in the office, on the basis of skills and CV.

What does teamwork mean? It means that there are no geniuses nor salvatores patriae, no heroes nor stars. Success does not depend nor can be attributed to any single man, as brilliant as he can be. This, besides being true, is well radicated in what I define as "modestia daniae", the sense of modesty belonging to the danish culture. People are generally treated equally, fairly and respectfully. Meritocracy exists and works.

What does fostering mean? Cultivating talents, not letting the good employees go, treating them well, keeping them happy, building teams and growing as an office, not as individuals.
Finding a job can be difficult and limited not knowing the danish language, but still possible and very much based on skills and CV. There is even a national database, Jobnet, where you can create your own profile and upload professional information.

While having a network of friends can be helpful to find a job, it is not necessary. In other countries there's really no other way, since the selection of the employees is based exclusively on whom you know. In Denmark, it is mostly based on what you can do. This eventually pays off making the danish firms more competitive and prepared over the years.
As many other things, job searching can be done over the internet in a very efficient and simplified way.

Some websites
www.arkitektforbundet.dk - jobs for architects
eu.experteer.com - jobs for executives
www.it-jobbank.dk - jobs in the IT sector
www.job-i-staten.dk - jobs in the public sector
www.jobindex.dk
www.jobnet.dk - national database
www.jobway.dk
www.jobzonen.dk
www.monster.dk
www.ofir.dk
www.profiljob.dk
www.stepstone.dk
www.top1000.dk
Other resources can be newspapers (even the free ones) or ads around town.

How to calculate your salary
Jobpatruljen
Jobindex

Some important words
job - job
arbejde - job
løn - salary
karriere - career
karrieremuligheder - career opportunities

Official guides to working and living in Denmark
nyidanmark.dk
expatindenmark.com