Jobs for English speakers

hi there,
i am looking for job in norway,but with a english language,maybe someone can help me,thank you

Hi marius28,

Can you please introduce yourself ?

You should maybe let us know in which sector you are looking for work please ?

Thank you

Maximilien
Expat-blog Team

Hello,

Jobs for people speaking only English are rare. Generally you need a very specialist and in-demand skill to get such a job. There are some though. You can look at http://www.finn.no/finn/job/fulltime/result and search using English terms, or English-speaking to see if anything shows up.

Some industries are probably easier, i.e Oil & GAs, and Shipping both seem to operate in English. I came across alot of bartenders who only spoke english as well.

Some of the more menial positions, cleaners, etc seem to focus their attention at grabbing people with little to no norwegian language skills as well. The other possibility might be the building trade as well, with the influx of particularly polish, some sites operate bilingually in english/polish.

Perhaps that Finn search DMcart13 posted should be stickied?

Hi Knut!

It can't be "stickied" but if it gets enough recommandations it will be highlighted on the thread. So i invite you to click on recommend at the bottom of the post

Regards
Armand

I think it would be a good idea to construct a guide to refer people to, since many of the inquiries in the forum are about how to obtain a job, and in particular when the job should not require knowledge of a Scandinavian language. It would save giving duplicate explanations each time the question is asked. We could simply refer people to the post dealing in-depth with the topic. I know many people have given useful advice over the past months/years on this topic.

helo members  do think a draftsman  from  uganda fluent  in English  can get  ajob  in Norway .If yes advise  me if no wat can i do...

Thanks for  ur  advice but perhaps  if u could be having  any  other vacancy  or any body  who can employ  me in other his welcome  though am  a draftsman.thanks

I'm afraid it's hard Byaboona. My other half who is british could not find work in the architecture industry due to her lack of Norwegian skills. But, there are a few larger firms that have quite strong international connections. I'd advise you to keep this website on record, it posts pretty much all positions in the draughting/archi industry.

http://www.arkitektnytt.no/stillinger


And I'd like to echo dmcart13's proposal. Alot of the same questions are asked again and again. As much as this forum is a source of information, the connection to outside sources seem very limiting, thus impeding on the actual contribution possible. Things like FINN.no will obviously provide a greater source for work, properties, etc than the classified section on this site.

hello
i was searching and seraching for job and i sent emails
but i couldn't find job .
so i saw your web page and wanted to try !

best regard sina gholoubi

im serching for kitchen work plice when some one can halp me im working full time

Hi wifi87,

I suggest you to post your advert in the Hotel, catering, bar, restaurant and tourism jobs in Norway section, with details of your skills and experience, this might surely help. Thank you!

Regards,

David.

hey dear..
i like your words though... because what i think is you don't have to be just Norwegian speaker.. i mean it sounds like if you don't know norwegian so you will die in norway... noo its not the case... if you know english and good at something i think people can get job...

i like your words that still your language is english and you are working.. great... happy for you...

people need to be encouraged with such words..
cheers

Norway here I come, just to learn the language .... . I am interested about living and working in this country too, but after reading here i assume the only problem with finding a good work is knowing the language which i believe worth spending year and more learning it.

Regarding friendship, communication and all i do not have problems with that, you know you can see a friendly person from a mile.

Cheers to all

Goran from Macedonia

Norknu wrote:

JennyM wrote:

Hey,

Just wondered if anyone had any advice regarding working in Norway. I'm moving over from the UK in August as my boyfriend is Norwegian and will be studying in Trondheim. At the moment, I'm learning Norwegian but certainly won't be proficient enough by August! I realise that getting the job you desire in Norway will be almost impossible without knowing Norwegian.

So with that in mind, I'm trying to think of jobs that won't require me needing to speak fluent Norwegian (to begin with anyway!) Does anyone know what types of jobs I could get? I have office admin and management experience as well as editorial experience (including editorial work, proofreading)...

Do Norwegian publishing companies or companies in general require native-English workers/proofreaders?

If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated

I'm a norwegian and I can say it's hard finding a job in norway without knowing the language. But check out sites like Finn.no, Nav, Trondheim Kommune.no etc. Or maybe your boyfriend knows about some places. When you are settled in Trondheim and knows the city better, go to some companies ask for the person in charge of recruitment at the company(remember to bring your CV/resume and give it to this person), and introduce yourself to them in person and tell them that you're looking for job etc...
There are a lot available jobs that the companies don't publish on sites like nav and finn, this is the way things have been in norway for while, because the companies saves money this way.
Good Luck, and remember to keep your head up and don't give up trying;).

As i said learning Norway language in your primary country will worth the time. You can then go and look for jobs successfully.

My son (in his 30s) found a job in construction in Oslo without much trouble, speaking minimal Norsk at the time. It was well paid, enough for him to support himself and contribute towards the support of his two children.

Hello,
I am Peter and I am looking for a job your beautiful country. I would appreciate any job offers  available in the fishing industry, warehouse, factories, cleaning or any other.
I consider myself a motivated and a hard working person, after hours or weekend working is not an issue. I can start as soon as possible. Looking forward to hearing from you. (tel: 0040745570995, email: peter.szasz88@gmail.com)

Im come from Republic of Kosovo my name is Rasim Duraku and Im very inetersting to work on your country My profesion is Laboratory Technician but I understand all jobs of nurse  ,please if it posible to come on your contry to work for you on Health sector its gone be great
I wold like to now is a posible to come from my country
please replay me

Hi,
Jeg heter Linda og Jeg kommer fra Latvia.
I am started to learn the Norwegian language and I realy like it - I have only first lesson but worked hard to learn this language. Now I live in Tønsberg and I want to know more about my opportunities:
1) Is it possible to find some "start" work to use language and fit in? Where and how I can try to find it?
2) What about the opportunities to work in advertising? Of course when I will learn the language better. Or close to Tønsberg are any agency?

I look forward to a reply.
Have a great day!

Linda

Hello,

Have you tried looking on www.finn.no/jobb? It has all kinds of job listings for the whole country.

David

Hi there everyone...
Great information here, I am from Brazil and have been approved in a Master´s degree in Trondheim...
As an industrial engineer I hope to get a job inside the university as a researcher or maybe as a researcher in the oil and gas industry... i know i will had to learn the language and I will have 2 years for that...
Here in Brazil I also give english classes if I could find a job like this it would be good to increase my income and also my wife is planning to accompany me and she works in the fashion industry which is pratically unexistent in Trondheim as I could see... Sooooo my question is: I it possible to sell some food or small snacks and sandwiches?? Cooking was always one of our passions and the possibility of maybe cooking and selling some food in order to make some extra cash sounds pretty good... My first thought was selling for classmates and other colleagues but i don´t know what´s the culture in Norway for that... at least in Brazil is a bit common!!!
Anyways, sorry for the big text hope someone can help...

Hello,

Producing food in Norway is generally very expensive due to the agricultural policy the government follows. In Norway there is a strong culture of the matpakke (packed lunch). They don't really have a sandwich culture. For their lunch, most people will generally have two slices of bread (smørbrød)  topped with a slice of flavourless cheese, or perhaps some kind of meat paste. You might have more luck selling to international students, but then I think you will struggle to turn a profit as students aren't known for paying a premium.

Norway is also a highly regulated country, so I think if you want to produce and sell food, you probably need to comply with all kinds of health/safety/hygiene rules.

That's my opinion on the matter at least.

David

See those kind of information is really hard to find and I really appreciate your help David...
Very helpful, I guess it´s better to be prepared financially and try to make some network after arriving... let´s focus on the Norwegian for now than... ahahaha
Thanks again...

Hi All,

I am reading this forum because I want to know should my g/f come here would she be able to work.

Lots of interesting discussion here, but especially thanks to winmcp who mentioned the Janteloven. If this still prevails, then I really need to grasp it.

Thanx and good luck all!

wish i knew advice for people coming over. Get a forklift licence valid for Norway if you can. Alot of warehouse work is availible and mostly little or no Norwegian is needed. (oil companies paperwork is in English) i believe its only around £150 in the UK and is very helpfull have a look on FINN under lagerbieder (warehouse worker)

Oh and a bit of advice for "black working" as Norwegians call it. It is very frowned apon i hear. Having a business or income and not paying tax on it even as small as making and selling sandwiches could lead to fines and deportation.

winmcp wrote:

There are no longer free Norwegian language classes unfortunately. The only people who now qualify for free classes are people like refugees.

pfff

Where is this information from ?

D

winmcp wrote:

You were bang on with the nepotism, I've been a victim of that in the job race on more than one occasion (after doing some research after the fact).

Hehe, know what u mean  with the "Noreng" language.  I was talking to a friend just yesterday, and in his words he said they teach us in School to speak English the best that we can but they make it so difficult for English speakers to get jobs so we don't get chance to use it - crazy! but again like you said, it can depend on where u are in the Country. Down in the South I think the rules on language are not so strict and traditional as they are further up here, so maybe we should have moved before hitting financial rock bottom, too late now though, sucked in and spit out - Tusen Takk Sør Trøndelag I'll highly recommend you to future job-seekers.

There is also another problem if you come to the area south of Bergen - nynorsk! I joke about there being 3 official languages of Norway Bokmål, Sami and Nynorsk but 5 million unofficial languages as each individual speaks a mixture of bokmål, nynorsk and local dialect words. As someone who is deaf and on the Asperger's Scale, I find it almost impossible to decipher what someone is saying. Oh yeah, the classes only teach you standard bokmål not the language spoken in the area where you live - nice!

hi im jeverly living as new here in norway i need a job as a singer in bar or hetel or serving food .but since i love music so i can entertain people in karaoke.please call me if have fit for me my number is 004794812590 thank you

jeverly wrote:

hi im jeverly living as new here in norway i need a job as a singer in bar or hetel or serving food .but since i love music so i can entertain people in karaoke.please call me if have fit for me my number is 004794812590 thank you

Hi and welcome to the forum

Hopefully someone will have some information for you.
For security reasons please do not post personal information on an open forum.

I dont know any Norwegian and now I am working at an university in Oslo, where there are many expats (Asian, French, Spanish, USA, etc) who don't speak any Norwegian (some not even speak good English!). I not even a graduate from any European universities, so I think Norway is quite open to hire foreigners. The only thing is that you have to keep applying!

I also need a job in Norway. Am a professional sales associate but am looking for any job for English speaking as am learning Norwegian. Even though am currently living in Uganda.

Hi,I am a girl from Algeria I am looking for a work in norway,any kind of work everything conecrning household,babysitter,kitchen assisstant,sales ... etc ,

Hi,

I was the original poster for this discussion (although I have since changed my name to superjente I thought people might be interested about what actually ended up happening to me...so...

I moved to Trondheim and actually was EXTREMELY lucky to get a job as a Teaching Assistant at an international school. The first year was full-time and the second year was as supply staff but again, I was lucky as I was called in to work all the time. Unfortunately during my second year in Norway, my boyfriend and I decided it wasn't working and we broke up. Although being Norwegian and Norwegians being super nice kind people, we have actually remained friends to this day

I decided to try and make it on my own which worked out to begin with, I was still getting work at the school but the Head wasn't very professional and used desperate foreign workers to her advantage, soon I was out of a job. I had picked up some norsk but I admit it wasn't enough to get by when it came to finding another job. Tried to stick it out for a few months but my money dried up. Got some work as an au pair but I knew it had become too difficult. It was either stay and spend a ridiculous amount of money on the expensive Norwegian courses (and may not even get a job at the end of it) or return back home which I did a few months ago.

So in conclusion, those thinking/wanting/planning on making a move to Norway without knowing the language, please please think about this carefully. I was very lucky to find a job and was grateful, I met so may good friends (albeit mostly non-norwegians) and I made great memories in a great country but I felt so broken by the end of it. Yes, it was my fault - I should have tried harder to learn the language and I think that is key to success in Norway. I did have English-speaking friends who learnt to language fluently, went on to get office jobs but were constantly told their norsk wasn't good enough. These were people who had passed the Bergens test with full colours.

So that's my story and my experience of moving to Norway and I wanted to share it with you since I look through some of these comments and think 'I wonder what ever happened to them...'

I do miss the country but I think I had it unusually good until the end. I wouldn't do it again unless I had a job lined up before I go there!

Takk og ha det bra!

Sad to hear Superjente,

but it is totally true, getting a job without talking Norwegian is a challenge, you have to be very specialized and skilled in some major to get a job or as you said (very lucky)

I am only an English speaker, but it's a different story for me

For all English speakers who are seeking jobs in Norway, if you have competition with other applicants who speak Norwegian you loose, if you are seeking a general position you loose.

But some tips that might help, work on your language as soon as possible, write your CV in Norwegian , and if you attend an interview show that you started to learn the language.

Norway is a calm nice place which I respect and appreciate, but remember that ..  in Norway ( a foreigner will be always foreigner it does not matter where do you come from, of course it varies a bit, but you will be always a foreigner, even  if you get Norwegian passport, nothing will change)

Norwegians are conservative when it comes to foreigners, so more foreigner you are,  less chances you get.

Hi, thanks for sharing your experience.

The main problem is / was that you (unknowingly) chose the worst place in Norway to make a start in the job market as a foreigner. The need to speak Norwegian at work in Trondheim is aggressively dogmatic.

Before you come here you can see adverts online beckoning you to come as there are jobs galore! but what they leave out is the need to speak Norwegian first, so you come here with high hopes, which grow as you venture out into the city and everybody quite happily speaks / understands English with no problem, then you start to look for work and bam! the brick wall of silence or I'm sorry but.....letters start to come in from your job apps. Lykke til!!!

The truth of the matter is that Norwegians can get by with English without any problem, it's just that they don't want to.  Of course this doesn't mean everybody, but I'm talking about the general status quo in relation to the job market.

Trønder's are VERY proud of their city and this is why there is such a difference between getting a job down south and being given some leeway to learn Norsk as you work Vs Trondheim where it's a brick wall. It will change eventually, it has to, being a University city, you can't put tradition before progress (which is what is happening at the moment) but how long that will take, who knows, so for now I would not advise anyone to start in Trondheim. you will be blatantly ignored by at least 85% of the local job agencies and your chances of getting a job without speaking Norwegian are something like 1 or 2% and that's being generous.

But for now du må snakk Norsk!!! it's veeeeeeeeeeeery important!

1stworldview wrote:

Top Ten Jobs If You  Love To Travel
(9) International aid worker
If you want to travel for a living while making a real difference in people's lives, consider working for an international aid organization like USAID. With this job, you can visit struggling countries and help its residents recover from dire situations such as natural disasters and famine. You'll need a background in a field like health, agriculture or education and a strong interest in social work, according to How Stuff Works.

Ummm. USAID is probably a bad example. It's widely believed to be a CIA front, and that belief can make life dangerous for USAID workers. Yes, the organisation does give legitimate help to "struggling countries", but quite a bit of illegitimate help, too.