Applying for Jobs in Sweden: CVs, Personal Letters and Slow Hiring

A Swedish job application looks familiar but runs on its own rules: a short CV, a one-page letter, screening tests, a long wait and references at the very end. Here is how each step works, and what the law guarantees you as an applicant.

When you need this

You have found a Swedish job ad and the employer wants a personligt brev, a word you have never seen. You are unsure whether to add a photo, your age or your family to your CV. You applied weeks ago and nobody has replied. Or an employer has just asked for a criminal-record extract, and you want to know whether that is normal.

Before you apply: right to work and qualifications

Two things come before any CV. First, the right to work. EU/EEA citizens need no permit and can start looking at once. Almost everyone else needs a work permit, and it must be granted before you start work, so the job offer comes first and the permit second. The salary floor and the rest of that process are in our guide to work permits in Sweden, and what happens after the offer is in moving to Sweden for work.

Second, your qualifications. A Swedish recruiter may not know what your degree or vocational certificate corresponds to. UHR, the Swedish Council for Higher Education, runs an online Qualifications Assessment Tool that shows the Swedish equivalent and gives you a PDF to send to employers. If your qualification isn’t listed, you can apply for an individual recognition statement. Regulated professions, such as doctors and teachers, need approval from the authority responsible for that profession; UHR tells you which one.

Then find the openings:

• Platsbanken, Arbetsförmedlingen’s job bank, the national listing
• Employers’ own career pages, where municipalities, regions and large companies post
• Staffing agencies (bemanningsföretag): register your CV so recruiters can find you
• Spontaneous applications (spontanansökan): some employers have a form; otherwise write to HR or a manager
• People you know: Arbetsförmedlingen explicitly recommends asking your contacts

The CV: one to two pages, tailored

Arbetsförmedlingen, the Swedish Public Employment Service, sets out the common norm: one to two pages is enough, with clear headings and the experience that matters for this particular job. Adapt it for every application rather than sending one version everywhere. Send it as a PDF with a clear file name, such as “CV Firstname Lastname”.

What about a photo? This is where advice online contradicts itself. In Sweden a photo is neither expected nor forbidden: Arbetsförmedlingen’s own templates come with and without a photo field and only ask that any photo look professional. Because choosing applicants by age, ethnicity or sex is discrimination under Swedish law, many applicants leave it off and let their experience speak.

The personal letter: one A4 page, never a repeat

The personligt brev (personal letter) is the Swedish cover letter, and it carries more weight than many newcomers assume. Arbetsförmedlingen’s advice is concrete:

1. Keep it to one A4 page at most.
2. Open with the job you are applying for and why you fit it.
3. Address exactly what the ad asks for.
4. Show your personal qualities through real situations, not a list of adjectives.
5. Make it complement the CV; don’t repeat it.
6. End on a positive, forward-looking line.

One modern warning: if you draft with AI, rewrite the result in your own words. Arbetsförmedlingen says recruitment systems may reject a letter that is entirely AI-generated. Swedish workplaces value modesty and consensus (see Swedish work culture), so concrete examples land better than big claims.

From deadline to offer: why it takes so long

Swedish recruitment often runs in stages, and each one takes time. Arbetsförmedlingen’s description of its own hiring is a fair picture of a large public employer:

Arbetsförmedlingen says this normally takes about two months from the last application day, and can take longer. So silence after a week or two is not a rejection; following up after a week mostly signals impatience.

The calendar matters too. Under the Annual Leave Act, employees are entitled to four consecutive weeks of holiday between June and August unless they agree otherwise, and most take them in July, when many small businesses close completely (see industrisemester in July). An application sent in late June may not be read until August. Seasonal work runs to a different rhythm, covered in seasonal jobs in Sweden.

When the offer comes, read the contract type. Open-ended employment (tillsvidareanställning) is the default under Swedish law, but an employer may start you on a trial employment (provanställning) of at most six months. If neither side ends it by then, it becomes open-ended automatically.

References and background checks

References come at the end, often only for the final candidates. Arbetsförmedlingen suggests two or three people who know you, preferably through work: a former manager, a supervisor or a teacher. Never use friends or relatives; it comes across as unserious. Ask each person first, tell them which job you are applying for, and check their contact details. If your former employers are abroad and hard to reach by phone, a written reference or work certificate helps.

Criminal-record checks are narrower than many expect. Polisen issues special extracts from the belastningsregister (criminal-records register) for sectors where the law requires a check:

• the school system
• work with children outside school and childcare, and with children with disabilities
• care of elderly or disabled people in their homes
• HVB homes (residential care for young people)
• insurance distribution
• leading positions in municipalities

These extracts are free and take up to two weeks. EU and UK citizens wait longer, because Polisen must ask the home country, which has 20 working days to reply. From 15 July 2026 the school-sector extract covers more and is valid for six months instead of one year.

Outside those sectors, some employers ask to see your “own-check” extract, sometimes unopened. Polisen says that extract is not meant as proof of a clean record and does not recommend the practice. You decide how to use your own extract.

Security vetting (säkerhetsprövning) applies to anyone who will take part in security-sensitive work. It includes a register check, which may be done only with your consent. Posts in the two highest security classes in the state, municipalities and regions are reserved for Swedish citizens, with individual exceptions.

Your rights as an applicant

The Discrimination Act protects you from the moment you ask about or apply for a job. An employer may not discriminate on any of seven grounds: sex, transgender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation and age. An employer who breaks the ban must pay discrimination compensation.

The Equality Ombudsman (DO) applies this to job ads too. In a 2020 decision, DO found that an ad requiring personal assistants to be at least 20 was direct discrimination; the same ad’s female-only requirement was accepted because the job involved highly intimate care.

Two more rights are worth knowing:

• Ask how you compared. If you were not hired or not interviewed, you can ask the employer in writing for the education, experience and other merits of the person who got the job.
• Public-sector applications are public. Applications to a state agency, municipality or region become public documents, and the employer must release them on request, subject to secrecy rules. Leave out sensitive personal details the ad doesn’t ask for. Forms may still ask for a Swedish ID number; see the personnummer explained.

And one warning: never pay an employer or agent to get a job. Migrationsverket names it as a sign of an employer breaking the rules.

Salary in job ads: the rule that didn’t arrive

You may read that from June 2026 Swedish employers must put the salary or a pay range in every job ad. That is out of date. The EU pay transparency directive does require employers to tell applicants the starting salary or range, and Sweden’s government drafted a law to apply from 1 July 2026. In March 2026 it first moved the date to 1 January 2027, then announced that it would not present the bill at all and would push for the directive to be renegotiated. The EU deadline of June 2026 passed without a Swedish law, and as of October 2026 none is in force. Ask about pay at the interview; a collective agreement often sets the level (see unions and collective agreements).

Practical information

FAQ

Should I put a photo on my Swedish CV?

It is optional. Arbetsförmedlingen offers CV templates both with and without a photo field and only asks that any photo look professional. No rule requires one. Because selecting by age, ethnicity or sex is discrimination under Swedish law, many applicants leave the photo off and let skills speak. Either way, keep the CV to one or two pages.

What is a personligt brev and how long should it be?

It is the Swedish cover letter, sent with your CV. Arbetsförmedlingen advises a maximum of one A4 page that complements the CV instead of repeating it. Open with the job and why you fit, address exactly what the ad asks for, and show personal qualities through real situations. Rewrite any AI draft in your own words.

Why does hiring take so long in Sweden?

Recruitments often run in stages: screening questions, tests, one or more interviews, then reference checks for final candidates. Arbetsförmedlingen says its own recruitments take about two months from the last application day and can take longer. Summer adds weeks, because employees have a right to four consecutive weeks off in June to August and many workplaces slow down in July.

Can a Swedish employer ask for my criminal record?

In some sectors the law requires it: schools, work with children, care in people’s homes, HVB homes and insurance distribution have their own Polisen extracts. Security-classed jobs use vetting with your consent. Other employers sometimes ask to see your own-check extract, but Polisen says it is not meant as proof of a clean record.

Do Swedish job ads have to show the salary?

Not as of October 2026. An EU directive would require employers to tell applicants the starting salary or range, and Sweden’s government drafted a law for 1 July 2026. In March 2026 it dropped the bill and asked the EU to renegotiate, so the deadline of June 2026 passed without a Swedish rule. Ask about pay at interview.

How do references work in Sweden?

Employers usually phone your references near the end, often only for final candidates. Arbetsförmedlingen suggests two or three people who know you through work, such as a former manager, teacher or supervisor, never friends or relatives. Ask them first and tell them which job you want. A written reference helps when former employers are abroad.

Related guides

• Work permits in Sweden — the 2026 salary floor and why the job offer is the permit
• Moving to Sweden for work — registration, ID card and bank account after you sign
• Swedish work culture — consensus, fika and what your new colleagues expect
• Learning Swedish as a newcomer — SFI and why the language widens the job pool
• Seasonal jobs in Sweden — ski and summer recruitment on a faster clock

Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Arbetsförmedlingen, Sveriges riksdag (Diskrimineringslag 2008:567, Säkerhetsskyddslag 2018:585, Lag 1982:80 om anställningsskydd, Semesterlag 1977:480), Diskrimineringsombudsmannen, Polismyndigheten, Regeringskansliet, UHR and Migrationsverket — full register in this topic’s source file. This is general information, not legal advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.