Pros and Cons of My Career

Before starting my job search, I decided to make a list of what I have and what I don’t.

Moving to Sweden is definitely a milestone in my career- there is no argument there, but whether it will kill my entire career, cause a career shift or step up my career – I do not know that yet.

So, rather than rushing into an illogical job search, first I’ve decided to discover:

• What I am capable of & what my obstacles are
• What I really want & what compromises I can make
• What options I have & which one I should focus

First step was making a pros and cons list of my career – analyzing my former career and thinking about current Swedish job market. Second step will be deciding main professions I will focus – which I wrote about it in the next post.

First things first – here is my list:

PROs

• I have work experience in these professions: learning and development, purchasing (retail buyer) and human resources (but this was just part time job). Additionally I have a MBA degree which may be useful. And I have some other tasks within my work experience that were not my main profession, but I have some idea about them (which may make me desirable in the entry level positions of those professions) – which are event management, social media coordination and small-sized marketing campaigns.
• Also I have the experience of job interviews and job hunt process which should help me if I am accepted any application processes.
• I also have fluent English (which I know not a main pro but again it may put me in front of some other foreigner candidates)
• I also have some people right now in Sweden who I can meet for a coffee and make some “networking” (but since I am not a fan of networking, this will require a lot of self-motivation).
• Finally, I started a Swedish course which means I can say I know Basic Swedish (but in most of the situations, I believe saying my name and some chit-chat lines in Swedish won’t make me “fluent in Swedish” for next couple of years)

CONs

• Main obstacle is, of course, NOT being fluent in Swedish. Most of the jobs require Swedish (also the job ads are mainly in Swedish) which is understandable but unfortunate for me. I cannot argue the way of it is because we all do the same. In Turkey, if we hire someone, we assume of course s/he will know Turkish, is there any other option? Yes, actually there is – but most of the real inhabitants of a country do not realize there are many foreigners also living there with them. So it will be hard to show your very existence in job market however since Sweden is the best English language speaking country as a secondary language, I believe we have a shot!
• The other disadvantage for me, the Human Resources and Learning and Development markets in Stockholm are small-sized. Most of the companies do not have in-house departments and also many companies require Swedish. So there will be less job opportunities for me. I also had a career in Purchasing, however the last time I’ve worked  in that profession was 2013– so I am not sure I will have a chance or not here. And also there is another question of whether I want a chance in Purchasing or not!
• I also have a weak network in Sweden and they say 80% of the jobs are closed before becoming public thanks to networks. (what kind of job market is that?!) So networking in Sweden is a must and I am not reaaally into it – so I guess this will be a huge problem for me to overcome.
• Lastly, I am still new in Stockholm. So probably there are many things that I do not know about job market. I need to find as much information, tips, insights as I can to widen my opportunities.

Now I know what I have and what I don’t. If you did not do your list yet, I suggest you write it down immediately.

It’s a good starting point to boost your confidence with your strengths, realize and accept your disadvantages and think the ways to overcome them, and most importantly find which professions you will focus – at the end you will have your road map in the job hunt!

Next blog post is about which professions should we focus according to our map. Should we obsessed with just one career or should we go all-in for every possible positions?