There are many places you can look for jobs and, for example, create job agents, so you get the relevant jobs sent when they look up.
But what if there is nothing to look for right now? There are also many places you can find inspiration to find your potential future workplace.
➡ On this page, we will give you some inspiration regarding where to find jobs and how to use the different tools.
You can find employers and relevant jobfunctions by using job and project websites.
Being international and not fluent in Danish, it can be difficult to figure out how to find relevant employers and companies in Denmark. Many employers advertise projects, internships and jobs in jobsites, such as AAU Jobbank.
Try searching for jobs that match your educational background – search in broader categories as many of the AAU programmes are interdisciplinary and thereby fall within several categories. If a company employs people with your educational background, it can be relevant for you to make contact.
Be open to various project collaborations and types of employment. Broaden your areas of interest and keep your perspectives open, so that you do not preclude any opportunity. Do not only focus on full time work, look into temporary positions as well, and send unsolicited applications. All this could open doors to further opportunities.
If you already have an idea about which type of job, you are looking for, you need to find out which companies offer such jobs – and how you can use jobsites and job agents.
Perhaps you already know which employers you are interested in, which makes it easy to keep an eye on relevant vacancies.
Unsolicited job search is also a good idea since especially the private sector often uses this way of recruiting. Network and LinkedIn are very popular as means of recruiting.
The public sector also sometimes uses unsolicited applications for jobs of a duration of less than 12 months. Be aware that public sector vacancies must always be advertised if they are jobs with a duration over 12 months. The possibility of getting employment for less than 12 months vary very much across the country – in Copenhagen there are quite a few good opportunities.
Large workplaces often allow you to create a job agent, which will automatically alert you to new positions being advertised, and sometimes you can also upload your CV in their CV bank.
Once you have put your competencies into words, you can match them and your interests with the right job by taking a systematic look at jobsites.
Job ads in jobsites reflect the current jobs on offer, as well as it shows how employers describe the competencies that are important in the various jobs. It gives you an idea of the competences that are in demand – just keep in mind that job ads always are wish lists and you do not have to match them 100 %.
Select the websites you wish to work with. Find inspiration in the list of job sites below.
For a limited period of time, frequently check (or receive alerts) jobs through job agents.
Save a copy of every job you find interesting, e.g. jobs that contain some interesting elements relevant to your profile and where you feel motivated reading about it. Try not to be too critical or strategic or to focus too much on geography in your search – the focus is on you getting information and ideas.
Having completed your search, now sort through the jobs you have found. Depending on the content of the job ads you have collected, sort them according to a number of different categories. This is of course individual, but it can make sense to organise them according to:
By doing this, you form an overview of any repeated elements in the jobs you are interested in.
The purpose of this step is to provide you with a better overview of the skills required in order to be able to apply for the jobs that you find most interesting.
This will help you analyse whether you already possess the basic skills asked for in the jobs you find interesting - or whether you need to consider how you close the possible gaps between your current profile and the interesting jobs. The last thing can help you plan strategically how you, through your study programme (choosing specific subjects and collaboration partners for your project based work etc.), student job, volunteer work etc., can turn your profile into a specific path.
In Denmark, there are several databases containing information on all companies (including public and private workplaces, organisations, etc.). You need to pay a fee to access some of them, while others are free. However as a student at AAU you have access to some of them through Aalborg University Library (AUB).
Below are some examples of free databases also in English:
Sometimes, you can also gain access to various company databases through Danish trade unions and unemployment insurance funds if you are a member.
Besides the company databases, you can also find various business sector overviews. These can give you an idea about which companies you can contact to do a project collaboration with, get a student job or a graduate job. Many of the sites are unfortunately only in Danish and the list is not extensive:
LinkedIn is very popular in Denmark within many sectors when it comes to professional network and finding jobs or recruiting new employees.
You can follow relevant companies as well as link up with relevant people. Make it a habit to link up with people, you meet in real life, that are professionally relevant. Always remember to add a personal note, when sending an invitation to link as this will make people understand why you wish to link - besides being the most polite thing to do and to ensure that a higher number of people actually link with you.
Furthermore, LinkedIn has a brilliant alumni function, where you can get inspiration and contact alumni with the same educational background as yourself and their career.
There are many websites to check out for your specific profile and interest.
We have gathered some of the most valuable when having an academic degree:
If you want to work abroad you can find different job sites in the various countries:
When Denis was looking for a student job, he decided to do something different from all the other students looking for a job. He looked for new small companies, applied unsolicited and got the job. But it took a lot of work: He researched thoroughly, and he found a way to show them that they needed him.
Arriving in Denmark, Juliana was determined to find a relevant student job. She went to career fairs, and used LinkedIn, but the decisive move was when she started researching growing companies and found a company looking for an intern. She convinced them to hire her instead of an intern.
During her search for a job in Denmark, Chrissy quickly concluded that LinkedIn was essential. She used LinkedIn to network, communicate, and research jobs and companies – and it helped her getting her first job. Here, she shares her experiences and advice for you to get started and make use of LinkedIn’s potential.
Janka came to Denmark with realistic expectations and prepared to do everything in her power to find a student job. She knew it would be difficult – and it was. But in the end, she found a great job. Here, she shares her journey, which included expectations, practicalities, job fairs, network, getting up at 3 a.m., and a surprising e-mail.
What does it mean to be networking? Do I have a network? And how can I improve my network so that it is beneficial both to me and to my network?
Why should I attend career fairs? How do I prepare? What should I talk to the employers about? And how do I follow up afterwards?
Where can I find concrete examples that tangibly show how I can decode job ads and write targeted CVs and applications?
