Frequently asked questions

Yrkesdörren aims to match established professionals (Door Openers) with foreign-born Swedes (Participants) for a meeting about their shared industry.

These meetings foster a mutual exchange of knowledge and experiences that broadens networks. For you as a Participant, a meeting is also an opportunity to learn more about social codes, explore your possibilities, and boost your confidence in the job market. And for you as a Door Opener, it’s a chance to gain insight into how your industry operates in another country and to meet a potential future colleague. Our vision is a labor market where people with different backgrounds and experiences find their rightful place.

By registering with Yrkesdörren, you will be matched with a Door Opener/Participant in the same industry. For one hour, you’ll then have an individual, digital or in-person meeting to discuss your shared professional experiences, as well as challenges and opportunities. During the meeting, you can use Yrkesdörren’s conversation guide (Swedish version) for support and inspiration.

As a Door Opener, you meet someone from the same industry whose experience often comes from a country other than Sweden. It’s a concrete way to contribute to greater integration and a more inclusive labor market.

Many Door Openers find they have gained relevant knowledge, a broadened perspective and new contacts, while also contributing to a more inclusive society.

This has also been confirmed in cases where Door Openers were doubtful about whether they really had anything of value to offer the Participant. Our experience is that the meetings often turn out to be more rewarding than expected.

As someone born abroad, navigating and breaking into the Swedish job market can be challenging. Through Yrkesdörren you have the opportunity to meet a professional in your industry. The purpose of the meeting is to gain knowledge, tips, advice and contacts that will help you establish yourself in the labour market.

No, Yrkesdörren does not place you in a job.

If you are foreign-born and not yet established in the labour market, Yrkesdörren is a perfect complement to your job-search activities. In your meeting you will receive tips, advice, knowledge and a professional network that can strengthen your position in the labour market.

Our goal is to create as many meetings as possible. We’re happy to offer you more meetings if you’d like.

The availability of meetings depends on how many active users in the system match your profile. As a Participant, we prioritize you if you haven’t had a meeting yet. That’s because we have many Participants in the system and want to give everyone the opportunity to meet a Door Opener.

You don’t need any special prior knowledge to join Yrkesdörren. The following applies if you want to join as a Door Opener in Yrkesdörren:

• You have experience in an industry
• You are established in the Swedish job market
• You have an hour to spare for an open-hearted conversation

The following criteria apply if you want to sign up as a Participant in Yrkesdörren:

• You were born abroad and live in Sweden
• You have work experience or completed studies in a particular field
• You are not yet established in the Swedish job market
• You must be able to converse in Swedish or English

Unfortunately, Yrkesdörren’s service is available only to people residing in Sweden. If you’re considering moving to Sweden, here are some resources you might find helpful:

• Sweden.se: Moving to Sweden in 10 Steps
• Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket)
• InterNations: Guide moving to Sweden

Unfortunately not. To join Yrkesdörren, you must have previous industry experience or at least completed studies in the field. Here are some other organizations that welcome foreign-born students who want to meet an established Swede for guidance, socializing, or Swedish practice:

• NemaProblema
• Nya Kompisbyrån

Have you moved, changed industry or profession, or selected the wrong option during registration? Let us know by logging in and updating your profile so it’s accurate. With the right information on your profile, we can offer you a more relevant match and meeting.

If you need to update your industry experience, you can check our industry list here to see which industry best matches your background.

If you no longer wish to participate in Yrkesdörren, you can choose to pause your engagement or leave Yrkesdörren.

How wonderful, congratulations! If you’ve recently landed a job, you might still feel the need to meet someone more established through Yrkesdörren — and of course you’re welcome to do so.

When you’re new to the labor market, many questions can arise about how the industry works, workplace social codes, and so on. A Yrkesdörren meeting can help you get answers to some of your questions while you continue to build your professional network.

If you’ve already been matched, we encourage you to go ahead and hold your meeting.

Of course! If you have previously registered with Yrkesdörren, you can reactivate your profile here.

The goal is to match you with someone who speaks the same language and has the same industry experience as you.

Sometimes you may meet someone whose profile differs from yours. This match was made because we believe your meeting can be rewarding even if you don’t share the same industry. If after the meeting you feel the match wasn’t successful, please reach out to us and we’ll do our best to find you a new match.

When we’ve found a match, we’ll send an email to both of you connecting you. We’ll also suggest a date for the meeting, but it’s entirely up to you when, where and how you meet. You can meet either in person or online. For in-person meetings, we recommend you meet at the Door Opener’s workplace or in a public place, such as a café.

During the meeting, you’ll discuss topics related to your shared industry and the labour market in general. This could include suggestions for professional development, tips on how to draft a CV or cover letter, and which social codes it helps to know. Feel free to use our conversation guide (Swedish version).

Before the meeting, we recommend emailing each other a short introduction, who you are and why you joined Yrkesdörren. You’re also welcome to share a link to your LinkedIn profile so you can get a better sense of each other.

Our matches are primarily based on shared industry experience. We always strive to make matches as specific as possible. Depending on your professional background, some matches may end up a bit broader.

In cases where the match is broader, the conversation usually covers more general aspects of work and the labor market, which can often be very rewarding for someone new to the Swedish job market.

If it’s only been a couple of days, we recommend that you make first contact by email.

After that, you can send a text message to remind them and refer to your email. If you still don’t receive a reply, you can either cancel the meeting via the link in the follow-up email (which is sent a few weeks after the match is made) or email our user support (kontakt@yrkesdorren.se).

What we normally do is reach out to the other party to remind them about the match and the meeting. Sometimes it turns out the email landed in their spam folder, and sometimes their situation has changed and they no longer need a Yrkesdörren meeting.

There are various reasons why you might not be able to hold your meeting. We recommend that you try to reschedule the meeting whenever possible, as it can be difficult to offer new matches.

However, if you cannot or do not want to hold the meeting, you can cancel it using the link you received in the follow-up email. If you have not received the follow-up email, you can email user support (kontakt@yrkesdorren.se)

It’s up to you and your match to decide. You can meet either in person or digitally. For in-person meetings, it’s important to choose a location that feels comfortable for both of you, for example at the Door Opener’s workplace or a public place such as a café.

As a Door Opener, you are expected to give one hour of your time for a frank conversation about your shared industry.

The primary purpose of Yrkesdörren is to broaden the professional networks of foreign-born individuals and accelerate their integration into the labor market. You contribute simply by sharing your personal knowledge and experiences. This might include describing how you entered the industry, offering tips on relevant further education, or reviewing the Participant’s résumé and cover letter.

You are not expected to offer your match a job or take on additional meetings with the Participant unless you are able and willing to do so.

As a Door Opener you can choose to:

• share tips and/or two contacts with your Participant
• continue meeting with your Participant
• have a new meeting with someone else
• encourage friends and colleagues to join Yrkesdörren
• wait to schedule another meeting until later

We often have Participants waiting to meet a Door Opener, so you’re warmly welcome to take on another meeting if you feel inclined!

As a Participant: We encourage you to follow up on the tips and insights you gained from your meeting. You can then choose to:

• continue meeting with your Door Opener
• have a new meeting with someone else
• wait to schedule another meeting until later

If you’d like to be matched with someone new, there may be a delay, as we prioritize first meetings, since many participants are waiting for their turn to connect with a Door Opener.

Thank you for your commitment! You are welcome to schedule more meetings through Yrkesdörren and spread the word to your friends and colleagues. That way, Yrkesdörren can grow and create more meetings that make a difference!

If you’d like to get involved in another way, feel free to contact us (kontakt@yrkesdorren.se) and let us know how you’d like to contribute.