coffee

The fika break is a Swedish near holy opportunity to stay tuned in on what is really going on.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro 2013

It was 2004.

We were sitting in the canteen of the main administrative building. The canteen was located on the higher floors, with high ceilings and large windows that overlooked three other buildings with chimneys billowing smoke.

At the table where we sat, the aroma of a hot cup of Zoéga coffee wafted through the air.

Coming back to Sweden
The story at hand was how reintegration into the Swedish organisation – coming back to Sweden to work, after having been abroad for a few years – constitutes just as much of a culture and organisation shock for many, as those who go to foreign countries to work.

Little attention paid to reintegration
While most organisations take care of practicalities, even giving their top managers / employees cultural orientation to the new culture they would soon be experiencing as part of their overseas posting to a foreign subsidiary, the aspect of re-acculturation when coming back to Sweden thereafter, is little paid attention to. Most would take for granted that employees would delight in coming back to Sweden and just being relieved doing so, reintegrating right back to where they were.

      – It’s difficult to be back in Sweden for me. I started in Germany, that was during the late 1980s, then from Germany, I was moved to Poland, and then from Poland, I was moved to Latin America. From Latin America they decided it was Japan and now I am back here in Sweden. I have been working for this company for more than twenty years now. And my wife didn’t want to come back to Sweden. She really liked Latin America. Japan, not so much but she would have preferred staying in Japan than coming back here. I come back here, you think my colleagues would be happy to see me? No, you are like an outcast. In fact, some even tell you, it is not good that you have been abroad working, because you forget the Swedish culture and what it’s like to work here. You are in your own world, and frankly, I feel useless. The company should have a re-orientation programme for people like me, to reintroduce ourselves to the home company.

– You feel, useless? But, you have directorship, or at least, that is your job title.

– Yes that is my job title but what you do and what you feel, that is different from the title given to you in the company. The title could be because I have been here for very many years, so in a way, they are obliged to give me this position. Or course, it is also merited, I have a lot of experience. But you can say, I feel a little lost at the moment.

– In order for you not to feel lost, what could the company do for you or how could your case be addressed by the company for example?

– Well, I think they are doing the best they can. Everyone here has their own thing to do, so I guess it is up to me to decide too, how to move forward.

– Would you consider moving to another company?

– Well, if somebody asks me, maybe. I might, yes. But I am not going to send out any CVs or resumes.

– No CVs?

– I’ll tell you something. In all my life working in Sweden, I have not sent out a single CV. Jobs just came to me. And if I am going to change company, it will be the same. Someone will ask me. That’s how I have experienced it. And there are always openings, companies are always hiring. But no CV sending.

No CV’s
About a decade has passed since I had that long interview session with a Director of a Swedish multinational corporation who had just returned from abroad and found himself, together with his family, needing to re-assimilate into Swedish society.

Admittedly, I had not quite understood the phenomena of getting a job without sending out your CV. In Singapore where I grew up, sending in your CV was mandatory followed by an interview. Today, it could well be two or three interviews coupled with psychometric tests, etc, to try to ensure a fit between the individual and the organization.

2011 was the second time I learnt about a recruitment process that used no CVs per se, from a Professor of International Business in Spain.

Streaming to elite groups
The candidates who made it to faculty at the institute of higher education were groomed from their undergraduate years. Elite students were streamed into elite research groups from before they graduate with their bachelors and from there, a further set of core students were selected for scholarship and funding to pursue their masters and doctoral studies. These candidates were sent overseas, outside of Spain and returned to the university after completing their PhDs in relevant fields. Upon return, a grueling five year plan towards Associate Professorship was laid out by mentors in the department and the progress monitored. If the candidate failed to be on track towards this goal, they could well be dropped as faculty member, despite all that was previously invested in the individual.

Just two years on from 2011, I found myself a few days ago, seated in a round-table discussion on the topic of human resource management strategies, affiliation to organizations and the process of hiring new talent in Sweden. It is not uncommon for organizations to shuffle individuals inter-departmentally within organizations to new and differing portfolios. This leads to that an announcement for a job placement can be made but subsequently pulled back, due to there being no longer a need to hire for that position. There was general feedback from the group that some saw recruitment processes in Sweden as uncertain contexts, the colour of grey.

As the discussion continued, I found myself once again back in 2004 in that canteen with the wafting aroma of that mug of Zoéga coffee.

– But, I don’t understand. Could you explain, how it is that you, when you want a new job, would sit there and be asked for a job instead of applying for one?

– It’s a very ground-up approach isn’t it? I mean usually, you could say that the company HR management would send out an advertising stating, such and such a position open, apply here. But if you talk to people a lot, you get to understand them, you meet them all the time during trade fairs and outside office hours because you do business together, then why not that if they know you, they know what you are looking for and if they need something, they ask? So there is no label for it in my experience, but all I can say is to keep your ears to the ground. Too many people are trying to listen from the top. But if you keep to the ground, you’ll know who’s hiring and for what.

– With no CVs.

– No CVs needed.

In ten years there will be no jobs to apply for
Back at the round-table discussion on human resource management strategies from a few days ago, interestingly enough in Swedish print media, author Jacqueline Kothbauer sugguests that in ten years there might well be no more jobs to apply for. All positions will be offered to people recruited via friends, colleagues, networks and social media. The advise was to start preparing for this and position your on-line profile / persona so that you would be found.

It thus apparently seems that labour market practices once accessible and expected for top management will soon be in place for anyone wanting a job – any job – on any level. So, ears to the ground, and keep on with those fika sessions.