Find arbejde — Finding a job

Official advice for newcomers, in short

Not a government site — an independent summary of the official pages listed at the bottom.

If you live in Denmark through family reunification, you may work here as soon as you have your residence permit. This is the official advice on finding a job, in short.

What to do

  1. 1

    Show that you may work. Your residence card (opholdskort) is the proof. Until it arrives, the letter with the decision on your permit works too.

  2. 2

    Get your education assessed early. A free statement tells Danish employers what your education from abroad corresponds to. It takes 1–2 months.

  3. 3

    Look in the right places. Workindenmark lists jobs in English; Jobnet has more, mostly in Danish. Many jobs are never advertised, so contact companies directly too.

  4. 4

    Write for each job. A CV and a one-page cover letter made for that job, about what you can do for them. Fewer, better applications work best.

  5. 5

    Keep learning Danish. Work in Denmark advises starting as soon as possible.

The details

Where to find jobs

  • Workindenmark is the official site for international recruitment. It lists 2,000–3,000 jobs in English, and most of them do not require Danish.
  • Jobnet is the public employment service's site, with about 15,000 jobs across Denmark. Most of the ads are in Danish.
  • There are private job sites as well, such as JobIndex.
  • Most jobs are advertised, but many are not — see contacting companies directly, below.

Contacting companies directly

  • Many jobs in Denmark are never advertised. It is common to send an unsolicited application to a company you would like to work for, and most employers welcome the interest.
  • It is also common to phone the company before you apply — even for an unsolicited application. Many newcomers are surprised by this.
  • Find out what the company does and which job you could do there, and who the right person to contact is. Old job ads can show you both.
  • Tell them what they would gain. Your language and your home country can be exactly that, for a company that works with it.

Your CV

  • Danish employers often read the CV first, and the photo and the short profile text are what they notice first.
  • Keep the profile to 5–8 lines about how you match this job.
  • Include a professional photo, and describe what you achieved in earlier jobs — not only what your tasks were.

Your cover letter

  • No more than one page.
  • Match what the job ad asks for to your own skills, with examples of when you used them. Start with the hard skills — your education, certificates, the tools you know — then the personal ones.
  • You can apply even if you meet only some of the requirements.
  • Say why you want this job at this company, and what they gain by hiring you — not what you gain.
  • Mention skills that are rarer in Denmark, like your languages.

The job interview

  • Prepare. Danish employers look for someone who seems motivated, takes part in the conversation and has questions of their own ready.
  • Know the company. Make eye contact, and do not speak badly of earlier employers.
  • Online: charge your computer, test sound and camera, join early, and look into the camera when you speak.

Education from abroad

  • The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science gives a free assessment of what your education corresponds to in Denmark. It normally takes 1–2 months after you send the application and the documents.
  • More than 100 professions are regulated in Denmark — for example doctor, nurse, municipal schoolteacher and forklift truck driver. To work in one, you need an authorisation from the Danish authority for that profession. See if yours is on the list.

When you get the job

  • If the job lasts at least a month and averages more than 8 hours a week, your employer must give you an employment contract.
  • You need a tax card (skattekort).
  • Insurance against unemployment is voluntary. Your taxes do not cover it: to be insured, join an unemployment fund (a-kasse) and pay its fee.
  • Joining a trade union (fagforening) is voluntary too. A union negotiates pay and conditions, and can give you legal help at work.

Free help

  • Work in Denmark has free videos on the parts of a Danish job search newcomers find unfamiliar: when to call, the personal profile, the cover letter and unsolicited applications.
  • Your kommune (municipality) may offer help finding a job. Some have an International Citizen Service centre for newcomers.

Where this comes from

Summed up from these official pages and checked on 17 October 2026. Numbers, rules and advice can change. This site has no connection to the authorities that publish them.