Getting a job in Norway as an expat..

Having been an expat in Norway..TWICE.. I can tell you a thing or two about TRYING to land a job over here...  it AIN'T EASY.

Now, this is MY experience..

(.. & the experience of all of my expat girlfriends here.)

   There are of course those.. with some wonderful education in a specialized field who will tell you that getting a job over here is EASY....   maybe for THEM is was...

 for the rest of us... not so much.

When I arrived the first time.. a bright & bushy tailed 25 year old...

with a double major & a minor.. 3 years work experience.. & 3 languages...

I thought it would be a BREEZE landing a job.  That is what my new husband told me.

Why wouldn't someone want me? 

In the U.S. most employers think that if you have a degree.. you can be TAUGHT to do anything... 
Oh you have a BA in English?  sure you can work in HR.. or sales etc.

Not so much here...

In Norway.. MOST people work with their degrees...

not so much flip flopping as in the U.S.

I have my education in Political Science & German with a minor in International Relations.

so as you can imagine.. there wasn't (still isn't)

a huge demand for those qualifications in my area.

For the first few months I lived here (15 years ago).. I scoffed at some of the jobs my husband suggested...  PUH-LEASE... I am not going to do THAT..or THAT..or THAT.

Well after a few months of NADA...

some of those jobs were looking PRETTY darn good.

too bad those jobs I THOUGHT I had been too good for.. didn't want me either...

My first go around here the 2 jobs I was offered... were cleaning lady.. &/or newspaper girl.

I ended up driving around with newspapers every morning at 4 am.. just to be able to contribute. - that lasted for a few months until Bjørn & I ended up going back on cruise ships... & then back to the US.

When we decided to move back 6 years ago.. I knew it would not be easy...

I knew that no one was going to want me just because

I had University degrees or because I was an American..

I knew I was going to have to work..

sometimes harder than the Norwegians just to get my foot in the door...

Just getting an interview proved almost IMPOSSIBLE...

In the past 7 years, I have had 4 jobs... Daycare..Hotel Concierge &

 Cosmetic /Perfume Manager - building up two Tax Free stores at our local Airport...  
and now, FINALLY-
Area Sales Manager for Oriflame Cosmetics..
so anyone looking for some extra income here in Norway... feel free to contact me..
I can send you in the right direction. .  :-)

Finding the RIGHT job for an expat..or anyone really, takes time...
but when you find the job which is the perfect fit ... it is so worth it!

 

I get a lot of emails on how to get a job here in Norway.

A lot of patience... hard work.. & an open mind...   Be creative..

ORIFLAME job, make money in Norway, jobs in norway, dircet marketing, makeup, beauty

Greetings from WARSAW!

I am in town for a Global Online summit with some of ORIFLAME's world leaders.... 

little.old.me.

I was blessed enough- to be sent down here.. to gather information - to come back & share with the rest of Norway.. :-)

This summer while I was in Stockholm, I had the opportunity to see these leaders in the GLOBE.. a huge arena seating 10,000 people... I sat in the nosebleed section..

(part of the Scandinavian group)

I have been breaking bread & picking their brains all week.

Life is good.

I haven't had much of a chance to see the city during this trip...

 mostly working at the Polish headquaters

But from what I have had a chance to see/ do it was been wonderful...

the people.. the food.. the hospitality..

I have never had a bad time in Poland.. it is a fantastic country. and I am looking forward to coming back to explore Warsaw a bit more.

This should be my last international trip for the year...

time to head back to Norway tomorrow & start thinking about Christmas break.. woo hoo... 

A few days off...

After the crazy week I had in Oslo/Kristiansand/Skien...

I took a few days off to enjoy the rest of my kids FALL BREAK...

The kids and I decided to head down to Germany and explore a bit.

My father's family is from Germany & we thought it would be fun to visit the places from where my family comes...

No, don't worry... I wasn't a typical American knocking on their doors telling them..

"I'm here!- our great grandfathers were brothers..

which makes us FAMILY  -HUG?"

LOL... we just went to look around.. 

my little girl & I...

Gluckburg castle...  (my family isn't from this area.. - but it was too pretty not to stop)

Finally we arrived.. and what a perfect little town!

It was a fantastic time with my children... doing on of my favorite things..

-showing them the world..

Hope you are all having a fantastic week.. 

I need to go pack because -it's off to THAILAND

- with some of my FAVORITE people from ORIFLAME..

Keep y'all posted!

Ohhh what a week!

It's Sunday night & still only mid -week for me,. ... but oh what a week.

Just finished with a FANTASTIC Leader Course in Oslo with some of our BEST & BRIGHTEST leaders.

... there is always a lot of work involved for the planning of the courses..

but we always learn something - while we prepare.

OK... it isn't alway WORK WORK WORK... it is also a great time to catch up with my colleagues  from around the country...

Had a FANTASTIC time this weekend.. and we worked on one of my favorite subjects...

SOCIAL  MEDIA..

Have I mentioned how much I love my job?

(Only place I have ever worked,where, during work hours I could apply my makeup 

& be on FACEBOOK & not get in trouble.. LOVE IT..  )

One of my favorite parts of our leadership seminars is all of the leaders from around the country  I have the opportunity to meet...  I always walk away with tons of new ideas.. and inspired by how they work.

and this time did not disappoint.

not only was the course fun... but afterwards we went to -

 Restaurant Eik  Annen Etage.   if you are in OSLO .. I HIGHLY recommend!

The service was great & the food was FAN- TAS-TIC

 & the socializing in the evening wasn't bad either :-)

Tough Job... but someone has to do it. :-)

Now it is off to bed for me...  it is offically 1st of October & the start of Breat Cancer awareness month & I will be out doing doing my part to support them here in Kristiansand.   Wish me luck!