Work Experience
What to think about when describing your previous work experience
Keep it short – but include all that is relevant. When you describe your previous work experience, Danish recruiters expect you to have thought about how this experience is relevant to the new job you are applying for. We have gathered a few tips that you might want to consider when writing your CV.
Companies in other countries might not be known in Denmark
Think about explaining what they produce, the size (number of employees, overturn), and location (country, perhaps city)
Your work title might not mean the same in Denmark
Try to explain your role – include your daily tasks, responsibilities and who you worked with
Results are important
Describe what you achieved/most proud of/results. Include numbers, if possible
All experience counts
Include your student jobs, your volunteer work, fixed term contracts, or internships – especially if they are relevant for the job you are applying for. In Denmark, all experience counts! But, we do expect you to tell us what the job was. If you write nothing, we assume the job was a normal full-time paid job.
Example:
Jan 2018-July 2021 Design Engineer, Thermopak, Hamburg, Germany.
Thermopak is a manufacturer of custom thermoform packaging.
I designed custom thermoform packages complete from conception through first article inspection Using Pro-Engineer. I provided all engineering documents for manufacturing and quality assurance internally and externally with the use of Pro Engineer templates that I designed and maintained. I designed prototype tooling and production tooling for manufacturing of final package designs. I provided support to customers, the tool shop, the production floor and sales for all projects.
When I began work at Thermopak the design turn-around time was 7 working days, through the implementation of my new templates and processes, I reduced it to 5 working days.
Why is this text usable in Denmark?
Danish recruiters can quickly determine the main things concerning these jobs
- Setting: Both city and country are mentioned: Hamburg in Germany
- Company information: This example tells the recruiter that the company produces Custom thermoform packaging.
- Title: This example says that the candidate’s title was: Design Engineer – and this title is followed with an explanation of what the daily tasks and responsibilities were.
- Results: this example provides a result – a reduction in the design turn-around time from 7 to 5 working days.
A good tip for those of you who work on projects or fixed term contracts
Mention your employer first, or that you were self-employed/freelancer. Then describe that you worked on projects lasting from x till x months and your major customers were with x business, or name your major customers. Then you can include perhaps the last two projects, or your two most relevant projects in detail. That way, it is easy to see that you have been working on projects – if you write each project on their own, it can appear as if you are quickly changing jobs which may be perceived in a negative manner (did you get fired a lot? Or do you get bored with your job quickly?)