Job searching in Denmark has been much harder than I first imagined.
As an international newcomer from Japan, I expected the process to be challenging, but I did not expect it to feel this slow and uncertain. In Japan, I was more used to working with recruitment agents, where conversations with recruiters and HR often moved relatively quickly. Here, I have had to be much more active in searching for roles myself, reaching out, applying directly, and waiting.
Long story short, it has now been a couple of months since I arrived in Denmark, and I still have not secured a position.
One thing that has surprised me is the pace of the hiring process. In Japan, I was used to hearing back within a week or so. In Denmark, at least for the companies that have responded, it has often taken around three weeks just to receive an initial reply.
The timing has also been difficult. Between December and May, there are two major holiday periods: Christmas and New Year, then Easter. I have started to think of them as hiring cut-off points, because once people go on holiday, it becomes much harder to get in touch with companies or move processes forward.
Now that the summer holiday period is approaching in July and August, my main focus is to apply to as many relevant companies as possible in May and June. I am hoping to get interview calls before the summer slowdown begins. If not, the summer could become financially stressful, especially with no steady cash flow.
I knew from the beginning that I would probably need to rely on my savings for the first few months. What I did not expect was how quickly those savings would go down. Copenhagen is expensive, and when you are job searching without income, every month feels heavy.
Still, there are good moments too. Recently, the weather has been amazing. There has been a lot of sun, and the long daylight hours make a big difference mentally. After a harsh, snowy winter, which some locals told me was the coldest in a decade, the sunlight feels like something I had been waiting for.
So yes, the job search has been stressful. But at least spring has finally arrived, and that makes things feel a little more manageable.