Meet Helena Nielsen: An experienced recruiter
Tell us about yourself
My name is Helena Nielsen. I work as a Recruitment Consultant at Workindenmark. I came to Denmark as a graduate with a diploma from Prague University of Economics and Business. I was determined to find a job that would combine my skills from my studies with my interests in export sales and intercultural understanding. I applied for many jobs with every relevant company I could find, and I applied both for open positions and unsolicited. It took great effort from my side, because I always tried to explain how I could contribute to that specific company. At the same time, I studied Danish. It worked well and I landed my first job. After working many years in export sales, I switched to international recruitment, which I have been working with for the past 13 years.
Tell us about your daily tasks
My job is to reach out to Danish employers looking for highly qualified candidates, mostly within ICT and engineering, but also within other areas with labour shortages. My background in manufacturing and exporting companies is an advantage in my current job, because it gives me a good base for searching for candidates. I can easily understand a role in a company, and can quickly see which skills and experience are necessary for a job.
I help companies promote their jobs online on www.workindenmark.dk, the EURES portal, and at online and onsite job fairs across Europe. Sometimes, companies request my assistance in finding candidates. In that case, I use the EURES CV database to find candidates matching the specific job. I will contact a candidate if I think their CV is a good match to the job. However, I always ask the candidate to look at the job to make sure that he or she thinks the job is a match too –both concerning relevant skills, interests and motivation. If it is a good match, the candidate should apply for the job directly to the employer as that is common practice in Denmark.
How do you use the EURES CV database?
The base of my search is the job. I use the keywords mentioned in the job ad for my search, and I usually get a large pool of CVs. I always start my search by looking at the title of the CVs. If the title of a CV indicates a relevant candidate, I open the CV and skim it. If the CV seems reasonable and matches the requirements of the job, I contact the candidate with a link to the job and ask the candidate to look at it, and subsequently apply directly to the employer.
How can candidates make themselves visible to you?
- Create a solid CV – use the guidelines we have on our website, it actually makes a great difference to me.
- Make a good headline, include your experience and make it easy for me to find you. Eg. “Cyber Security Specialist with 5 years experience” or “English/Spanish speaking Mechanical Engineer with 4 years experience”. You will be surprised at how many candidates that do not have a title on their CV, or who just write: “Looking for a job”.
- Present your primary skills and background - be specific and make it easy to read. Explain to me what you can do in a job, explain your educational background and working experience. Focus on what you have done in your previous job, be specific and detailed. It is ok that you are ambitious or like team work, but for me as a recruiter, I need to know what your primary competences are and what you enjoy working with.
Helena’s best advice for jobseekers:
- Do not apply for a job with a standard CV and cover letter. It does not work and will not get you a job. Always target your CV and cover letter to the specific job, you apply for. Try to understand what the employer is looking for and explain how you can do the job.
- Research the company and what type of employees they are looking for. Most companies have good informative websites in English.
- Apply directly to employers. Do not wait to be found by recruiters or headhunters, be pro-active. Finding a job is a process, and it requires effort from you.
Create your CV on EURES - the European Job Mobility Portal
Helena and her colleagues at Workindenmark use the EURES Job Mobility Portal to find relevant candidates seeking employment in Denmark.
It is quite easy to create a EURES jobseeker account.
You can register at the EURES portal here
Once you log on to your new account, you can go to the “My CV” section on the left-hand side menu and create a CV. In step nine, please tick “Denmark” as desired work location.
Note: If you are already a Danish resident and hold a CPR number, you will also be able to create a CV in Danish at Jobnet.dk and make your CV visible to a larger pool of Danish employers.
Read the story about how Helena helped Jan find a job in Denmark and relocate from Germany