Yizhen Yang
“International Citizen Hub Lund is not just a place providing sessions for the job hunter but also a good place to meet new friends. And the best thing that I received is encouragement! So I feel I am not alone on the way to finding jobs.”
The story of Sweden
I moved to Sweden in 2019 for a master’s study, time flies and I almost finished my master’s degree now. I almost can’t believe that I will finish my Master's in a foreign country with my second language.
I wanted to be here because Sweden is the first country that released Sustainable development. The food industry is facing an important challenge to have a sustainable future, like the popular and growing vegan market. I was curious about how to announce sustainable development in the food industry. So I have been here almost two years. And I think I learned a lot and thought a lot.
During these two years, I found Sweden is a country that accept everyone and allow differences. I would like to try to stay here and start my career.
Job seeking during pandemic and thesis time
In the beginning of 2021 I was busy with my thesis project and I didn’t have the confidence to find any jobs or internships, because I had already applied for jobs during three months. And I didn’t get anything. I was kind of frustrated and kept thinking about "should I stay in Sweden after graduate?" or "should I keep going and don’t lose hope". Fortunately, I heard from my friend, about a program called Kick-Start Program held by Internation Citizen Hub Lund. I was surprised since this place is quite near where I live. I know this place but don’t know what they are doing. If they can help me in my job hunting, why not just try it for a month and then see how’s it going. So I participated in the introduction session. I didn’t imprison at that time, just wanted to have a try.
However, when I participated in every single session, I noticed that they are talking about so many useful things, like unemployment insurance, A-kassa, which I’ve never heard about and noticed before. From session to session, I gradually changed my mind in a positive way. The advice was that I should keep applying and never lose hope. There is a batch of classmates who inspired me in the group and shared the recurring information with me, they are so nice and kind, why should I be depressed by just a few rejections? Some of them are parents already, they still have time to write the cover letter and find jobs, I just have a thesis project, there is no reason that I can say no to job hunting.
One day, when I was in a session, there was a speaker introducing a position from a Bioassay company, and now they are mainly doing PCR tests for COVID. I was so excited, that is what I am familiar with since I was doing Q-PCR test for my bachelor thesis, which is super interesting work to do. I applied to the position without any hesitation. I know it is never easy to start a career in a new country. So I thought maybe this could be a good chance for me to see how it is to work in a foreign country and know more about the Swedish culture.
And then I called the recruiter and asked about more details, which is what I learned from one Kick-Start session. Although I was super nervous when I called the recruiter, who may be my colleague in the future. And then, I got one job interview and visited their lab. Later, I got my internship and I will start it after I graduate. I am so happy that I will have this opportunity, and I believe this will be the first step of my career in Sweden, and everything in the future will be good as well.
So I have a really big thank you for Internation Citizen Hub Lund, if I didn’t join this program I may not have found this internship. I hope more and more people will join this program, start their brilliant career and future.
/ Yizhen Yang
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