Excerpted from the Sweden Career Guide

Cover Letter Guidelines and Samples

It is very important in a Swedish cover letter to be personal but not share too much private information. The goal is for the employer to obtain a picture of who the applicant is and be enticed to want to know more. The appropriate level of formality for a Swedish application letter will vary depending on who is going to read it. A cover letter written as part of an application to a local department store will differ from one that is part of an application at a law firm. However, there are a few rules that always apply.

A Swedish cover letter should be a maximum of one page in length in order to quickly provide the reader with the image the jobseeker is hoping to convey. The letter should be written in a standard, easy-to-read font on white paper. Short sentences are preferable. The applicant’s name, birth year, address, phone number and email address should appear in the upper margin.

Résumé/CV Guidelines and Samples

The résumé/CV (curriculum vitae) should be interesting and informative, but not too long. It should allow the reader to get a quick picture of the applicant’s skills and experience.

Information should be well organized and, in one or two pages (longer only if the candidate is very experienced), provide a clear picture of the candidate’s education, career and personality. The most important achievements and qualities should be emphasized, and the document should be tailored to the requirements of the specific position. The major sections of the résumé/CV are personal information, work experience, education, skills/competencies/characteristics and a concluding list of personal interests. In a CV for a recent graduate, education is presented first, followed by experience; in a CV for an experienced professional, the sequence is reversed.

This is just a sample of what you'll find in the comlpete Sweden guide.