Common CV Mistakes in Sweden

We see these mistakes every single week. Talented developers and engineers with strong experience who can't seem to get past the screening stage. In almost every case, it's not their skills — it's how they've presented them. Here are the specific patterns that keep killing applications.

Including Personal Details That Flag Your CV

Date of birth, marital status, nationality, gender — these are standard on CVs in many countries. In Sweden, they're red flags. Not because they're illegal, but because Swedish companies actively try to reduce bias in hiring. Including these details signals that you haven't researched local norms. I've literally heard a hiring manager say, "This person hasn't done their homework on us."

The "Responsible For" Epidemic

This is the single most common problem. Nine out of ten CVs from international candidates lean on duty-based descriptions:

The first tells me what your job title involved. The second tells me what you actually did and why it mattered. Swedish recruiters are trained to look for the second version.

One CV for Every Application

Sending the same PDF to a fintech startup and a defence contractor is a mistake we see constantly. Your professional summary, your top-listed skills, and even the order of your experience should shift based on what the role actually needs. A generic CV competes against tailored ones — and it loses.

Inconsistent English

Most Swedish tech companies operate in English, so your CV should be in English. But mixing British and American spelling throughout — "optimisation" in one paragraph, "optimization" in another — looks sloppy. Pick one and be consistent. And run a spell check. You'd be surprised how many senior engineers submit CVs with typos in their own job titles.

Every one of these mistakes is fixable. The challenge is knowing which ones are on your CV — because the ones you can't see are the ones costing you interviews.