I got my first job here in Denmark after seven months. At that time I was settled in and ready to work from day one. This was of benefit both to me and to the company.

They didn’t have to worry about my papers, housing, hobbies or any other practicalities – basically, I could hit the ground running.

International edge
Today, fortunately more and more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) realise they can tap into a pool of valuable, but often forgotten resources by hiring international partners or students.

Especially if they are on the export market or seeking new options in a specific market, the chances are that an international partner with the right background and education can help to penetrate new markets with a much larger success rate than a Danish employee.

New input
The companies in our network, who have achieved success by hiring partners or international students, emphasise that cultural understanding and awareness is really important when you want to make the preliminary contact.

In addition, internationals bring new ideas and knowledge to the table and add dynamics to the workplace, they say.

Apprehension
Luckily for the companies, the partners and students are already here, settled in and ready to work! However, SMEs do not always consider or are not aware of the resources internationals can bring to their company.

First and foremost, they are apprehensive of the red tape and all the practicalities when hiring internationals. Moreover, they wonder if speaking English at lunch will be too much to handle for some of the employees.

Untapped resource
The good news is that the red tape can be avoided by hiring internationals who have already settled in. And most often internationals are either fluent in English, which is second nature to most Danes, or otherwise they are keen on learning and practising Danish.

So while the business community most certainly has come a long way and opened up for international employees in the past few years, many companies still need to tap into this talent pool. In short, hiring international employees is much easier than you think and very rewarding.