If you're an engineer thinking about a move to Denmark, or you're already there and confused about why interviews keep going sideways, this one's for you. Olivia talks with Kate Dahl, founder of Career Denmark and career consultant for internationals navigating the Danish labor market, about the cultural rules nobody puts in the job posting.
Kate knows the accent problem firsthand — not from Denmark, but from Germany, where nobody could understand her English because it was so nasal. Her own joke: she sounded like Janice from Friends. She had to consciously flatten it, taking Stephen Colbert as her model — he traded his South Carolina accent for a more neutral one to reach a wider audience.
The cultural gap runs deeper than accent, though. Olivia has her own version of it: in Austria, her professional title is basically part of her name (it's even in her passport), but trying that habit in Denmark or the Netherlands gets her called "weird" by local friends. Kate has hit the same wall from the other side: while vacationing in Sweden, she ran into an acquaintance from Malmö on his way to a funeral, and her loud, very-American greeting caught him completely off guard, her own example of not having the cultural read down yet.
And when a client once thought that applying to jobs in several countries at once proved she was serious, Kate had a blunt answer: it doesn't. Learning the language does. That instinct – read the room, don't perform effort – is exactly what trips engineers up on LinkedIn, in interviews, and on their CVs. Here's what to do about it.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
Danish schools start English instruction in first grade, sometimes kindergarten. Danish TV and film are never dubbed — everything runs in the original language with subtitles. Kate's takeaway: strong English isn't only a non-native-speaker requirement in Denmark. Even native speakers sometimes need to adjust to be genuinely understood.
Janteloven ("Law of Jante") is a Danish social code from the early 20th century built on one rule: don't stand out, don't brag. On LinkedIn, that means leading your headline with "MSc" or "PhD" reads as overcompensating, not competent — even with years of experience behind it. LinkedIn is used heavily in Denmark (more than two-thirds of the population has a profile), and recruiters check three things first, in this order: background photo, headshot, headline — not the degree. Kate's summary: grammar mistakes get forgiven. Cultural mistakes don't.
Yes. Kate's advice: learn English and Danish, both — and list the Danish even at beginner level. Applying to a job only proves you want a job. Learning the language, even a little, proves you want that specific country, and that's the signal that actually lands.
Resources and Links
- What "Global Mindset" Actually Means (And Why Every Engineer Needs One) — the companion article to this episode
- How to Get a Job in an English-Speaking Country — for the resume/LinkedIn/interview mechanics this episode doesn't cover
- All Your Ducks in a Row: Language Barriers & Home Buying Abroad — for the logistics once the job search turns into an actual move
Connect with Kate Dahl
Kate Dahl is the founder of Career Denmark, helping internationals navigate the Danish labor market and land roles that fit their skills.
Connect with Olivia Augustin
Olivia Augustin is a civil engineer and certified English as a second language teacher. With her one-on-one lessons and group courses, she teaches non-native English-speaking engineers the kind of English that gets the job done.
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