If you are not from Denmark and are interested in pursuing a career here, or if you simply enjoy an international environment at work, maybe this blog post can answer some of your questions.
Even though I had already studied in Denmark for two years before starting my career at EY, I had no idea what the full-time working life in Denmark would look like. Would I feel like an outsider because I don’t speak Danish? Would I be able to be a part of all meetings due to the language barrier? Would I get the same career opportunities as my Danish colleagues? I don’t know if you can relate, but these were some of the thoughts that ran through my mind when I decided to start my career in a foreign country.
Luckily, none of these fears proved to be true for me, mainly due to the great team I started in and the open mindset in EY. In the summer of 2019, I started as an Executive Management Advisor in the Nordic COO Office, our EY in-house consultancy. With the team, we are working on transforming EY from the inside out by focusing on technology, innovation, strategy and operations.
As of today, the Nordic COO Office consists of 22 people from 16 different countries. We have team members from Australia, South Africa, Germany, Lithuania, Iran, America, Finland, just to name a few, and of course, also from Denmark. This might not be the usual setup for all teams in the Nordics. It may be more difficult in areas such as Audit, Tax or the private sector, where the employee has to engage with the client in Danish. But then again, there are plenty of opportunities other places in the organization to work in an international team set-up.
One thing that sets EY and our team apart from other places is how all meetings, where international employees are a part, are conducted in English. I have been a part of many team meetings, town halls, and whatnot, but they were all done in English to ensure everyone can be a part and feels included.
Having English as the primary language in the office, of course, plays a major role in feeling included in project work and from a social standpoint. However, being in a diverse team and experiencing cross-border collaboration opens the doors for many different career opportunities, no matter which country you are from or what language you speak. As long as you are excited about what you do, open to learning and developing, and curious to explore different opportunities across the global EY organization, I am pretty sure that you will find the next career step that makes sense for you.
Besides the language component, such an environment also has the advantage that people are often new in town and open to making new friends and hanging out outside of work. So, if you are thinking about moving to Denmark for a job at EY, there are for sure many (international) forums where you can get to know new people and make friends. There are regular Friday bars, different sports and art clubs, and an overall social environment in the office. All these forums are great places to meet new people and socialize. It is also a great learning opportunity to get to know so many people with different backgrounds, experiences and world views.
