Glad to hear it worked out for the better. My current employment is no longer fulfilling and I wish to "move on", but I can only do remote and such vacancies are very hard to come by in Sweden.
The wikimedia foundation hires remote workers all over the world. They are also very stable with good job security. Some things are dysfunctional but it was a pretty awesome job in many ways - so much that I stuck with it for 7 years and only recently moved on to seek more exciting and challenging work. Wikimedia is almost always hiring and although it’s not the easiest job interview it’s worth a shot.
Try Toptal. I applied there for practice and as a backup. It seems they have plenty of projects.
Also SaaS like Deel make it easy for employers to hire anyone around the world. The problem is educating the employers. I would perhaps add a blurb about getting paid via Deel in cover letter.
It costs employers money and complexity to open up remote hiring of employees in a new jurisdiction. If Sweden isn’t a very big market or Sweden is a difficult market from a legal perspective, even remote companies may not be able to hire there.
As an example, I’d have to look, but I think it’s only quite recently that I’ve been able to hire in Sweden, 2 years after being remote. I know I couldn’t last year, but we contracted with some company to make some of the smaller markets feasible for us.
You could always be an independent contractor instead of being an employee. That way it reduces the hurdle for hiring. I'm technically a contractor atm, but get treated like an employee. You of course don't get the same legal protections or some benefits but you can charge more instead :)
Even there, we’d have to understand if that arrangement is commonly viewed as legal in the country of residence. (My understanding is that it’s not legal in all countries [including my own] just because you say and I agree that you’re a contractor, if there are additional facts and circumstances tests to decide the “proper” treatment.)
we had this topic on HN before. i do not believe that many countries forbid individuals to take on a single long term client if they wish. they may have to do their own taxes and register as a sole proprietor of some sort, and in some places that may be complicated, but not allowing an individual to do that would be pretty restrictive.
the onus is usually on the employer. if the employer doesn't have an any legal entity in the target country they can't be forced to to employ that individual.
that said, some countries really don't like individuals to run their own businesses. is sweden one of those?
Just curious, what prevents you from incorporating a company (or even easier ,becoming a sole trader) in your country and then billing the company in another country for services rendered? Would it be the amount of paperwork involved or is there some other legal provision that makes this unrealistic?
I live in Sweden and I'm employed here, but I work remotely as I live very far from my employer's offices. This is remote work by our conventions and perspectives. If you're not in the office most days of the week you are considered a remote employee, and most Swedish employers (still) have a general aversion to hiring "remotees".
