One of the major key components for residency in Norway is obtaining a work permit. In many cases without employment you cannot obtain a work permit, which may obstruct you from living in Norway. Finding work in Norway is not an easy thing to come by; it takes a lot of work, researching, understanding the job market, networking and pinpointing the resources available to help you find a job.

Norway has a governmental employment agency that can assist you in finding a job suited to your needs and the employers' needs. The agency, Aetat is one of the most viable sources you can use. Other sources are listed below with a brief description.

Here are some things to consider when looking for work in Norway.

• Learn Norwegian: Though most Norwegian's you meet speak English, more than 95% of the workforce conducts their business in Norwegian and most companies require you to speak the language. You can find more resources about studying Norwegian on the welcome page.
• Be flexible: Though you may have worked for years and are experienced in a certain career, you have to consider the possibility of changing career paths. If you want to live in Norway bad enough, you will may need to tweak your career objectives.
• Resources: Look around you, you have resources at your every whim and now with PTN they are more accessible than ever before. Use every resource you can to find a job. Don't merely rely on employment agencies to do the work for you, many times it will be you who will find the job in the end.
• Be Direct: You can always find companies you are interested in and directly send them your CV (aka resume) and cover letter. Don't be afraid to send your CV even if they are not looking for employment. Use www.gulesider.no to find companies. There is an English version. Type in specific words for positions you are interested in and lists of companies will populate. e.g. fish, computers, IT, accounting, food. 

Working in Norway   - This is a very helpful resource for people looking for work in Norway.

Here are some links to employment resources:

www.aetat.no   - Aetat is Norway's governmental employment agency. They are the primary step to finding a job in Norway, because nearly all job postings are sent through Aetat. You will need to know a basic understanding of the Norwegian language to guide through the website. However, they do have a page that is in English. If you want to get a head start with finding a job, you can start by sending an email to Aetat.

www.finn.no     - Finn.no is the leading website for everything from rent an apartment, to buying a dog. The website is entirely in Norwegian, so you will need basic knowledge to surf through it.

www.jobguiden.no   - Jobb Guiden is another good tool to use when looking for work in Norway. You will need to know basic Norwegian to guide through the site.

Employment Network Norway     - The Employment Network Norway is a Yahoo Group, chat by email networking resource. This group has more than 1200 members and is your second resource for locating information to finding work in Norway. This a great group to join that supports other members with general employment and work permit questions.

www.monster.no     - Monster.no or Monster.com is a useful source to find jobs in Norway. You don't have to create a profile to use this resource, however anything is helpful. If you do not know basic Norwegian, you can go to www.monster.com and when entering your "target location", simply select Norway.

Here are links to the employment agencies in Norway.