How To Find a Job in Iceland as a Foreigner

Iceland is really north….really really far north. In fact, this image above was taken at 11:08pm during the summer. Can you believe it? Incredible!

Iceland is a beautiful country, so I cannot fault you for trying to look for job opportunities in this gem of the northern Atlantic. If you’re dead set on living and working in this country, it is possible.

Below is a selection of resources (based on word of mouth and personal research) for searching for employment opportunities as a foreigner in Iceland. But, before we get started, I should point out that getting a job in Iceland from overseas is very hard, especially if you don’t speak Icelandic.

My advice to you would be to spend 3-6 months studying the basics of Icelandic. Then go to Iceland and go door-to-door, asking different employers if they are hiring. A lot of places don’t advertise online.

The easiest jobs to get will be either unskilled labor (e.g. in agriculture, hospitality, etc.) or in information technology (which is often cited as a skill shortage). If you have a computer science or software engineering background, you’re odds of finding a good-paying job are higher.

Oh yeah, and one more thing…Iceland isn’t cheap. So if you’re thinking of going there, make sure you have some money saved up. Rent is quite high and can quickly eat away at your savings.

General Job Search Engines and Classifieds

With the sites below, you can expect to get a 0.5 to 1.0% response rate (people who will respond back to you to whom you sent your application/CV.) Nevertheless, I encourage you to give these sites a try as you never know what you will come up with or what connections you can make from a simple e-mail or application.

• Guide to Iceland: A good writeup on jobs in Iceland.
• Alfred.is: Alfred.is has mostly white collar jobs. It is one of the most popular job search sites in Iceland. In this case, your best bet is to learn Icelandic before you apply because that will be required for most of these positions.
• US Embassy: Job openings pop up from time-to-time at the US Embassy in Reykjavík.
• Stjornarradid.is: Stjornarradid.is is similar to Alfred.is and also has a lot of white collar jobs.
• Reykjavik.is: If you’re looking for vacancies in Reykjavik, check out Reykjavik.is.

Teaching English

Most of the population of Iceland speaks very good English. Sorry, don’t go looking for a teaching English job in this part of the world.

Thoughts of Other Bloggers and Websites

• Adventures.com has a good write-up entitled, “How to Move to Iceland: A Complete Guide.”
• Adventures.is writes about “How to Move to Iceland.”

Overseas and Expat Job Portals

• Ninukot: If you’re interested in doing odd jobs such as milking cows and growing vegetables, Ninukot is the site for you.
• Go Abroad: I’ve always been a fan of GoAbroad. In fact, on the visa information portion of my website, you will find where I have linked to their global embassies directory. They have a good job portal too.
• Linkedin: Last but not least, this huge professional social network is a resource for building contacts in the field and location of your interest.

There you have it. The best places to find jobs in Iceland as a foreigner. For information on visas for Iceland, be sure to check out my Iceland visa page. If you are single and are looking to spice up your dating life, check out my reviews of the best dating sites in Iceland.

Further Reading

• How to Answer the 150 Most Common Job Interview Questions: Get sample answers to the most frequently asked job interview questions.

• Worldwide Jobs Guide: Be sure to check out my posts on how to find jobs in any country in the world.

• Worldwide Apartments Guide: If you are interested in renting an apartment in this country, take a look at my articles on how to find an apartment in various countries around the world.

• Worldwide Dating Guide: Also, check out my posts on the best online dating sites in 60+ countries around the world.

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