Done my second visit to Arbetsförmedlingen, the thing you need to talk to here in Sweden when you find yourself without work. The first thing I needed to fix on my second visit was all the things they did wrong on my first visit two days before. As far as I know there are not many people programming electricity directly and that other term they linked me to sound more like some old man standing on the corner with a barrel organ and monkey :|. Might not be a bad way to make a living but after System Shock 2 I try to stay away from the monkeys.
Today anything was done correctly however as I had enough time to follow the rules of the world that is Arbetsförmedlingen. The help my fellow man and ex Griners I offer this short guide of advice how survive the remote inaccessible authority know as Arbetsförmedlingen.
When you enter any AF office you pass a invisible portal that among other things transport you to a parallel world that in many ways work the same ways as a novel by Franz Kafka. It might be good to be aware of the basics of The Trail and The Castle.
The rules of the Kafka sub world changes around every six months. If people can understand the system they can misuse it.
When you enter and you need to take a number always take two with another person between your two numbers. Later you learn who is who and you can use your numbers to wait for a person that you know can help you. Is also possible to leave the first one if it is someone you thought could help you and go out and in again to get a new one with your next number.
No I’m not kidding, no I’m not insane, its the rules of the Kafka world.
Every person you talk to will give you a different set of rules to follow. If you walk in five times and talk to five different people you will get six different answers. The last one is the one that is the correct one as long as they write it down in your action plan.
The action plan is done to make sure that the people there has something to do, that they have a way to hold things against you if you don’t do as they say and when they like to ignore you they can look at the computer screen and press some keys so it produces the sound of work.
The action plan will not get you any work. Ever.
Keep two action plans, one at Arbetsförmedlingen to keep them working and happy and one at home to find work for you.
Happiness is not a requirement for your own personal action plan.
If you get called to a meeting at Arbetsförmedlingen always go to it. Always. No matter what it is about, no matter if you just are walking out from such a meeting and they tell you do be on the next one. Just walk back in again. Always. Make sure they register that you where there.
Well, that’s enough to let you survive the first time at Arbetsförmedlingen. Good luck.
