Unemployed Danes turn to peer mentors for free job search support

A volunteer network called Jobbuddies.dk is connecting job seekers with mentors who have firsthand experience of unemployment, Danish broadcaster DR reports.

The initiative, launched in January by Anton Greiffenberg and Jacob Hage—both of whom have faced long-term unemployment—offers free one-hour coaching sessions with mentors who have successfully returned to work. Since its start, the network has facilitated around 400 individual meetings, with an equal number of requests still pending.

Greiffenberg, now a communications consultant, spent 400 days unemployed three years ago. “It was hopeless, confusing, and uncertain,” he said of the experience. The frustration of receiving little to no feedback on job applications—a common complaint among users—inspired the project.

Mentors like Morten Femhøj, a self-described “CV nerd” from Struer, have been overwhelmed by demand. Femhøj, who was unemployed a decade ago and now works as a corporate consultant for a job center, temporarily paused his participation after receiving 25–30 requests in just a few months. “I was drowning in inquiries,” he said, “but it’s a fantastic project.”

The network does not compete with public employment services or private career coaches. Instead, it provides informal, human-centered support for those needing motivation and direction. “It’s striking how much a single hour of conversation can do,” Greiffenberg noted.