Nordnet was recently nominated in four categories in the communication competition Guldnyckeln. The annual competition is organized by SWEDMA and rewards data-driven communication based on strategy, creativity, results and overall impression.

Nordnet is nominated for the function “Trigger News”, which provides customers with automated and personalized news based on the customer’s commitment on Nordnet’s platform. We are nominated in four categories; finance and insurance, best use of email and sms, best data-inspiring campaign and best Martech campaign. Jeanette Eliasson, Head of Nordic Marketing, shares her thoughts about the nominations.

How does it feel to be nominated in four categories?

– Fantastic, I’m super happy! This is the annual event where everyone who works with digital targeted marketing gathers. It really shows that we succeed in using capabilities in technology, analytics and content so they create value for the customer and value for Nordnet.

What made you develop Trigger News?

– It came from an idea that our customers should see communication as a service, a unique selling point for Nordnet and that should drive both customer loyalty and brand liking – and in the long run thus increased sales. A pilot was done where all work was manual for six months. When we saw results in customer satisfaction and sales compared to a control group, we explored whether technology could help us scale and develop this service, and to remove all manual work.

Feel free to summarize briefly with your words, what does Trigger News mean?

– It is news that is relevant based on the customer’s commitment on Nordnet, which will help customers receive relevant news to take their savings to the next level. We present news, stock development and key figures in an personalized email to our customers. The emails are virtually in real-time, sent several times a day and fully automated.

What have been the success factors?

– That we dared to realize a “crazy idea” and then stubbornly explored the possibilities of technology to automate it. In addition, as always, super-competent and determined employees, that were supported by the CEO, see the importance of “marketing as a service” to customers.

On Thursday, 28 October, we will find out the result of Guldnyckeln. Fingers crossed!

Watch the video below to learn more about Trigger News.

Henrik Edström was recently nominated for the award “Best Marketing Manager” in the category banking, in the Swedish annual competition by the magazine Resumé. The award nominations goes to the marketing managers who most effectively succeed in increasing awareness of their own brand. We had a chat with Henrik about leadership, role models and how to build a strong team. Get to know our Head of Retail Sales & Marketing in Sweden.

Tell us shortly about yourself.
– I am 37 years old and live in Västerås with my wife and our two boys. I have worked with marketing and communications my whole career for a few different companies, mostly within banking but also as a communications consultant, and at the airline SAS. In total I have worked for about 4 years at Nordnet, this is actually my second time around and my second role at Nordnet.

What are your responsibilities as Head of Retail Sales & Marketing in Sweden?
– We are responsible for the marketing communications and content production on the Swedish market. I am leading the Swedish marketing team and our overall responsibilities are to maintain and increase our customer inflow and strengthen our brand awareness and preference.

Why do you think you being nominated?
– We are a very strong and dedicated team and have great support from our inhouse agency. We have taken large steps the last couple of years where our platform has developed rapidly and we have also succeeded in increasing our visibility and preference on the Swedish market.

How do you create a strong team?
– I think that involvement, joy and humor are three of the most important factors when creating a strong team. Combining that with a strong purpose and clear direction often makes work rewarding and fun.

Do you have any leadership role model?
– I admire Petter Stordalens way of building corporate culture and receiving attention for his companies. I have also listened and read quite a few pieces from leadership coach Simon Sinek which I really recommend everyone to do.

Congratulations to a well-deserved nomination Henrik!

Nordnet is now presenting a new concept for recruiting tech talents around Sweden. A team that only works distributed will strengthen the continued work of building the best investment platform and developing the award-winning app.

Nordnet was one of the first digital brokers in the Nordic region and constantly strives to stay one step ahead. Therefore, we are now starting an experiment to better reach tech talents throughout Sweden, which will be part of a team that works entirely remotely.

– Nordnet is a learning organization that tests and evaluates during the journey. The iterative approach permeates the entire organization, from how we develop software to which work models we practice. We really believe in the remote experiment but choose to start on a small scale to take advantage of the knowledge and optimize the concept, says Peter Stolt, Engineering Manager Execution at Nordnet.

The team will grow, develop and meet on equal terms, which will strengthen the feeling of community, security and innovative power.

– There are incredibly exciting development opportunities in working completely remote. By taking advantage of all the opportunities that technology offers, we want to find new solutions and working methods and continue developing “high performance teams”, says Peter.

Nordnetter at a distance

Peter shares the insight that today it is not possible to have only one way of working that suits everyone. He believes that companies that are flexible can meet employees in their life situation and figure out the life puzzle together, and attract those who value a lifestyle that a metropole like Stockholm cannot offer.

– We go through different phases in life and people have different conditions. This is a way to meet the needs that both new talent and current Nordnetters may have. There is also a strength in the fact that not all developers are based in Stockholm. It provides new perspectives that reflects the diversity we have among our customers, says Peter.

Peter and his colleagues at tech are keen to maintain the Nordnet culture. It is described by employees as open minded and friendly. One solution to make the culture flourish will be the recurring events at the Stockholm office once a month.

– It is very important to us that the culture of Nordnet lives on even if you work remotely. We have been creative during the pandemic to create social contexts. I am convinced that the team will innovate in both tech as well as social interaction, says Peter.

Apply for the role here.

Daniel Hamberg holds the record as an employee at Nordnet with his 24 years. We have had the honor of following Daniel’s journey, from technical support to his current role as a System Engineer. We get to take part in his knowledge, problem solving skills, humor and helpfulness on a daily basis.  

For how long have you been an employee at Nordnet?

I have worked here since January 1997. When Nordnet was only 5 months old. It’s been quite a ride ever since.

Do you have a favorite memory to share?

This is a tough one, because there are so many good memories. The stories I usually share are the ones about the larger incidents I’ve been involved with (or even caused) since I work in IT Operations, but perhaps this is not the forum for those stories. Therefore my answer is all the good times with my wonderful colleagues.  

Do you remember how you felt being new at Nordnet?

I was very excited to start my journey at Nordnet that winter of 1997, but quickly got quite terrified when I realized that even though you’re a tech employee you need to understand the market, and I had no knowledge at all about the stock market. I thought I was there to help people with their technical issues regarding the site and the Java application we had at the time, not answer questions about order books or derivative redemption issues. So the only choice was to study hard during my spare time. And as you can guess I got really hooked.

How would you describe Nordnet’s development over the years?

I have seen Nordnet age well, from being this small disruptive teenager to becoming a large player on the Nordic market. But one thing has been consistent over all these years, the renowned Nordnet culture.

Matheus Boschetti is a software engineer from Brazil with roots from Italy. He immigrated to Sweden after taking a job offer at the Swedish tech scene. Since February this year, he is working at Nordnet.

Age: 33 years old
Education: Studies in Information Systems

Tell us about your studies and career journey.

I’ve been interested in programming since I was a teenager, when I studied data processing in a vocational school. After finishing school in 2004 I got my first internship in software development. In the same year I’ve started a bachelor degree in Information Systems, from which I’ve dropped out in the 4th year. I’ve worked as a software engineer for companies in many different sectors, like health insurance, news, manufacturing and pharmaceutical research to enumerate a few. In 2015 I immigrated to Sweden after taking a job offer from King.com.

It is the far opposite image I had of how it would be like working in the financial sector. I really enjoy it.

Would you like to share something about you or your personal life?

I’m married and have a 20 months old daughter. Like any stereotypical Brazilian I like football, however due to the timezone difference and the lack of proper international streaming services, I’ve stopped following my team and the Brazilian national league that closely. I also have two dogs that I’ve adopted more than 9 years ago, and that came all the way to Sweden with me and my wife.

Could you tell us about your job description and responsibilities?

I’m working as a backend developer, taking care of all things customers can’t directly see and interact with. As a backend developer you are responsible for creating and maintaining all building blocks that the website, the apps and external systems will communicate to.

What is the best thing about your job at Nordnet?

There are several good things, like work/life balance, challenges around bringing the platform to the cloud and so on. The fact that I can easily see the impact that my work has to customers is something that I didn’t had in a long time and it motivates me a lot. 

How would you describe the Nordnet culture?

It is open, honest, friendly and a no frills environment. It is the far opposite image I had of how it would be like working in the financial sector. I really enjoy it.

How would you describe yourself as an investor?

I’m still trying to figure that out myself. Mostly due to the lack of proper investment/financial education, I used to just buy funds offered by my normal bank in order to save some money every month. But thanks to the company environment and colleagues, I’m catching up on that and trying to learn and to build a good portfolio.

Linzander started working at Nordnet in 2006 and wearing different hats, she has stayed with Nordnet since. We met up with Ylva to learn more about her Nordnet-journey and her interesting work with FinDatEx.

Tell us about your background before you joined Nordnet.

I have a Master of Science degree in Electric Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, in Stockholm. Nordnet was my first “real” job after university and had before that worked in service and sales as well as travelled a lot and lived abroad.

You have been with Nordnet for 13 years – what has your journey here looked like?

I started as a backend developer in 2006 and soon advanced to also being a technical project leader. In 2009, I moved on to the business side as a Project leader, which was a big responsibility. When the company in 2012 took the decision to become a product organization, I became a Product Owner with the responsibility for Partners and Automation. The goal was to deliver best solutions to our Partners and increase the efficiency within operations. In beginning of 2017, I became a Regulatory Officer, with the mission to work with Nordnet´s MiFID II project. Since 2018, I now work within Product, as a Product Owner for RegTech & Strategic Initiatives.

You are highly involved in a big international association – can you tell us more about that?

Within the MiFID II project, one key issue was securing data exchange between producers and distributors. A European group was unofficial formed, called European Working Group (EWG), with the purpose of producing the templates needed for data to be exchanged. Together with Avanza, Skandia, and other banks, we collaborated and gave input to EWG concerning the templates, so that they would work for both producers and distributors.  As I had a technical background, I had some influence during the discussions.

My efforts during these discussions opened the possibility for me to work further with the formation of those templates when EWG was formalized to be FinDatEx – Financial Data Exchange. I was nominated to FinDatEx via Nordnet´s membership in the European Banking Federation. The group consists of about 50 members from several European countries and in September, we met in Brussels to discuss the finalization of new version of the template, EMT 3.0. Even though the summer consisted of many conference calls, I find the work both interesting and rewarding.

So how would you describe your job in your own words?

I lead, structure and analyze difficult projects and initiatives that span over several areas.

What is the best part about your job?

The people. The atmosphere and culture at Nordnet is something else. The people here have a drive and a will to move forward. Nordnet still has a start-up attitude that means everyone can contribute to change and initiate new ideas. Something is always going on. In addition, you always get to work with exciting, if yet sometimes challenging, projects.

How would you describe Nordnet as a company to work in?

It is fast paced and you can always make change happen. We have a straight dialog and a high ceiling-atmosphere. The people here are good – if someone needs help, which we all do sometimes, colleagues are always ready to help out. We work together to bring Nordnet forward, not for our own personal gain. I feel that everyone at Nordnet always goes the extra mile for the sake of our customers, the company and their co-workers.

Last but not least – do you have any career advice?

Do great work wherever you are and keep on fighting. There will always be ups and downs, but in the long run hard work will pay off.

Erik began his journey at Nordnet in 2015 when he joined Nordnet’s Customer Service department as Savings Expert. Erik has since then made a fast career and gained leadership experience along the way. Today Erik is working as System Manager Automation. Here he shares his journey, everyday life and best career tips.

Age: 29 years
Education: Bachelor of Science in International Business Administration from Rotterdam School of Management, Netherlands

Erik, you have made a fast career since you started at Nordnet. Can you briefly tell us about your career journey at Nordnet?
I started to work as a Savings Expert at Nordnet after living abroad for 5 years of work and studies. I found Nordnet as an interesting employer because I have been fascinated about finance, entrepreneurship and the stock market for a long time. I think Nordnet has a unique mix of all these aspects. To start at customer service is a great introduction to get a broad understanding about Nordnet’s business and the financial industry as a whole. As a savings expert, you collaborate with many different departments and build up a large internal network. You learn a lot in a short time, take more responsibility step-by-step and have the opportunity to impact your role. I discovered early that leadership was something I wanted to pursue. I became Team Leader after 1,5 years and gained responsibilities such as training sessions, recruitments, and performance reviews. After another 1,5 years, I felt that it was time to take the next step in my career and expand my knowledge. At that time, I got the exciting offer to work at our Change & System Management department, which is responsible for automation of Nordnet’s systems and processes.

What do you do as a System Automation Manager?
As System Automation Manager, I am the system owner of four internal systems that supports hundreds of colleagues in their daily job and streamline Nordnet’s operations. To build smoother and better customer solutions through digitalization and automation are also big part of my job. In addition, I am responsible for resource allocation and delivery of the consultants in our team, who secure the technical development of our systems. I have an incredibly fun job where I am involved in many things at the same time and get the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in my own team and across functions. I never thought that I was going to have this kind of responsibility a couple of years ago, because of the technical knowledge required.

How would you describe Nordnet as an employer?
Nordnet is a fintech company that is large enough to make a difference in the Nordic market within savings and investments, while at the same time small enough for us as employees to influence how we are going to make that difference. If I would describe the very best thing about working at Nordnet in one word, the answer is always the same: the colleagues. We have a warm culture with fantastic value principles that have always succeeded with recruiting people who are ambitious, smart and humble.

Which advice would you like to give young people in the beginning of their career?
First of all, begin to outperform yourself in the role you have today. It is the best confirmation you can give to your future manager. Think of your job as an internship – what would you do if you only had 2 weeks left at your job? As a trainee, you often use the time at your workplace efficiently and make it as learning as possible. My third advice is to choose your manager. The role itself is of course important, but I would say that the manager is more important for your development. Your manager should challenge you, make you grow and believe in you. Get one or two mentors, internally as externally, that you look up to. Meet these people on a regularly basis and surround yourself with people who can teach you things. Lastly, never stop being curious and always ask questions.

Dalia is a committed Technical Savings Expert and Support Engineer who has worked for Nordnet in Finland since 2009.  Here she tells why she loves her job and shares her every-day life at Nordnet.

Education: Bachelor degree in Business Information Technology from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Science in Finland

What got you interested to work with IT?
At the beginning of 2000s and in the era of the dot-com boom, IT captivated my attention and I saw IT as the future. I got more and more interested in IT and decided to study Business Information Technology. Secondly, the possibility to work internationally and with English as a studying and working language also became a factor that made me choose IT as a profession.

What got you curious to work at Nordnet and in the financial industry?
After my studies, I started to work for Finland’s biggest online broker eQ Bank as an IT-trainee. I found the financial field very interesting during my internship, and both the team and the company was a perfect fit for me. In 2009, Nordnet acquired eQ-bank and we were now a Nordic company. I got the role as Support Engineer with more responsibility and new interesting tasks, which was exciting since I always liked to take on challenges and broaden my area of expertise.

How does a regular day look like for you?
I am responsible both for the IT Service desk support for the Finnish office and externally as Technical Savings Expert for our Nordic customers. As with most jobs, my days varies quite a lot depending on the requests that I receive in my internal and external queues. My work days are fun, challenging and interesting in a high pace, but when you love what you do, you enjoy it! I try to provide not only the fastest service, but also a high quality service internally and externally for everyone. The best satisfaction in my job is to help my colleagues by trying to make their life easier on how I am handling their daily software, hardware and access rights issues. Equally, on the customer side by showing that I care to solve their problems. Together with my team, we are always aiming to make a difference to improve customer satisfaction in the way that we address and handle their daily problems. I never had a boring day at my job and when everything looks impossible, my team is right there and nothing seems to be a challenge for me anymore.

How would you describe the culture at Nordnet?
Nordnet has an awesome easy-going, friendly and open-minded atmosphere. My main motivation to go to work every day is to always work with great people and enjoy my work, which I really do at Nordnet. I’m proud to be part of Nordnet and pleased to work with such knowledgeable and amazing colleagues.

With the dream of starting an own company, My Strömberg chose to study economics and entrepreneurship at the Norwegian School of Economics. Today, My is working as a Savings Expert at Nordnet and helps our customers on a daily basis to achieve their ambitions with savings and investments.

Age: 27 years
Education: Degree in economics and entrepreneurship from Norwegian Business School

What got you interested to study and work within finance?
I have always been interested in savings and investments. When I was a young girl, I saved my weekly pocket money instead of consuming it. I became fascinated about stocks and funds during my first year at university, and made my first trades on the stock market. To study entrepreneurship was on the other hand nothing I planned for a long time. The idea grew upon me when I helped my friend to found her own company. At that time, I realised how fun it would be to start my own company one day and to work in a business with high innovation speed. Entrepreneurship is also an interesting field to study since it’s applicable to all companies, whether you are working for a start-up or a well-established company. We operate in an increasingly fast-moving and technical world regardless of industry.

What made you curious to work for Nordnet?
After 6 years of work and studies in Oslo, I applied for the job as Savings Expert at Nordnet’s head office in Stockholm. I had decided that I wanted to work for Nordnet already during my studies. I think Nordnet is a fast-moving company with an entrepreneurial mindset that suits well with my university background. I also wanted to work in a Nordic organisation. The job as a Savings Expert got me curious since I see it as a great introduction and stepping stone for a career within Nordnet and fintech. Savings Expert is a broad role where you get the opportunity to learn everything about our wide range of products and services, in addition to get to know the customers. Many people who start at customer service take on other roles internally later on, thanks to the broad expertise you gain as a Savings Expert.

How would you describe the culture at Nordnet?
We have a very driven and engaged atmosphere inside the company. There is a passion and willingness to improve the financial industry for the better. Nordnet has really matched my expectations since I started when it comes to challenging financial structures and innovation capacity. I like the fact that Nordnet is a decentralised organisation with a low hierarchy, and that you as an employee can bring your own ideas to the table regardless of department or position.

You were recently featured in the financial career magazine Finansliv with the theme “the future of the financial industry”. In short, can you share your thoughts about what you think the future of the financial industry will look like?
I don’t think there will be less jobs for economists or that we will totally exchange customer service with robots. However, I do believe in digitalization and that especially administrative tasks will be more digitalized and efficient. The future economists will focus more on tasks that demands more expertise. Many future professions don’t even exist today and we need to stay updated with the changing job market. I think it will be more and more important for all professionals to be willing to adapt and continuously learn new things, in particularly if you work in a rapidly changing fintech business. I also believe we will see a combination of programming and finance in a new way, which will demand that even economists will have to have a certain level of programming skills.

Read the whole article in Finansliv (in Swedish).

Miloš started at Nordnet a year ago and he has made an impressive career in Nordnet’s Product Design team. Meet Miloš and get to know how the life of a product designer looks like at Nordnet.  

Age: 32
Studies: Bachelor’s degree in computer science with focus on web design and development

Can you tell us about your career journey at Nordnet?
My journey at Nordnet started almost exactly a year ago in the mobile app team where I had the chance to work on interpreting our newly defined brand guidelines. It was a great opportunity to set a new visual direction for the product and together with the team create a new app experience. I was also happy to work on improving existing working processes and to contribute to the team by introducing atomic design approach, which helped us in creating our first component libraries. As Nordnet’s company focus shifted towards creating design consistency and aligning the design language and experience of our entire product suite, a new opportunity was presented to me: to take on the role as Head of Product Design. Thanks to great support from my managers and colleagues, I was happy to embrace the challenge and step into my current role. To sum it up, it has been an interesting and exciting journey so far!

What’s the best with your job?
If I have to pick only one thing, it would be the fact of being surrounded by a great team, one big family that wants to build great products together. 

Tell us in your own words what you do at Nordnet
As Head of Product Design, my goal is to provide the big picture when it comes to design vision and to manage and support the team in elevating Nordnet’s product design experience. Together with a group of passionate designers and front-end developers, we are constantly working on improving Nordnet’s Design System in order to increase efficiency, quality and consistency in our product. In the long run, my goal is to secure that we have a structured design foundation and flexible design processes to support us in our work. 

What characterizes a good leader according to you?
From my perspective, a great leader is a good and tactical team player. A true coach who inspires, elevates and pushes the team in the right direction. A great leader is also a visionary capable of inspiring the team but also someone who is never afraid to roll up his or her sleeves and dive into a problem solving situation when necessary.

What are the challenges about being a leader?
At Nordnet, we work in a flat organisation where a lot of autonomy is given to the right people doing the work, which is fantastic. As Head of Product Design, I strive to support the design team and create the environment they require to successfully deliver their projects and initiatives. Most of the time that means having a holistic overview of ongoing initiatives, meeting with product owners and managers and understanding what’s working well and what can be improved further. Finding out where my team may need help, and making the appropriate connections or giving appropriate guidance can sometimes be a challenge in the company of our size. Also, figuring out ways to get people from different departments working in a more collaborative way is sometimes a challenge as well.

How would you describe Nordnet as a workplace?
I love our culture! If you are ambitious and passionate about what you are doing, communicative and a proactive person willing to take the initiative and push your ideas through, I believe Nordnet is the perfect place for you.

What would you tell others who want to get into product design?
Becoming proficient in product design takes time. If you want to pursue a design career then you have to be dedicated to continuous learning. At the end, it’s not just about designing the product. It’s about seeing the whole picture, understanding the customer needs and providing a solution that will solve your customers problems and respond well to the business goals and targets. You are the voice of the customers and someone who shapes their experience. Make your mark. Get your design thinking straight and try to find a pragmatic and easily adoptive design process and grow with it. Always strive to make your decisions based on real data rather than personal preferences. Most importantly, be open to criticism and do not fear of failing.

What brought you to Sweden?
Curiosity. Scandinavian design. Culture. A simple thought that every person at least once in their life should get out of his or her comfort zone and see and experience the world through a different pair of glasses. I had an exciting opportunity to explore Sweden and meet another culture, which I was happy to take.

What do you like to do on your spare time?
I’m a father of two and I enjoy spending quality time with my family. Whenever possible we like to take trips with our friends around Sweden or to visit some of the interesting destinations abroad. In my spare time, I find myself mostly producing music and doing a bit of photography, which sometimes is really hard to pull myself away from. 

Nordnet is a tech company and we will always depend on skilled staff within tech and innovation. Meet Lisa Calá, our Tech Recruiter who is daily searching for new, ambitious employees who want to be part of Nordnet.

Age: 25
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources from Linköping University

Hi Lisa, can you tell us a little about your career journey and how you started at Nordnet?
I was actually going to study law at university but I changed my mind when I received the admission offer and applied to the HR program. A choice that I do not regret today! During my studies, I worked extra at a tech recruitment company and realized how fun it is with tech recruitment. I continued to work full time at the same company after my studies, as a recruitment and consultant manager. After some time, I found out that I wanted to work with recruitment internally at a company in a broader perspective, and then a perfect job opening appeared at Nordnet.

How does an ordinary day look like for a Tech Recruiter?
No day is the same, but one common factor is that the recruitment process goes very fast. It requires that you can re-coordinate your day with a short notice and that you are flexible, because the job is dependent on when you get hold of candidates and can book an interview. It is an extremely social job with a lot of personal contact with different kinds of people, which I think is the most fun with my job! Active headhunting is also a big part of my daily work, since there is a great shortage of employees in tech.

What is the biggest challenge with your job?
Finding the right tech staff fast is one of the biggest challenges. As a recruiter, you have to be careful not to skip any routines in the recruitment process just because it is hectic. It is important to give the right expectations from start, both to the candidate and to the recruiting manager. It can also be challenging when candidates are buying time and want to think about the offer for a long time, in particular if you need to fill in the recruiting position fast. 

What’s your career advice?
For those of you who are at the beginning of your career – don’t be afraid to try different roles and don’t be too focused on having a certain role or creating a straight career path. Who knows, you might find a job you didn’t think from the beginning is your dream job? When you are facing setbacks, don’t give up too easily because all jobs have ups and downs. Be straight-forward and honest about what goals you have, for example approach your manager directly if you are aiming for a certain role and put your best feet forward. Don’t wait for an offer.

What makes Nordnet an attractive employer?
Nordnet is a large company with entrepreneurial heart. We have a lot in the pipeline in terms of innovation, and as an employee, you have the opportunity to influence that process from start. Adding to that, we have a wonderful, open and inclusive culture with close collaboration between the teams. Our employees are very passionate about their job, regardless of department they work at, and they are happy to share their knowledge. You get a lot of responsibility and the opportunity to try new things and grow quickly as an employee, as long as you take on the challenge. This in turn creates a learning and developing culture.

Henri Isometsä is the former forest economics student who changed career path and became an entrepreneur within social media. Today he works as a Marketing Project Manager at Nordnet in Finland. Here he shares his career story, motivation and passion for stocks.

Name and age: Henri Isometsä, 32 years
Education: Masters’ degree in forest economics from Helsinki University

Henri, you have made an interesting career. Can you tell us a little bit about your journey and how you started at Nordnet?
I started to study at Helsinki University in 2006. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted from my adult life back then, but I knew I was interested in economics and investing – and moving to a bigger city from my home town of Nokia. I applied for something called forest economics – why? Because it was pretty easy to get in and I knew I could then choose all sorts of interesting courses inside Helsinki university, not only within forestry.

By the end of my studies, I founded my own social media company and platform together with my business partner. We started to publish fun and engaging food-related content on two Facebook pages that we created by coincidence, called “Coffee” and “Barbeque” in Finnish. Back then, Facebook was still quite new type of media and its’ algorithms recommended people to like pages like these – just so that you could show your friends that “I like coffee” and “I like to barbeque”. Through this algorithm-based boost, the pages quickly got around 200 000 followers both, which we in turn directed to our platform. We quickly rose to the top 5 most visited food-related online websites in Finland.

In 2016, I decided to do something new and sold my stake in the social media marketing business. I’ve been actively saving in stocks since high school and even writing a bit about the stock market on the investment network SeekingAlpha.com. As a Nordnet customer since a long time back, I’ve always been happy with Nordnet’s services and products. I found out that Nordnet was looking for a marketing coordinator and I saw it as the perfect match! Here I could combine my real-life experience with creating content that works in social media, with my passion for savings and investments.

What is best about your job as Marketing Project Manager?
No day is the same, and there’s never a dull moment where you’d feel bored and without anything meaningful to do. As with any job, everything is about prioritizing tasks, doing your best and having fun doing it. In practice, my job includes tasks like creating landing pages for campaigns, compiling newsletters, translating new features in our web service and app from Swedish, posting content in social media as well as answering customers’ questions there.

How would you describe the culture at Nordnet?
It’s open and friendly. We all help each other and we are not afraid to give feedback. I would say we have a constructive and empathetic culture where everyone can speak up.

What’s your career motto?
I’m a Warren Buffett follower, as I guess many other investors are too. I think it’s important that you find joy in your work so that, like Buffett, you can “tap dance to work” (at least figuratively). I really like my job, my colleagues and the whole Finnish workplace. You can follow my “sort of Buffett-inspired” portfolio in Nordnet’s social investment network Shareville– my nickname there is Bulvis.

Magdalena started working at Nordnet in the fall of 2017 and has over the years made a fast career in criminal investigation in the financial industry. Today she is the manager of the newly formed department Financial Crime Unit. Here she shares her career journey until today and everyday life at Nordnet.

Age:  31
Education: Degree in economics, auditing and accounting from Uppsala University

Hi Magdalena and congratulations to your new role as the Head of Financial Crime Unit. How does a regular day look like for you?
Financial Crime Unit is responsible for market surveillance, AML/CFT monitoring and reporting, fraud investigations and handling incoming government inquiries. We are a tight-knit team with seven employees who work a lot together to solve our tasks. The days are varied, which is exactly what makes the job so exciting.

Can you tell us a little bit about your career journey?
After my studies in economics at Uppsala University, I started to work with auditing for a couple of years before I changed path and became a Civil Investigator at the police, department of National Operations. The police profession has always fascinated me and I always thought about how fun it would be to work with investigation, even though economics became my field of study. The combination of both working with surveillance and within finance got me interested to apply for the job as Fraud Analyst at Nordnet. I love challenges and I feel very honoured to get the opportunity to become a leader in my new role and support my team to achieve our common goals.

What’s your best career advice?
Be positive, proactive and show that you are determined to reach your goals and want to move forward. If you have that attitude, there are great opportunities to reach far, both as a colleague and as a manager.

How would you describe the culture at Nordnet?
The atmosphere is friendly, easy-going and open while at the same time, everyone is really professional and ambitious. The team spirit is strong and you can always get help from colleagues at different departments. We have a high innovation speed and a strong willingness to change, which makes it exciting to work at Nordnet.

Today is the International Women’s Day, a day that first became an official day for women’s rights in 1977. There are still great challenges for women to have equal rights as men worldwide. At Nordnet, equality is about creating a workplace for our employees where equality and diversity are prioritized, and making savings available to everyone. In honour of the day, we want to praise three successful women at Nordnet with different careers. Meet Christina Juhlin Dannfelt, Head of Customer Operations, Anne Buchardt, Country Manager in Denmark and Karitha Ericson, Board Member of Nordnet.

We asked them to share their career journeys, view on leadership and their best career tips.

Carreer journey

Christina: I came directly from school when I joined Nordnet and I have been working my whole career here. During my 7 years at Nordnet, I have had five different positions and these years have transformed me to the person I am today. I started at customer service, a department which I think is the best department to start at. As a Customer Representative and Savings Expert, you are building a huge internal network, while at the same time you get a helicopter view over the whole organisation, the customer’s needs and the financial industry. After that, I worked in different roles within the Swedish Sales organisation before I became Head of Customer Service. Today I have gone deeper inside the company and work as Head of Customer Operations.

Anne: I started at Nordnet during fall 2018 and I have been working for more than 20 years in the financial industry in Denmark. I have always been working within the field of investments and savings, most recently at Nordea where I held several leading roles in the Wealth Management Unit. I began working at Nordnet because I thought it was going to be exciting to work for a smaller niche bank with faster opportunities to create improved customer value.

Karitha: My career started in Gothenburg where I worked for a consultancy and audit firm. I studied at the same time I was working there and during that time I also became familiar with HR, a field that interests me a lot. After six years, I moved with the firm to Stockholm and changed field to banking and private Equity, part of the time abroad. In total, I have worked within the financial sector for 25 years, several of them as HR Manager. Since a few years back, I’m the COO of Grant Thornton.

View on leadership

Christina: I want to get an insight of my team’s responsibilities, challenges and how we are going to create understanding, in order for me to coach my employees better. For me it is important to find all team members’ individual strengths and build up their self-confidence, so every team member believe in themselves and on their own ability. In that, way we can use all strengths to the maximum. I am also very keen to create a team spirit, where we all support and complement each other. Lastly, my goal is walk the talk and live as I learn.

Anne:  Primarily, leadership is about setting a clear overall strategy and direction. To show interest for your employees, coach them and give them feedback is important and to delegate responsibility, in order for them to grow. I also believe that the key for a successful leadership is to create an open, positive and motivated culture.

Karitha: For me, everybody is a leader, regardless if you have someone reporting to you or if you are reporting to a manager. Leadership is about knowing yourself and have self-awareness, to know your own strengths and to help others to find their strengths. In that way, you can influence and motivate your team. In addition, you have to be kind to yourself and have self-compassion. Dare to put yourself in uncomfortable situations, meaning that you are taking the risk to fail and that you are willing to fail. That is how you learn and grow.

Best career tips

Christina: Network – when you are working for a quite a big company, there is so much knowledge and interesting people inside the walls. If you are curious of what another department is doing: ask that manager out for lunch, sit next to that person and co-listing during an hour etc. Dare to challenge – get out from your comfort zone. If there is something that feels uncomfortable, think the other way around – “this is now I actually learn something new”. The extra mile – be ambitious! If you are interested in a new role, do not wait! Take more responsibility, put more time and effort to learn new things on your spare time. Everyone is going to see it. Know your weaknesses – to work with your weaknesses will make you come a long way.

Anne: Career planning is overrated – always work with something you enjoy doing and what gives you energy. Be the “cooperation champ” – become a person that everyone likes to collaborate with on a daily basis, then you will come far. Focus on deliveries – make sure that you are delivering what you are promising. It will show. Take responsibility and show initiative – do not wait to be asked.

Karitha: Build relationships – be curious, build relationships with your colleagues and create a big network. A majority of the decisions are personal and if you are having a big network of relationships, you will be that person that someone in your network wants to recruit.

The image above shows from the left: Christina, Anne and Karitha. 

Christian Linnerud started working at Nordnet as part-time employee back in 2010. Today he is the Deputy Country Manager in Norway and he has made an impressive career. Let us hear his story, challenges and career advices.

Name and age: Christian Linnerud, 28 years
Education: Bachelor in Economics and Business law from BI Norwegian Business School. Authorised Financial Advisor.

Christian, you have worked at many different departments at Nordnet. Can you tell us about your career journey?
When I started to study in 2010, I came over Nordnet’s job advertisement for their part-time saleforce. I applied, got the job and started to work at Nordnet the same year.

After I finished my studies in 2013 and my internship in a law firm ended, I came back to Nordnet and began to work full-time at Customer Service. I had many questions around my own development, choices to make and future opportunities, as many before me. My period at Customer Service gave me better understanding of the customer, the company and helped me find answers to the questions I had in the beginning of my career.

In 2016, I began working as a temporary Local Business Developer (LBD). After this period as LBD, I started my career as a leader, taking on the responsibility as Head of Customer Service, and the year after as Head of Retail Sales and Telemarketing. The ultimate goal was never to become a leader, but what motivates me led me in that direction.

What is the best with working at Nordnet?
The team spirit, our values and the challenges within savings and investments we are aiming to solve today, and in the future for our customers.

What has been your biggest challenge and how did you solve it?
There have been several challenges along the way, but I think the transition to become a leader has been the most challenging so far. I have tremendous respect for the responsibility of being a leader, therefore I put a lot of pressure on myself.

I had no previous experience in leading others, so I spent a lot of my spare time to learn from other leaders and from their experiences. When I got into the role, I recruited a team that complemented each other. Working with different personalities, people with different backgrounds and ambitions have been both motivating and challenging.

It took some time to get to know everyone, identify what motivated them and figure out how we could leverage each individual’s strengths in order to succeed as a team. The most important task on this journey has been to get to know each person, listen to his or her challenges today and what ambitions they have for the future. I would say that we have come a long way as a team, in working towards the same goal, which was important for me to solve.

What career advice would you give to young talents who would like to pursue a career within Nordnet?
Mastering your current role is step number one.

Be patient. Everyone have started somewhere, and very few had all the answers at the very beginning. It is important to be ambitious and look ahead, but remember that what you do today in your current role influence what opportunities comes later. Another advice, do not stress about the future, be the best version you can be and remember to enjoy each step of your journey.  

Nordnet is on an exciting journey in building the new Nordnet and the next generation bank. We are always looking for talents who wants to join us on this journey and create the best customer experience within our field. Meet Heidi, who is responsible for Nordnet’s employer brand and talent acquisition.

Heidi, your role is quite new on Nordnet. Can you tell us a little bit what you are doing and your journey at Nordnet?
I started at Nordnet a little bit more than 3 years ago as a tech recruiter. Then I got the opportunity to build up our recruitment function with a focus on IT recruitment. Now I am looking forward to continue strengthen our employer brand and talent acquisition in my new role. Nordnet has put a lot of emphasis on employer brand during the years, but we want to take it to the next level. This we are doing by increasing our presence in the right channels; for example by meeting potential candidates face-to-face on career fairs and events, increasing our engagement with talents on social media, and arranging hackathons to attract more women to the tech industry. And those are just a few examples of what we have in pipeline for 2018.

What do you think is the key in creating a successful employer brand?
Employer branding starts from the inside. If our employees feel engaged, happy and work in a stimulating and motivating environment, that is where the positive energy and the brand begin. In addition, employer branding is all about the team effort. Without the engagement from our fantastic employees, our achievements within employer branding would not even be possible.

What do you think makes Nordnet as an attractive employer?
We still have a sort of start-up atmosphere inside our walls although we have been around for over 20 years. We breed innovation and focus heavily on product development. Our ambition is that our customers should feel that they have access to the best financial products and the latest technology in the industry. This ambition has created a fantastic fintech culture within the organisation.

Nordnet is also an international working place – our corporate language is English and we recruit many talents from all around the world. There is a great potential to move forward in your career at Nordnet and take on new challenges within the company, we truly encourage personal development and want our employees to grow with us. I would describe our culture as warm, open and with a great doze of team spirit. Adding to that, we have many common activities at the office, such as boot camps, after works and fika on Wednesdays – and we just moved to our brand new headquarters centrally located at Kungsholmen.