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.