Hi Tim! You recently celebrated 6 years at BillerudKorsnäs, how come you have stayed with the same employer for so long?

Good question, I didn't think when I started as a Trainee that I would stay so long at my first more permanent employer after university. But since day one, I have been trusted to take great responsibility and initiative in the various roles I have had over the years, both to lead the issues in everyday life but also for its future development. Which has been super inspiring and developing.

There have also been many days when I actually wondered how they could have given me the confidence to take the lead for such an important area, issue or similar. In addition to the personal drive to deliver strong results to the business and constantly develop, it has been central for me to be part of a company that I believe in and where I can see what I am helping to contribute.

You have had a good start and a relatively fast career with many different exciting positions within the HR area. What do you think is the success factor for an exciting career?

For me, the most important thing has clearly been to be part of a company that I believe in. To a company that you share values with and clearly see how I am helping to contribute to the result and make a difference in achieving the goals/mission. I believe that the motivation it gives beats everything else, both from the employee's and the company's perspective. As an employee, I will genuinely care about the company and want to do my best every day at work. And from a company perspective, it sets an incredibly strong foundation for succeeding in reaching committed and proud employees. And not least to find a common direction that binds everyone together to work to achieve the goals/mission.

I believe that the foundation for an exciting career is laid already if you succeed in your match with the right employer. This is where the magic arises if we succeed! Everyone involved wins from it as all parties have a better opportunity to live up to the expectations we have of each other, i.e. to be the right employee or an attractive employer.

Then there are of course many other factors besides this that play a role in how you ultimately succeed. For example, I have had the privilege of having people around me who have believed in me, seen my delivered results and continued to push and challenge me through new opportunities. Which I appreciated enormously!

How do you succeed as a candidate in this important match that you describe?
Firstly, both must have done their homework. That is, I as a candidate must know myself and know what I want, what I can contribute with and vice versa. The same applies to the employer. And that companies are also responsible for ensuring a structured and qualitative recruitment process where both parties are allowed to be genuine and transparent.

If you dare and succeed with that, both I as a candidate and the company will have an opportunity to really evaluate whether you have found the right match. If we do not succeed with this, my experience is that it will start to creak fairly quickly after the honeymoon is over. Which, for example, will be seen in the form of low engagement from the employee or that the employer does not consider getting the right performance.

I believe very strongly in this and have always tried to have a basic rule that I have told myself, regardless of whether it is about applying for an education or a new job. You have to go for what you find interesting, think is fun and what you believe in! Then everything you take on will go so much more naturally and better.
Of course, throughout life you will need to make short-term deviations from this basic rule to reach your long-term goal. You may need to get through studying a boring methodology course because it belongs to the education, or take a less fun job to get a foot in the door or necessary experience. Regardless, if you are aware of it, you get a valuable lesson that will help you in the long run. A career can take many different paths to the same end goal. If you find an employer you believe in and where you see your contribution, I am convinced that the journey will be much more fun and that the results will come faster.