My learnings from graduating and entering working life during a pandemic

Yesterday was my last day at my first trainee rotation at Sandvik, I have been there for 7 months and worked mainly with change management and sustainability strategy. I can just say that it has been a fantastic experience full of learnings, growth and laughter. I have met so many talented and hard-working people who have been so generous with sharing their knowledge and time. Now I am moving on to my second trainee rotation at Volvo Cars.

I thought I would share some learnings from being a new graduate who started their first job after graduation during a pandemic. 

I graduated from KTH in June 2020 and started my first job after graduation in September 2020. I can admit I was a bit nervous about how the restrictions and work from home policies would affect my onboarding and ability to contribute to the projects.

My manager Jennie Str?m T?qvist and Maria Lindén put together an onboarding schedule with people whom I should meet and a network of online buddies with whom I could connect and have a digital fika. With the open environment and welcoming culture at Sandvik Coromant, I felt so included and immediately as a part of the team. I think this becomes crucial when being onboarded digitally and the “meet and talk at the coffee machine” relationships become more difficult. At the end of my digital fikas, I usually asked my favorite question “Whom do you think I should meet next?” This helped me meet so many people outside my projects and see more of the company. I have on average had a digital fika with one new colleague each week.

This resulted in me developing a broad network within the company in a short period. When I had questions or thoughts I had numerous colleagues at different areas of the company to turn to and learn about the company from. I tried to listen and learn as much as possible and were able to share learnings cross-functionally inside the company as well. 

Set up meetings with colleagues who are eager to share their experiences with the new hire. Beneficially it should be in completely different areas to give a broader picture of the company and larger network. It can results in cross-functional learnings for the organization.

My core project was a change project with ?sa S?derberg as a project leader. The purpose of the project was to reduce lead time for the testing phase in new product development at R&D and make it more efficient. We used the Mini Transformation method and a data-driven approach as a foundation of our analysis of our current and future state. The team consisted of very skilled and knowledgeable colleagues who challenged and encouraged me to take lead on several parts of the project and with their support I was able to grow rapidly in my role.

I strongly believe it is important for new hires and especially new graduates to feel that they can contribute to the projects quickly. For me and many of my friends from university the feeling of ownership for the deliverables and contributing value to the team is very important. It does not have to be large deliverables but at least something to take ownership of.

Adjust the scope for the deliverables so the person can feel ownership and deliver in a short period. The feeling of contributing value quickly is a key factor for many new graduates.

A couple of months into the trainee rotation I felt a need to have something more than one project to focus on. So in dialogue with my manager Jennie Str?m T?qvist and Maria Lindén, they suggested I should join Marcus Karlsson in a sustainability strategy project. I did not have much experience in sustainability or strategy work but Marcus believed in me and supported me to grow. I learned so much and I am so thankful for the support and guidance. I can now proudly say that sustainability has become one of my core values. Another side project was together with Joakim Andersson on two international recruitments in India and Germany. It was interesting to see recruitments from the other side of the table. Screening CVs, attending interviews and being a part of the process behind recruitments.

The learning does not stop just because we have a degree in our hands. Dare to suggest side projects outside the comfort zone of the new hire to set the tone of constant learning.

One of my passions is to inspire young people to choose a future in technology and science. I believe it comes from me switching paths from musical theatre in high school to becoming an IT engineer. I have held inspirational lectures at the G?ranssonska school which is a school owned by Sandvik about my view of what you can do as an engineer. I gave a short version of that lecture at the IGE (Introduce a Girl to Engineering) Day last week. 

I believe that if we are going to solve the problems that lie ahead of us, we are going to need engineers from diverse backgrounds and with multiple skills. For example, I consider the countless hours of stage practice as one of my biggest strengths as an engineer.

If you are interested in the lecture, leave a comment and I can send the video of my presentation from IGE Day to you.

Ask questions to your colleagues what makes them tick and what their interests are. Perhaps it is something that can benefit the job or a skill that can be educated within the company. Like I could use my skill of inspiring young people to present at the school or events.

During my years at KTH, I have always had a high workload working with NGOs, doing internships and going on exchange programs while simultaneously managing my engineering studies. This has created a habit of working evenings and weekends to manage. For me, it became difficult to switch and have evenings and weekends off from work. Especially during the pandemic, when there is not that much I can do besides being in my apartment. However, I had great support from managers and colleagues who saw the hours I put in and emphasized what was expected and guided me to find a balance. The expectations I had for myself were much higher than what was expected from me. I have seen that it is difficult for high performers (including myself) who are used to working long hours to find balance when starting their first job and setting very high expectations of themselves.

Be very clear of what the expectations are, especially when the majority of the office are working from home. It is difficult to take breaks and to know when to close the computer for the day.

If I were to summarise what has been important factors to this rotation being so successful I would say the following. 

• Great managers and leaders who encourage and inspire!
• Network of good people and fantastic colleagues wanting to share their experience and knowledge.
• Ability to quickly take ownership of tasks and deliver value to the projects and to the team.
• Encouraged to learn outside my main area and support to grow in other directions as well.
• Being able to use my passion to spread knowledge in the Sandvik organization and being encouraged to hold inspirational workshops, presentations and events.
• Having fantastic colleagues around me to guide me in finding a balance between what is expected and my expectations of myself.

I would like to finish off by saying thank you to everyone I have worked with! It has been a pleasure!

Thank you for taking the time to read my reflections and learnings.