A key piece of learning for me has been how important it is to investigate your passion: the one that lives deep inside you. It will pay off. In my case, I’ve always considered myself geared towards the well-being of others. In my hobbies, in my studies, and in my personal life – this has been my passion. And little by little, choice by choice, it brought me to where I am now. It paid off.
I work as a Service Manager at Advania, where I am responsible for the operational aspect of the consumer journey in the company. I make sure the billing side goes smoothly, or if something comes up with our products, I take care of it – I am the customer’s voice inside the company, which is a fundamental aspect of IT: we work with technology, but we’re still human beings behind the business. I like ticking every box: is the customer being heard? Is there anything that would make the experience better?
Before this, I was a Solution Consultant at another company; my focus was then a bit more technical, but as I said, I had it clear – I am a people person. As soon as this position opened up, I applied, got it, and started this journey.
Aino Taipalus, Service Manager, Advania
Looking at the ‘human’ and the ‘tech’ sides
Believe it or not, I wanted to become a cosmetologist after high school and ended up studying for it; after my studies, I began working at a retail company. They had their own boutique, but they also sold products to other big companies such as Stockmann and Sokos. I remember that seeing the logistics was incredibly interesting for me, while at the same time, I knew I wanted to keep studying, so this was my inspiration. When I found Industrial Engineering, I put two and two together: what if I could work at a cosmetic factory but handle the product line?
I started my degree at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, and already during the first year, I got my first courses in the ICT field: what amazed me was that so many of the issues presented were related to the human aspect of technology: I felt right away at home.
I have always been quite proactive: I worked throughout my studies, both as a beautician and also in the child welfare area. At Osallisuuden aika, a small non-profit organization, I did volunteer work as a specialist expert and acted as a board member too. Once more this was me gearing towards developing my true passion of working with and for people, but also working in these two fields opened my eyes: on the one hand, you have the IT field widely welcoming technology with open arms, and on the other hand, there are less technical fields where technology sometimes can be perceived as a threat to human connection.
This has presented a question to me that I think is important for the whole tech community: how can we merge the two worlds?
An internship in Berlin, the beginning of a career, and constantly growing essential skills
My first contact with working life was through my IT internship at MAPEGY GmbH in Berlin: this was part of my studies, and it felt very international – I loved it. Afterward, I had two very defining summer jobs: the first one at Empower, where I focused on digital development, and after that at Siemens, where I also did my master’s thesis.
When COVID hit, as in many other places, Siemens could not hire new personnel nor extend temporary contracts, therefore I relocated to Wakaru as a training manager; Wakaru provides courses, training, and certifications for professionals in the IT field. But: my passion lies in IT – even though this was a great experience I still wanted something different. This is why friendships and networking in the field are important: a school friend worked at the time at Efecte, a company that specializes in Service Management. He saw that I was looking for a job and he recommended me: I sent my CV, and after a couple of rounds I was hired as a Junior Solution Consultant, which was great because here I started to polish my hard skills. I tested my abilities, and I learned more practical stuff, such as the actual functionality of IT.
I was in Efecte for more than two years and loved it there until this position at Advania opened and even my supervisors supported my transition when I was offered the job: it was a beautiful move from one fantastic place to another.
Looking back at all these experiences, there is one main skill that stands out: how to get along with people. In situations of stress, or during incidents on our side supporting the customer, when bringing people with diverse skills together instead of acting individually… I have been so passionate about all this, and now I have seen it in practice through these years.
But of course, not everything has been light and funny.
Hard conversations that cannot be avoided
The lack of women in the tech field brings up challenges that need to be talked about, or so I feel. At many workplaces I have been one of the few women -or the only woman!- in the team, and I have had only male supervisors. Yes, my teammates and superiors have been amazing along the way, but there is a question constantly lingering in the background: how do I fit in this group of boys? This is coupled with very outdated dynamics: if there is something that needs to be prepared, especially regarding food… you can bet all eyes are on me. These are small things that nevertheless pile up, and the consequence is that you create this funny, careless, easy-going persona to hang out with male coworkers and feel included.
Onto more serious issues that no one wants to think about but must be brought up: I have seen myself at company parties being the younger female colleague, and I have had male colleagues approaching me with either inappropriate conversation or unwanted physical touch – yes, in this day and age. HR and other male colleagues were an excellent support on those occasions, having absolutely no tolerance for the fact and handling the case impeccably, but regardless: we need to keep speaking about this because these things unfortunately keep happening.
Finding the dream job, and dreaming with more diversity in tech
I started only this last January at Advania, but I already feel impressed and inspired by the wideness of the company’s portfolio: there’s so much to learn!
There’s also a big plus for me at Advania: although the company has been growing quite fast in recent times, they still put a lot of thought into the question of “How do we work together?” – I feel safe in a workplace that puts concrete thought into evolving in terms of equality. Indeed, since youth and child welfare are the areas closest to my heart, I not only landed in a very wholesome workplace that works towards diversity, but I keep exploring the question myself: how do we open up the IT field to all youth? Not only to youngsters with possibilities and privileges but also to those in situations of exclusion: how do we introduce them to the field? I think of approaching youth because, to me, advocacy for a more diverse IT field starts at an early age. For example, take the TET internships (Työelämään tutustuminen – Getting to know the working life) where middle school students intern at a company for a week and acquire basic skills from working life. Oftentimes IT companies do not seize this opportunity to approach youth and show them how awesome this world is. And they should!
A favorite tool for well-being and a moment of peace
I wanna recommend an app that helps me ground myself: in the middle of the working day, or whenever actually: Breethe. They have breathing exercises and guided meditations, and it is free!
