International mobility: From Business Manager in the Netherlands to Near & Offshore Development Manager in Sweden
Working for an international company offers chances world wide. We are talking to Stephan, who changed his residence from Utrecht (the Netherlands) to Stockholm (Sweden) on March 1st 2020.
In 2016 Stephan is introduced to Stockholm, for his Master’s degree at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology. That is also the year in which he meets his girlfriend. He therefore decides to stay longer in Sweden and take a second Master’s degree at the University of Skövde, a smaller city central south. Then the couple decides to live and work in the Netherlands and moves to Utrecht.
Early 2019 Stephan started as Business Manager at ALTEN at the office in Apeldoorn which focuses on Technical Software. Stephan ” Since my girlfriend is Swedish, we knew that there would be a time that we had to choose between Sweden and the Netherlands. Since we lived for some time in both countries, we could make a good comparison and chose to move back to Sweden since we were missing it. That’s why I had quit my job at ALTEN in early 2020 with a pain in my heart, because I really enjoyed working at ALTEN. On March 1st we packed everything and moved to Sweden, right in the middle when the world completely changed due to the Covid-19 virus. My goal was to continue my career within ALTEN and I came in contact with ALTEN Sweden to explore my options there. After the first weeks of settling and renovating our apartment, I started on June 1st as Near & Offshore Development Manager for the INT1 region (including the Nordics, Benelux, Switzerland and Southern Europe). In this position I develop, streamline and manage all the activities for work packages and projects between the INT1 region and our ALTEN delivery centers all over the world.
Working in Sweden is very similar to working in the Netherlands, a slight difference is noticeable in the work/life balance, which is more relaxed in Sweden. There is a big difference in living, because the tranquility and space form a great contrast with the Netherlands. “I have lived in Utrecht, in the city centre, and there it was always crowded with lots of traffic jam. That’s a big difference with Stockholm, where we also live in the middle of the city centre. It is a metropolis with about one million inhabitants but feels a lot less crowded and it has pristine nature close by.
I started in a strange period in my new role, where we work a lot from home and have much less personal contact with colleagues. I now understand the language well, but it is still difficult to express myself in Swedish quickly enough, this is still a challenge for the near future. Nevertheless, I feel very welcome and am happy to experience the ALTEN culture again. A tip I would like to share for the people who aspire a job abroad “Go for it! There is always a way back and otherwise you might always wonder… “what if…”.”
Are you also interested in international mobility at ALTEN? Connect with our recruiters at recruitment@alten.nl. Or check our international website.
