Sharp Recruitment & Consultants träffar Ilse Van der Haar, Group Head of Compliance and Privacy på PostNord, och pratar bland annat om skillnader i jobbkultur mellan Sverige och Holland och hur svårrekryterad juristmarknad vi ser just nu samt vad som utmärker PostNord som arbetsgivare och mycket mer.

Ilse, you are from the Netherlands meaning that you have a foreign law degree, with that said, how was it to adapt and enter the Swedish labor market?

For me, it was not very hard, but then again, I had already secured a job before I moved to Sweden. Also, I mainly work with areas of the law that are harmonized by European law, such as competition law, telco, regulation, and the GDPR, so that has of course helped as well. It is however often still appreciated if you are fluent in Swedish, even at larger international companies. I must admit I was a bit surprised by that because in the Netherlands that would not be considered relevant, especially when English is the corporate working language. Where I have to adapt is how to communicate on the work floor. Dutch people have a much more direct way of communicating than Swedes and are less afraid of conflicts. To not come across as too harsh I have needed to adapt, while at the same time not losing my edge.

You used to work for Tele2 in the Netherlands and then switched over to Tele2 Sweden, tell us more about the years at Tele2?

I have had a great time at Tele2. “Work hard, play hard” really summed up the work culture during my time there. I have been given great opportunities and responsibilities, and as a result, I have been able to develop myself in areas, I was not an expert in before, such as the area of sustainability. It was also a very international workplace, and many of my former colleagues are still friends today.

You are now in your third year at PostNord, how would you briefly sum up your time at the company and what do you think has been the absolute best thing about your job?

It will come as no surprise that the work culture at PostNord varies quite a bit from that at Tele2; large, state-owned companies have their dynamics that I was curious about. I came in at a very interesting time, just after a large reorganization, and was allowed to build up the compliance function. When almost a year later, I was given the opportunity to also manage the data privacy team, I could not say no. I get bored easily, and PostNord has given me a work environment where there is always something to do!

There is a lot of discussions now about the Swedish legal market and how tough the competition is. From your perspective as a manager, how do you see yourself in finding the right and good skills?

The competition is tough, and salaries at law firms have gone up, which of course also has an impact if you want to recruit in-house. At the same time you see a strong development that salaries are no longer the only driver for taking a job anymore; young professionals are seeking a purposeful job, flexibility, work-life balance and possibilities to develop. If as a company you take that into account, and at the same time know exactly what you are looking for when it comes to skills but also personality, you will be able to find the right candidate for the job. I personally think “company fit” is often not given enough weight in a recruitment process, whereas I think it is important. What is a great person for a position in one company, can be a total mismatch with another company, even though the position on paper is the same. What is a great candidate for building up a legal team in a start-up, will not necessarily be the right candidate for working at PostNord in my current team.

If I, as a candidate, come in and start working at PostNord and work in your team. What will I get?

You will get a lot of responsibility, combined with the support to grow further.