From Management trainee to network engineering

Paulina started her career as a management trainee within the business to business, B2B, market at Telenor five years ago, fresh out of university with a degree in civil engineering and economics.

The management trainee program gave Paulina a great overview of the company. She started in the B2B market focusing on transformation and new revenue streams.

– The fast-paced industry and an increasing competition in the market has challenged the big four telecom actors, not only to be smarter with our revenue models, but also to become more cost focused in order to improve our margins, Paulina says.

She quickly became interested in the network division, one of the largest cost driving units at Telenor Sweden. The technology centred division provided an interesting perspective on how to drive the backend of a company – the infrastructure. Also, things moved quicker here than what Paulina was used to.

– You could present an idea, with a well formulated pilot and we would be up and running the next day. It was very exciting, Paulina says.

After learning the ins and outs of the infrastructure, she told her leader that she was ready for a new challenge. She was offered a new project in the Networks department, creating a negotiation strategy for how Telenor could lower rents on the sites. Hungry for something new, Paulina accepted the challenge.

From that moment, she has held a permanent position at Networks, within Telenor. She is leading the Sites and Logistics group, a team of nine experts with deep technical knowledge.

– I was really stepping out of my comfort zone at first. But I worked hard, and I didn’t pretend to know things that were beyond my knowledge, Paulina says.

One challenge for her has been to step out of the “expert” role.

– In the first few months I thought it was all about me. My team has technical knowledge that I can never gain, which was hard to accept at first for someone who is used to being the expert. However, today – It is all about the team. As a leader, my greatest experience is when I see my team members grow to reach their full potential, Paulina says.

Paulina thinks Telenor is a good place for people who want to develop and try new things. The key for her so far has been communication and trust.

–I always have a transparent dialogue with my current leader about my ambition and goals. No one can read your mind. For that same reasons, I encourage my team members to have a transparent dialogue with me about their goals and ambitions , Paulina says.

So, what does the future hold?

– I am not sure. I am a good fit in my current role. I will have to see what exciting roles the future will bring at Telenor. But as a general rule, I think it is always good to aim for your manager’s job, it helps you to think ahead in all situations and prepare you mentally for your job to come. What would my manager need from me now? Paulina says.