What’s it like getting a job at Qvik?

I’ll tell you how and why Mikael and I became employees at this company called Qvik.

Applying for a job is a lot of work in itself, and can feel especially difficult when starting your career.

Mikael Meinander is an Android developer who already had a few years of experience under his belt before arriving at Qvik. I am Minna Nurminen, a junior designer at Qvik and finishing my studies in Digital Design at Metropolia.

We started at Qvik on the same day – April 19th, 2021. How did we end up here and, more importantly, why?

“Qvik has done a tremendous job when it comes to design and tech: winning awards and creating value for well-known clients. I wanted to work with the greatest apps and the best developers, and Qvik is exactly that”, Mikael says.

Qvik is known for quality. But it’s also known for its great culture and letting people have a say in how, when and on what they work. This flexibility and culture was the main attraction for me.

“On the topic of culture: I knew some really nice people who work at Qvik and wanted to follow in their footsteps. I was also impressed by the way people were sharing job openings on LinkedIn”, Mikael says. “Qvikies were always liking and sharing the posts like ‘come here, this is the best place to work’. To me, that speaks for itself.”

I also knew some people who worked at Qvik and knew their values and backgrounds and how much they had enjoyed working at Qvik. I didn’t need to think twice when they offered me a job.

You can apply for a job at Qvik via our Careers page, but sometimes other channels, such as LinkedIn, work just as well.

My first contact was a LinkedIn message to Matias Pietilä, who was Head of Design at the time. I asked if Qvik had any junior positions open. He encouraged me to send an open application to Talent Acquisition, and we immediately set up an interview for next week!

The interviews – Yes, no, maybe. I don’t know. Can you repeat the question?

After submitting an application or being contacted by one of our Talent Acquisition people, a potential applicant is invited to a culture talk where the main goal is to figure out if Qvik and the applicant dance to the same rhythm.

My talk was very relaxed, with the usual job interview questions, but I remember a few industry-related curveballs. I didn’t mind being challenged though, and I got feedback right on the spot, which was really nice.

“Qvik’s Technical Recruiter Jari Sandström knew me already, and we simply had a 1-on-1 about what I would be doing at Qvik and what my thoughts were on the company. Spoiler alert: they were all good”, Mikael says.

After a successful culture talk, the applicant is given an assignment related to their craft. The amount of time given to do the assignment can vary, and they are then invited to a tech/design talk to present their results.

“I was given a week to do a mobile app with whatever technology I preferred. I chose Kotlin and Android studio,” Mikael says.

Mine was a UX assignment and I was allowed to take as much time as I wanted. I designed a flight booking system with Figma. No visuals involved, just wireframes.

“There were four people with different backgrounds at my tech talk. And they asked a lot of questions. I got really good feedback on what I did well and what I should improve on”, Mikael says.

“They challenged me, asking me to justify my choices and why I had done what I did. I think the talk would have been useful even if I wouldn’t have gotten the job, as it helped me in my dev career anyway.”

I was asked to present my work like I would to a client. Luckily I was prepared for that. I got comments about my design and presentation skills right on the spot, and they tested the reasons for my choices.

We talked a lot about why I had done this and that, and not so much about what I had actually designed. Justifying your design choices is key, and it’s also beneficial to your development. I also got good feedback on using data to back me up and really sell the design.

Getting hired is a lot about culture fit, but it’s obviously about competence as well

“Just doing OK at school and doing the bare minimum is not enough. You need to be into coding and also do some in your free time. Check out what other devs are doing and what is new in your field. Learn and be open minded”, Mikael says.

“For the six months before I got the message from Jari, I had been practising with a lot of new technologies in my free time. I believe that was the main thing that helped me get the job.”

You don’t need a specific background but are expected to be a good teammate and know what you are doing. You don’t need to know everything, but should be willing to learn.

What I like about Qvik is that, even though personal development is expected, nobody pressures you. Plus you don’t need to do it in your free time because you have a certain amount of hours per week that you can use for educating yourself.

The call – So no one told you life was gonna be this way

The recruitment processes for Mikael and I only took a few weeks, from the first message on LinkedIn to getting “the call”.

“Jari contacted me a few days after the tech talk and we had a recap of the recruitment over the phone. The interviewers were super happy that I had applied and were so nice and supportive. It left me with such a good feeling. Best way to end the recruitment.”

I remember exchanging some emails after the interview. Soon Katriina Manneri (now on maternity leave) from the Talent Acquisition team told me that she has some good news for me and asked if it would be okay to call. Getting an offer from Qvik felt awesome.

All in all, the recruitment process was really smooth and Qvik was so flexible with everything. I could choose when to start and could take some time off in the summer.

We’re here – Where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came

At Qvik, we always introduce and welcome our newcomers at our Friday-morning Qweekly meeting for the whole company.

“A few weeks after we were introduced, there was a summer outing for the whole company. People I had never met before came to me like “Hey, you’re Mikael from Jätkäsaari!” People actually made an effort to remember me, and I appreciate that”, Mikael says.

We spend a huge amount of our lives at work and I think it’s really important that we enjoy it. Even as a junior, I feel like I’m treated like a peer at Qvik, and the environment is secure enough for me to voice my opinions.