A year with the student ambassador crew!

 

We are so proud of having four brilliant student ambassadors with us for all of 2021. This year has been anything but normal, we all know that by now, even so Hanne, Vilma, Nikolija and Amalia really made sure that Schibsted stays connected with students at their universities! Are you curious to know what they have been up to?

As student ambassadors they are an important part of the employer branding team and represent Schibsted as an employer at their own university. This year we have had student ambassadors at KTH, NTNU and University of Oslo.

The most important task is for them to share information and opportunities with co-students, but they are more than welcome to come up with their own initiatives and ideas. Here are some of the many projects they have been working on this year: 

  • Hosting a digital CV course with more than 50 participants
  • Teaching children coding as project members at Schibsted Kids Coding Camp 
  • Welcoming new students at their universities with Schibsted merch
  • Organising company presentations and student career fairs 
  • Instagram takeovers – showcasing a broad range of different departments and employees
  • Writing articles to local student newspapers (one of them being an interview with our CEO Kristin Skogen Lund)
  • Creating a lot of cool content for movies and social networks 

 

“The best part of working as a student ambassador is that you get a unique opportunity to explore Schibsted and all the people working there. Your only limitations, with regards to projects and initiatives, is your own curiosity! – Hanne, University of Oslo.

 

“I learned a lot during my year as student ambassador, by challenging myself and organising both small and big events. I also pushed myself to find creative solutions when the pandemic impacted many of our plans. Other than that, I got to know so many talented people across various departments at Schibsted!” – Nikolija, NTNU

 

Thank you so much Hanne, Vilma, Nikolija and Amalia for great contributions and creative ideas. You are true Schibsted superstars!

 

How we recruit

Even though each step can vary from role to role, these are the most common steps our candidates meet during a recruiting process. However, for the same role, the process will always look the same, to ensure that candidates applying for a specific role go through the same process and are assessed on the same grounds.

The process is as much for our candidates as they are for us, so you can expect to get to know us well along the way. And, since our recruiters have insight on openings across Schibsted, a missed opportunity in one area might be your way into other opportunities within the Schibsted universe.

Screen – a first call to meet & greet. This meeting is most of the time with one of our dedicated talent acquisition partners, who is working closely with a specific part of the business and their specific roles.  The aim is to understand the candidates journey and aspirations, to see if there is an initial match with the open role. It is also an opportunity to get to know the company and ask questions about the role and the further process.

1st Interview – This is a first deep dive into the role, and meet the hiring manager or a team member. As a candidate, this is where you will learn about how the team works, relevant challenges and opportunities. You will gain insight on culture and the day to day life. The first interview is also a good place to highlight what experience, approach and attitude you can bring to the role.

Test / Home assignment – For the home assignment, we are looking into skills connected to the role. This could be a relevant case, a coding task, or looking through your portfolio. The aim is to get a more hands on understanding of your approach and specific skills.

Final round of interviews – Here you will most likely be meeting other important people or functions that you will work close to. This is a talk where diving into topics and areas you will encounter at work is natural. It could also be diving deeper into the task or home assignment that you did to have a discussion and follow up on it, or diving deeper into for example leadership competencies and approach, if the role is as a leader.


How should you prepare for an interview?
Most interviews are conducted as a conversation, and our hope is that both parties learn something along the way. We do not believe in a high pressure environment for interviews, but encourage you to showcase your best self. The recruiter will brief you about the process and the people you will meet, so do your research in advanced. Come prepared knowing who you are talking to, and if there is an assigned topic, be prepared to give concrete examples of previous experiences and learnings. Also, make sure to think about any questions you might have – this is your time to get to know us!

See all open job positions here

 

Meet the winning team of Hackday – WE LOVE STICKERS!

On day two of Schibsted Product and Tech festival, we get into nerd mode and work on a dream project, solve a specific problem or come up with new ideas. We’re all excited when it’s time for our legendary hackathon; Hackday!  

There are hundreds of Hackdayians, all with brilliant ideas and creative minds, unique talents and skills. And, we take a lot of pride in forming teams and collaborations across Schibsted. This time we had over 60 teams participating in what is actually the 27th edition of Hackday! The festival ends with an entertaining demo session, where the hacks are presented – and we are all blown away by the amazing projects. The audience get to cast their votes on their favourite hacks in these  categories:

  • Most useful hack
  • Most creative hack
  • Most entertaining presentation

The teams are encouraged to step out of their comfort zone, be fearless, and unleash their creativity. One team that certainly managed to do so was the “WE LOVE STICKERS” team, consisting of Erik, Automation engineer, Karthik, DevOps Engineer, and Henrik, Service Manager User Devices. They did a grand slam and won all (!) categories,  so we definitely had to take a quick chat with the winning team. 

Congratulations on the big win! Can you tell us briefly what your WE LOVE STICKERS idea was all about?

Corporate answer: A cost effective way to label accessories using Schibsted-card – enabling a smooth transition to a hybrid workplace.

Real answer:  An overly engineered technical solution to solve an imaginary problem where we got an excuse to play with a label printer and card reader.

Can we expect the WE LOVE STICKERS hack to be realised in the near future?
Let’s make it a reality! We are currently ordering a couple printers, labels, card readers and 7″ LCD-screens to be shipped to different countries where Schibsted exists.

What can we expect from your team next time?
Who knows what next year brings or how the team will look. One great thing about Hackday is that you are not limited to any specific team or task. But let’s be honest – we had so much fun we might end up together for something new.

What do you think of the P&T festival?
We are thankful that it exists. The crescendo of the festival – Hackday – might be one of the best things since sliced bread.

Do you think you can beat this team, join us for our next Hackday! See all our open positions  here. 

Do you want to read more about the festival? Check out this article. 

Creating impact through great ad products

Liv Eckhoff is Director of Ad Products at Schibsted. Her team consists of engaged professionals with a diverse range of backgrounds and strengths. They use their combined creativity and technical finesse to create ad products attractive enough to finance and maintain good, independent journalism for the future.

– When we talk about ad products, it’s easy to forget the larger picture. Nevertheless, the solutions that emerge from our team make a huge difference on several levels, says Liv Eckhoff.

The Ad Products team have recently been developing a platform for self service called Admarket, as an answer to the self service ad solutions provided by giants like Facebook and Google. Admarket makes it possible to buy advertisement space across Schibsted’s platforms and media, such as Aftonbladet, VG, Finn.no and Blocket without having to speak to a salesperson.

– We’re not here to compete with players like Facebook or Google on an international level, but here in the Nordics we are more than keen on being a safe and user friendly alternative for the thousands of small and medium businesses who are dependent on great advertising space. At Schibsted, we provide a safe context for advertisers and through our work with Admarket we make that context more accessible for all businesses.

Solutions that create impact
Schibsted’s ad space delivers millions of views across the Nordics every day, and through solutions like Admarket, the UX and product specialists in Liv’s team are making a true impact. Not just for advertisers, but for society:

– We’re motivated by the idea of challenging the titans of the industry, not only because we love creating great products and great user experiences, but because how we finance our media outlets matters. When we develop solutions that move money from international companies to Schibsted, we often move money from noneditorial media to Norwegian and Swedish news outlets and critical journalism with a strong editorial presence. We all want a society built on trust and transparency, and it is truly fulfilling to know that we as a team can contribute to that, says Liv Eckhoff.

Schibsted Product & Tech festival

Every great idea starts somewhere – and the Schibsted Product & Tech festival has definitely proven to be such a spot! December 1, we’ll kick off yet another edition of our internal festival, which is dedicated to all our 1300 superstars working with product, UX and tech. In this event we celebrate creativity, inject inspiration from world-class keynote speakers and learn from lots of exciting internal cases. 

When the dust has settled, many have gotten new acquaintances, and we have tons of new cool projects and ideas from our employees. So, where did the idea of this festival start, and what can we expect in the years to come? To shed some light on this, we’ve taken a chat with one of the initiators behind the festival, Magnus Tholin, who works as a Community Manager for Product & Tech in Schibsted.

What exactly is the Schibsted Product & Tech festival?
It’s a biannual, three-day festival packed with tons of inspiration, networking, and great fun for all our amazing product and tech colleagues, working across 50+ brands, and in five different countries!

Cool, and what is the story behind it? How did it all start?
It all started back in late 2019! Marty Cagan, a godfather within the product development space, had released the second edition of his book Inspired – How to Create Tech Products Customers Love (which I can really recommend btw). The book created a lot of engagement among top executive managers across Schibsted, and rather quickly, four of them, Kaija Ommundsen from FINN.no, Laila Dahlen from News Media, Nicolai Høge from FINN.no and Sven Thaulow from Data & Tech, started to talk about getting Marty Cagan to Oslo. As an Event Manager in FINN.no, back then, I was set on the task and started working on the event, booking an amazing venue. And as you all know – Covid-19 happened! It was pretty frustrating, but Marty is a cool guy and offered to do it virtually. This sparked some new opportunities for us – as we, after all, are present in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Poland and Norway. 

We turned around quickly and with the help of some brilliant colleagues, we hosted a successful first festival only a few months later. The feedback made us realize that this was something that we should do more regularly.

Magnus Tholin, Community Manager for Product & Tech in Schibsted.

How has the festival initiative evolved?
It’s been SO much fun and an incredible journey! We started out with 300-ish participants back in May 2020, then in November the same year, we almost doubled that amount to 500, and in our third edition of the festival in May 2021 – we had 900, which is really cool.

Numbers are numbers, but more importantly, I want to say that the main reason behind our growth is the project group, which consists of nine amazing colleagues, who all contribute heavily, on the side of their daily responsibilities. We also have a great steering committee of executives from all of Schibsted’s business areas, giving us support, helping us get the attention of the employees, and of course: funding for all the fun.

At the first festival it was just a couple of hours with inspirational presentations. But in Schibsted there are so many cool grassroots initiatives, so we figured out that we needed to bring one of them – the legendary hackathon Schibsted Hackday, under the umbrella. So at the moment, the festival consists of three elements: an inspiration day, a hackathon, and a demo day where we showcase all the cool stuff that we’ve made!

For the fourth edition, it’s still a three-day festival, but now you have the opportunity to either watch it remotely or in person, together with your colleagues. There are a lot of talented former Schibsted employees, so we invited a few of them to the festival, to come and share their journey, and what they are working on now.

Why do we need a festival for product & tech? What is your goal?
You know what they say, when you put people in a room, magic things happen – and that goes for both physical and digital rooms!

I think a festival, like this one, is a great way of interconnecting Product & Tech employees in the group. After all, we’re 1300 people across five countries and 50+ companies. They are all extremely talented, and by networking and sharing cool stuff that they develop or work on, they inspire each other. I believe this initiative contributes on top of all the great stuff that all our brands are doing locally, making Schibsted and all its brands an amazing place to work.

As for the goal, we want to create a European-leading Product & Tech environment and culture. And we do this by making sure that Schibsted and its brands are places where you can solve hard and complicated problems, grow and build a career, but most importantly, have tons of fun whilst you’re here!

If you want to participate in our next festival, why don’t you check out our career opportunities here. Join the Schibsted Product & Tech family! 

Schibsted announces Thesis of the Year Award in Responsible AI in Sweden

To celebrate young talent and reward work of public interest, Schibsted is establishing a thesis award for outstanding master students researching responsible AI.

The term Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents a set of technologies with enormous potential to impact people and the planet. Leveraging them in sustainable ways requires diverse perspectives and bright ideas, and at Schibsted we want to celebrate those contributing with new perspectives in the field. We are therefore excited to announce our first ever Thesis of the Year Award in Responsible AI! 

The purpose of the thesis award is to stimulate and grow interest in practical implementations of responsible AI in the media and/or digital services field. The  award will go to the author(s) of the best master thesis in responsible AI written at a Swedish university during the academic year 21/22 (fall and spring semester).

Students are welcome to nominate themselves or peers for the Thesis of the Year award through this online nomination until August 15th 2022. We welcome nominations from domains including but not limited to computer science, philosophy, law, business and management, and art. 

The winner will be selected by a Schibsted jury. The following criterias will guide the selection process:

  • Relate to the topics of fairness, accountability, sustainability or transparency. The research should be about or clearly relate to these topics.
  • Iluminate emerging opportunities, trends, or issues. The research should be forward-looking and offer new insights into opportunities or risks related to responsible AI.
  • Focus on people’s daily lives. The research should focus on responsible AI as applied in everyday products and services.

A selected group of finalists will be invited to present their research at Schibsted. The winner will receive a stipend of 10 000 SEK to further their interests in the field of responsible AI, e.g. by taking a course or financing a field trip. They will also be paired with a mentor working with AI at Schibsted who will offer coaching and advice to the student(s). 

Are you researching explainability in AI systems? Studying AI ethics guideline implementations? Creating a new tool for bias audits? We are eager to learn about your work and hope to see your thesis nominated! 

You can upload your thesis here. Please note that we will only accept theses which have been approved by their home universities.

For questions about  the thesis award, please contact Agnes Stenbom (Responsible AI Specialist, agnes.stenbom@schibsted.com)

 *taxes and local regulation applies

Schibsted Connect: where students and employees learn from each other

In Schibsted, we know the value of knowledge sharing. That’s why we have created our mutual mentorship program, Schibsted Connect, where we connect students with one of our colleagues. We had a chat with two former participants Ingrid and Viggo, to find out how they experienced being a part of the program. 


Ingrid is a student at the Norwegian School of Economics. When she heard about the program, she didn’t hesitate to apply; she was interested in Schibsted and curious about the opportunities that we offer. She also figured it would be a great way to meet people from different departments and locations of the company and get to know one of the biggest media groups in the Nordics from the inside. 

What have you learned from joining Schibsted Connect?
– Firstly I have learned a lot about Schibsted and all they offer. I have also gained more knowledge about their industries and projects. Most importantly, I have learned a lot about myself during the mentor meetings.

What has been the best thing about the program?
– The best thing about Schibsted Connect was the mentors. My mentor was amazing, and we had great conversations about Schibsted, leadership, and finding your own path. We have also been in touch after the program ended, and I hope we can meet again soon!

What would you say to other students who are thinking about joining the program?
– I would really recommend this program for anyone who is creative, wants to meet inspiring people, and get to know a dynamic organization.


Viggo is a student at Uppsala University  who wanted to learn more about how his knowledge from university could be translated into the real world. He  saw Schibsted Connect as an excellent opportunity to broaden his horizon. 

What have you learned from this experience?
– I have learned a lot about the challenges of product management, but also how your career can be different depending on what you want to learn and experience.

What has been the best thing about Schibsted Connect?
– I was given a buddy that works with exactly what I want to work with when I graduate; product management. I learned a lot about how it is to work with this at Schibsted. My buddy also mentored me about my career choices and what I should focus on in the future. We have stayed in touch, and hopefully, I can continue to get her support in the future as well. 

What would you say to other students who are thinking about joining the program?
– I would definitely recommend Schibsted Connect to other students! It is a great program, and the mentor that you get is really there to support you and teach you about how you can prepare yourself for when you go out into working life.

We are now looking for ambitious, curious students to join Schibsted Connect. Read more about the program and find out how to apply here. 

 

Schibsted family presents: FINN

FINN is Norway’s largest marketplace and was founded in 2000. Ever since, they have gained enormous popularity among Norwegians and today almost every Norwegian has a relationship with FINN, whether it’s to buy or sell products, looking for a house or a cabin, browsing cars or boats, or dreaming of the next holiday. In FINN, employees go to work every day to help people make smart choices for themselves and society.

What is it like to work for a well-known brand that plays a part in so many people’s lives?  We had a chat with three employees to find out if it really is as great to work there as the rumors say. 

 

Name: Kathinka Fürst Ihlen
Position: Business developer at Finn

How would you describe the culture in FINN?

I think FINN’s culture is pretty unique. Even though we are around 450 employees now, it feels like we are a family. When I started working in FINN over ten years ago, one of the first meetings with the team was a workshop with the HR department about what the FINN values meant to our team. I remember thinking that this was something they did every time there was a new team member. Of course, now I know that this is not the case, and we have revisited our values many times since then. I think this continuous work makes our culture so strong and is one of the reasons that I have stayed in FINN for ten years.

What is the absolute best thing about working at FINN?

The best «thing» about FINN is, without doubt, the people I work with. So many talented, kind, fun, and giving people. During the last year and a half, I have felt so grateful for working in FINN with all these amazing people. We have worked a lot but also gone for walks, played games, and even painted’n’sipped online. They are the reason I look forward to going to work every day and joining yet another video conference. And now I can’t wait to get back to the office and meet them all in real life again.

Name: Benedicte Emilie Brækken
Position: Developer

How would you describe the culture in FINN?

FINN has a culture where being helpful is at its core. I heard talk about this before starting, but I wasn’t prepared for how pronounced it actually was. Whoever you ask, you can always expect a smile and a helpful answer, regardless of how clumsy your question might be. In addition, you can find all sorts of hobbies and interests in FINN! So you can be sure that there’s a clique that’s just perfect for you, regardless of whether your interest is CS: GO matches (we’re entering The corporate league this year) or something completely different like “strikk-og-drikk” (knit’n’drink) or climbing.

What is the absolute best thing about working at FINN?

There are so many things, from interesting technical problems to solve, to well thought-out infrastructure with good developer experience (FIAAS), to the best canteen food ever. But the absolute best thing is your colleagues!

Name: Ole Martin Larsen,
Position: Strategic KAM in Sales department

How would you describe the culture in FINN?

FINN has an incredibly good culture within the company. It is inclusive, you feel that you mean something, contributions are noticed, and everyone cheers  one another on. We work in a dynamic market, where you learn a lot and work continuously to give the customers the best solutions; together we create a better marketplace. 

What is the absolute best thing about working at FINN?

I feel I am part of a big family, I feel at home, and I can be who I am. I get the opportunity to develop myself all the time. I get to work with incredibly exciting products and customers. Over time, I have also been given industry responsibility for Boat & Caravan where I  work with fun and exciting automotive customers every single day. Last but not least we have the world’s best cafeteria! I’m proud to be a part of FINN <3

Visit Schibsted career page to find all open positions within Finn here.

How to apply for the Schibsted Trainee Program

If you are interested in joining the Schibsted family through our trainee program, both former and current trainees agree: The application process is tough and demanding, but definitely worth it. Read on for information about how to apply and what you can expect through the interview rounds.

Your first step towards becoming a part of the trainee program is to send in your application. The application has to be in English and should include transcripts of grades from high school level and onwards. You need to be a citizen of a country within the Schengen area to be eligible. Because the program includes possible placements in all of Schibsted locations, you should be prepared to relocate for a period of time during your traineeship

– The Schibsted Trainee Program is a unique opportunity to not only learn new skills and meet new people – but some of our trainees also get to live in different countries for part of their traineeship, says Kristina Gribaleva, Talent Program Lead.

Ability and personality tests and assessment center

If your application makes the cut and you get through the first selection round, you will receive an invitation to the further process and a link to ability tests. Based on their score on this test, selected candidates are invited to a video challenge. Should you make it past this step,  you will be invited to complete a personality test and to participate in a one full day assessment center in Oslo.

– The goal of the application process is simply to find the candidates with the most potential to grow through our trainee program – and who will challenge us by seeing things from a new perspective. We are not looking for fully developed workers but instead try to find those candidates with the magical mixture of both talent and passion, says Kristina Gribaleva.

“After the last interview, I thought to myself: “Even if I don’t get the job, I have been given every opportunity to show who I am”. I actually learned quite a lot about myself in the process.”
– Karsten Gutterød Hauklien, former trainee.

The final round

Based on the results from the assessment center, finalists are chosen to participate in the final interview. This last stage takes place in Oslo and will help management narrow the candidates down to the final candidates that are offered a place in the Schibsted Trainee Program. But even if you’re not one of the lucky few you will still get a thorough candidate report so you can learn from the process. Kristina Gribaleva feels it is only fair to give candidates a pointer to what areas they could benefit from working on.

– There are only a few spots available in the program and the selection process is tough, but we know applicants appreciate the opportunity to learn from the experience even if they don’t make the cut.

Application guide – step by step

  • The Schibsted Trainee Program is open for registration of applications from mid-September. The application must be in English and include transcripts of grades from high school level and onwards.
  • Selected candidates will receive an invitation to the further process and a link to the ability test.
  • Based on the score on this  test, selected candidates are invited to a video challenge.
  • Successful candidates are exposed to the personality test and are invited to the full day assessment center in Oslo.
  • In the last step, the candidates are invited to the final interview with one representative from executive management and the Head of Schibsted Trainee Program in Oslo.
  • The new trainees are welcomed to the Schibsted family and prepared for the trainee program.
  • Our ambition is that we will complete the recruitment process before the end of February. 
  • The program starts in August 

Timeline

“The trainee period was one of the highlights of my life”

A conversation with a former Schibsted trainee at a career fair gave Mari-Marthe Aamold what she calls a “career crush” – a crush that has turned into a lasting love affair.

– I had been curious about Schibsted and the trainee program for a long time when I reached the end of my studies. I can recall a conversation I had with a Schibsted trainee once at a career fair where the curiosity turned into something more similar to a teenager’s crush type of admiration: I really wanted her job, and I really wanted to be her friend. That had to be a winning combination for a workplace I remember thinking, she says.

Now CFO and general manager of the Schibsted news brands Stavanger Aftenblad and Bergens Tidende, that first infatuation has definitely not died down. And her time in the trainee program is still one of the highlights of her life. 

– The experiences, the people I met, all the cool things I got to test and try, goals that I set for myself, and the people that helped me along the way. The group of trainees that I shared the two years with are in themselves probably the biggest highlight. They were both colleagues, lunch friends, some of them roommates, and have become just really good friends. A fellow trainee summed it up quite beautifully at the end of the program when called us «friends that are colleagues, but foremost friends».

Great mentorship

It was not just the other trainees who were a great support and help during the trainee period. Having a good mentor has also been essential in her professional development, Mari-Marthe believes. 

– I once heard a TED talk where the speaker claimed that people that had mentors early in their careers tended to be more successful afterwards. I do not remember the name of the study nor the TED talk, but after having a mentor, and being able to both learn from him, and discuss my own situations and dilemmas along the way, I have no issues believing it can be true. 

The most important learnings

Mari-Marthe is grateful she got such a varied and at times challenging time as a trainee. With four different placements during the two year traineeship, she gained valuable insight in the company – as well as new skills she benefits from in her current position. 

– Being able to experience different situations during four placements was a kickstart to both working life and Schibsted life, and a great way of learning about the different facets of the company. Being the new guy or girl is always a little difficult in the beginning, but it sure was easier the fourth time when I had picked up a thing or two about what could make me more effectively become a part of the team, she says and continues:

 – But the learnings I have found most useful in my current position are probably the ones I did about myself.  What motivated and inspired me, what made me want to skip lunch and work on a Sunday, what gave me energy – and what drained it. 

The former trainee has no issues recommending applying for the trainee program.  – If you want to work within the media, technology, innovation, the trainee program is probably the best kick-off to your career I can think of. 

Read more about the trainee program here