Starting my tech career at IKEA
Hej!
For the longest time I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to work with, until one day at the age of 29 when my mother showed me a pamphlet about a mobile native engineering course open-house. What’s to lose in attending and seeing what they have to say?
Well, here we are more than three years later. I’m a Junior Software Engineer at IKEA, having the time of my life working within our digital design system Skapa. Could attending this open-house have been the best thing to happen to my career? Possibly, but there is another specific event that contends for that top spot which we will get to shortly.
Starting at IKEA
So how did I end up here? A close friend of mine tipped me off about the IKEA Accelerator Programme. Initially I felt that I stood no chance. I didn’t have my degree yet, and IKEA being as well regarded as it is for their fair and inclusive practices put me in a position where I strongly doubted myself as a competitive candidate. I approached it in an almost nonchalant way, whatever happens, I will at least have tried.
I applied, and they reached out rather quickly. The interview with the hiring manager and mentor was phenomenal, for the first time I felt comfortable and was given the opportunity to showcase my skills and what I was proud of without fear of judgment. It didn’t even take a week before I heard back from the recruiter with an offer which has become the best thing to happen to my career so far.
The Accelerator programme
What is it? It’s a six month talent program for junior software engineers where we split our time between the accelerator programme and production work. We were a truly diverse group of about 30 juniors in this first group.
I wasn’t sure what to expect honestly, having no prior work experience in the industry and jumping straight into a talent program for such a large organisation was daunting. Will I be able to compete with the others? Were my skills really up to par with IKEA’s expectations? What technologies would we be working with? How deep would we dive into these technologies and what knowledge would be expected of me to retain from this?
To my surprise, and enjoyment we did touch upon a rather broad smorgasbord of tech frameworks and principles, but never went too deep. It was apparent that they wanted us to develop a basic understanding of the broader picture of what goes into making IKEA’s digital systems work. We got the chance to get hands-on experience with these technologies, even if it was not something we would work with in our day-to-day roles, and let me just say it was a lot of fun.
Personally, I really enjoyed and excelled at the cyber security courses we did, but that is just one small example.
We were continuously encouraged to learn and develop ourselves, with constant positive feedback and constructive critique. This environment was very inclusive, as we had ongoing discussions about the work we did and helping each other where we could, fostering healthy practices.
Eventually, all good things must come to an end. I say that with a pretty large asterisk at the end, since I haven’t lost contact with my peers nor do I enjoy my time at IKEA any less. Rather the opposite. But yes the final day came, tears were shed and hugs were given. We had completed the accelerator programme, learned a lot, and made great friends along the way. We were ready to spend 100% of our time with our teams. It was a bittersweet moment, I would lose the daily camaraderie we had during the first six months but had gained what I deem to be career long friendships solidified through hardships and successes.
Being a junior at a large company like IKEA
I will prefix this entire section with one emotion: imposter syndrome. I think we as humans have a tendency to measure ourselves unfairly to the people around us, especially in a new and uncertain situation such as starting a new junior role. Everyone seems like masters at their craft, while we may struggle to do the equivalent of tying our shoelaces. The reality is everyone starts somewhere, as brilliant as they may be today, and there should be no shame in acknowledging it. It’s a continuous effort to learn and excel, it takes time and patience.
Never did I feel that I asked too stupid of a question, occasionally I would doubt myself but be gently reminded that I’m here to learn. The more you ask, the more you can overcome your weak points and grow as a developer.
As a junior, and especially someone new to the industry, we are always keen to prove ourselves and outperform expectations. Inherently this is not a negative thing, but we can easily overwhelm ourselves with tasks we assumed to be simple and turned out to be the opposite. There is a fine balance between pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and persevering, and becoming overwhelmed and shutting down. Unfortunately the understanding of what a task entails comes with experience. While I ended up in this situation a fair few times, the support I received from my team and mentors was unparalleled. Asking for help can feel difficult at first, but a mentorship includes mentoring which is your most valuable time spent as a junior.
I want to close this section by sharing my favorite learning tool at IKEA: pair programming. This concept revolves around writing code together with another developer, where you ball ideas and discuss solutions. We would sit for hours, working through both issues that I had as well as looking at the work my mentor was doing, as an observer. Through these sessions, I was able to progress and grow at a rapid pace, becoming more and more comfortable with the tech I was using.
Living our values
In the working world I have often been drilled on values and what makes XYZ different from their competitors, but rarely, if ever, see these values in action. Until now. I was pleasantly surprised to see how the organisation and my co-workers lived the IKEA 8 key values every day.
I think one of the biggest company culture shocks I’ve witnessed is how our co-workers actually lead by example. Now I know this may differ slightly from manager to manager, but in my particular case it was very refreshing. They embody the principles they expect from the rest of the team. By being visible, engaged, incredibly helpful and approachable, they foster a culture of open communication and mutual respect.
You know, being treated as the adult you are can actually feel quite odd after years of managers micromanaging. When we are entrusted by our leadership with responsibility and given the autonomy to make decisions, we are able to contribute meaningfully to work we do. This is why give and take responsibility is one of the key values. This culture of accountability not only fosters great personal growth but also gives us a sense of pride and ownership of our product.
I want to take the time to mention my favorite of IKEA values: Togetherness. In Skapa we work very collaboratively like most teams at IKEA. We also collaborate with co-workers from across IKEA to support and help them create uniquely IKEA user experiences more efficiently. This frees up the co-worker teams to focus on innovating for their customers and get brand recognition into their product in a cost conscious way. The growth through shared knowledge is outstanding!
Closing statements
To say that I’ve grown over the past years would be an understatement. When reflecting on my skills from when I joined IKEA to now I do shock myself slightly. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d progress this much in the first years, but here I am. It just goes to show how important the practical aspect of learning is!
With that being said, it’s important to acknowledge the work and effort that IKEA put into their junior engineers. Exposing us to new technologies, drilling us in best practices and encouraging us to align with their values. All to prepare us for the future, giving us the tools we need to excel and bring IKEA into a digital landscape. Through living their values, we have got to see first hand how beneficial it can be for all co-workers and the business in general when leading through example.
To anyone out there thinking about applying to the next round of IKEA’s Accelerator Programme, if the opportunity arises then you definitely should! The camaraderie alone is worth it, add onto that the wide array of tech and knowledge you get to familiarize yourself with in a healthy environment through support from peers, mentors and managers. This is a deal I personally could never pass up, and I don’t think you should either!
