An interview with Stine Marie Svartbekk about her journey from Store Manager to Project Manager in the tech industry.

From store manager to project manager

Stine is one of several people at Jobtip who made a career change when she joined us. Before coming to Jobtip, she was a Store Manager at Body Shop, and now she has embarked on a journey here at Jobtip where she first started as a Customer Success Manager and then made the transition to become a Project Manager.

Here she shares her experiences from this exciting shift and offers valuable advice to both job seekers and employers about not necessarily needing to check off all qualifications to be the right candidate for a position.

No particular career path

Stine has four years of experience as a Store Manager at Body Shop, where she was responsible for everything from running the store to recruiting new staff. This experience laid the foundation for her interest in working with people and her desire to help meet customer needs. "People are people no matter how you work with them. The interest in transferring that to a new field is what made me apply for the position at Jobtip."

Transitioning to the role of Customer Success Manager came naturally to her, as she could leverage the strategic knowledge and experience she had gained as a Store Manager.

"There has been a lot of new information to digest, and the learning curve has been steep," she admits. "But that's exactly why I applied for the position. I wanted to learn a lot of new things and challenge myself in a new field that is always evolving."

She emphasizes the importance of not feeling locked into a particular career path just because you have been in the same industry for a long time. "One should try to avoid feeling like they have to continue on the path they started," says Stine. "The experiences and qualities one gains in any job can be valuable in other industries as well."

Determination and willingness

Her best advice to others considering doing the same is not to be afraid to apply for something they don't feel 100% qualified for. "Suddenly, you have valuable experiences from before, and you meet an employer who sees the potential in you and your personal qualities."

For employers who may have become stuck on a specific candidate profile, Stine encourages drawing parallels between different industries and roles. "Most things can be learned," she points out, "as long as you have determination and willingness, you can go far." She also encourages focusing even more on who the candidate is as a person, rather than specific requirements.

With these insights and her own success story, Stine inspires us to think outside the box, not only when it comes to recruitment but also our own careers!