Your career doesn’t stop at the Finnish border
With the right attitude and a strong desire to progress in your career, you could also end up in other NCC countries. Networking is important.
Dennis Lönnström joined NCC for a summer job in 2005 and is now working in Stockholm.
Before summer 2005, I was in the happy position of being able to choose between several summer job offers. I had a positive picture of NCC from my time studying and from what I’d heard from my friends, so I chose NCC’s offer. Even now, years later, I still think that picture was a realistic one.Dennis Lönnström
Responsibility and interaction
Initially, on joining NCC, I decided to become an action hero and try my hand at site management, where I was given a great deal of responsibility. I'm really grateful for the way in which I was welcomed and I realize that you can't learn everything at once. I still think that first summer was the period in my career when I learned the most because I had to take responsibility and find out how to make things work. In addition to the technical know-how, this was the period when I learned the most important requirements of the construction industry, namely, how to get on with other people, interaction and communication skills. At the beginning, it was important not to pretend to know something that you actually didn't know, but to be humble and ask if anything was unclear. That approach wins you genuine respect and builds good personal relations.
Summer work placements
I continued for a couple of summers doing work placements as a trainee site manager on major construction sites where I also carried out some more managerial tasks. After that, I completed my dissertation on 'Cross-Project Learning within a Construction Company' for NCC and graduated from Helsinki University of Technology with an MSc in Construction Management and Economics in 2008.
A variety of jobs
By the time I'd graduated, I'd done contract calculations, worked as a logistics coordinator on a large building site in the city center, worked as a site engineer, been involved in development tasks, clarified the specialized characteristics for building high-rise buildings, been a student cooperation coordinator with Aalto University's student organizations and developed new systems for NCC.
Promoted to Quality and Environment Manager
I love travelling and, in 2011, NCC agreed to my taking the few months of holiday I had accrued all in one go and I went backpacking. I returned to a post as a quality and environment supervisor in a unit that built business premises in the Helsinki region. My boss let me get involved with many different tasks and the work was varied and wide-ranging. It was a post where I really learned a lot and I got to experience how NCC's engine room really works. After over a year the work I had put in was recognized with a promotion to quality and environment manager.
International Career
In spring 2013, my wife and I wanted to move within the Nordic countries and after informing my manager, I started actively looking for options within NCC. I had previously had the honour of participating in a demanding NCC strategic management training course with 25 other people from across the whole NCC Group, which had helped me to build an important contact network. Using this, I found a job. I started working as a project manager in Stockholm on Group-wide development projects and I am now working in property development. In this current international post my understanding of the workings of the entire Group and the differences between the different countries is growing all the time and that's something I enjoy. NCC has given me plenty of opportunities and I have made the most of them. You could too.
Facts:
Title: Project Manager
Company: NCC Property Development
Education: Master of Science, Construction Management and Economics
Most important things learned at NCC: The art of organization, seeing the bigger picture, and understanding, managing and leading people. I've gained a massive amount of technical information and learned how to find and pass on information, and understand people better. I have also made important contacts in the construction industry.