Never a dull day
I really enjoy my job at Nordea. There is never a dull day, which is great because it keeps my mind active. Since I started, my job responsibilities have evolved. When I began, I covered our Danish institutional clients and international Hedge funds. That meant customer contact from early on, which was a very good start to get to know the characteristics of the FX Market. Since the client base is very professional, you quickly get to understand the importance of covering risk from a FX perspective, and the highly competitive environment, we act in.
I then shifted to my current position in the Swedish advisory driven sales team, working closely with my own portfolio of clients. Here, I have the possibility to act more as an outsourced treasury function for many of my customers, helping them with everything from traditional FX Risk Management, portfolio optimization, automation and execution strategies related to M&A flows.
An attractive employer
For me, the finance sector is one of the most forward-thinking industries, constantly undergoing changes. As the largest bank in the Nordics, Nordea has not only adapted to the changing environments, but also embraced them, making the bank an attractive employer. As much as these aspects were of high importance to me, so was the flexible internal rotation opportunities.
When I applied for the graduate position at Markets, my plan was to try different departments over the first few years; find the best match for my skills and personality, and then decide about the field to specialise in. The only ‘problem’ was, that Markets FX sort of swept me off my feet 😉.
When reflecting upon my current job in Markets FX, I can’t imagine another role outside of the Nordea Markets trading floor, that could offer me the same joy and amount of opportunities to challenge myself to break new barriers every day.
Respect and support
I doubt that I would have had the same career journey as a woman thirty years ago. On an overall, the industry is still male-dominated – yet again, women continue to make gains in entering careers where men have historically had the stronghold, but we have some progress to make before things get more equal.
From my point of view, the reason why women are less inclined to pursue a career in finance has nothing to do with the tone of voice or lack of confidence in the work itself. In my experience, women typically jump off in greater numbers as they progress the career ladder. "If a woman looks up and does not see any women at the top, she wonders if she will make it — and whether all the sacrifices she will have to make, will pay off".
