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Julia | Can-do attitude takes you far

Julia Kärkkäinen on the terrace at the Efima office Julia started in financial management services at Efima in the summer of 2018, and her confidence in doing it herself soon bore fruit.
↑ Julia started in financial management services at Efima in the summer of 2018, and her confidence in doing it herself soon bore fruit.
18.09.2019 | Julia feels that Efima's values ​​and caring for the staff are present in an exceptional way.

Towards the end of her studies, Julia Kärkkäinen thought about what kind of place she would like to work in after graduation. Among the wishes, the desire to use modern technologies and to participate in project and development work emerged, because overly routine work without variety did not appeal.

In her previous jobs, Julia had been able to experience what it feels like to work in the financial administration of both a small company and a large conglomerate. In addition to modern solutions and meaningful tasks, she hoped that the company would understand the value of well-being personnel in her next job. Then Julia came across Efima's job advertisement on social media.

"Efima's trainee advertisement even seemed too good to be true. It felt like someone had read my mind and I suspected that not all of it could be genuine," Julia recalls. However, the same ad appeared again and again in front of Julia online and left its mark on her mind. "Soon I found myself evaluating whether I would go for a summer intern position, even though I was just about to graduate from the university of applied sciences. However, I believed in myself and thought that during the summer I would have time to show that I have what it takes to take on more demanding tasks."

Believing in one's own skills paid off

Julia started in financial management outsourcing services at Efima in the summer of 2018, and her confidence in doing it herself soon bore fruit. In addition to the usual tasks of the accounts payable department, she was able to develop the processes and robotic process automation (RPA) of a new customer who had just switched to electronic invoicing. And after the turn of the year, more responsibility was given. "I've been working as the accounts payable manager for our customer base for more than half a year now, and since the beginning of the summer also as the RPA manager," says Julia.

The feeling about Efima as a company evoked by the job advertisement has also proven to be true. "The values ​​and company culture mentioned in the job advertisement were already a strong part of the orientation and they are part of everyday life at Efima", says Julia. "Also from the words and actions of the company's founders and others in management, how they really care about the well-being of the employees here is conveyed."

Morning coffee in the company of a robot

"My usual workday starts with a cup of coffee and checking my e-mail. I react to acute situations immediately if necessary. I also check the software robots' reports and the invoice status to make sure that they have done their work during the night without any problems", describes Julia. "I constantly communicate about current issues between my team and the RPA developers, the service manager and the customer. I support my team members with the questions that bother them, and the working day is usually punctuated by a customer meeting or a meeting related to Efima's internal development."

The same team as Julia currently includes 7 permanent and 4 part-time employees and 10 software robots, who together are responsible for the purchase, sales and travel ledger of a large customer. Joint successes at work are important to Julia. "The best part of my job is seeing when the team is able to function smoothly and everyone gets to experience success in their work," she says. "One of the best parts is also when a change that has been planned for a long time with a customer is put into practice and its results can be seen," Julia continues.

You can go a long way with the right attitude

In the day-to-day life of a growing company and working with rapidly digitalizing customers, only change is certain. "In my work, it has come as a bit of a surprise how change is constantly present. I thought I knew how to prepare for it and I had heard a lot about it during my studies, but now I can say that I was wrong," reflects Julia. As an expert in financial management outsourcing services, you need the desire to constantly learn new things and the ability to adapt even to rapid changes.

On the other hand, change brings opportunities for developing your own career. With Efima, the career of a skilled person like Julia can progress to, for example, a financial management outsourcing consultant, in which case the job description should include e.g. the development of various financial management processes and the onboarding of new customer services. "I hope that in the future I could get involved in helping a new customer in the role of a consultant," Julia finishes.