Can you tell me a little bit about yourselves?
Victoria: My name is Victoria Mørkedal, and I am originally from Riga, but travelled to Oslo when I was 18 years old. I fell completely in love with the city, and what was supposed to be a three-month stay became forever; I’ve now called Oslo home for 18 years. I’ve spent the last five years working on my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at BI. Before that, I worked at a shipping company, on the finance and administration side. I’m very interested in finance – mainly within the energy sector, but there’s also very exciting stuff going on in the tech world. I spend my leisure time with my family at our cabin. In winter, we do a lot of cross-country and slalom skiing.
Håvard: My name is Håvard Stabell Somdal, I’m 25 years old, and come from Grimstad. I love my hometown and football! When I have time, I watch, read, and listen to a lot of football-related media. I’m a Chelsea supporter; no other club holds a candle to them. Iv’e lived in Oslo for a year, so I lived through the whole lockdown period during the COVID-19 pandemic. I met my girlfriend in Bergen where I started my studies, and then we moved to Oslo together. We live right by a frisbee golf course in the Ekeberg district, and that’s become a new hobby for me, too. I also hunt, usually forest birds. I have yet to shoot one myself, but I hope I’m good company around the campfire and on the hunt.
What are you studying and where?
Victoria: I already have a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, and now I’m doing a Master of Science in Business, specialising in Economics. Both degrees are from BI Oslo.
Håvard: I have a Bachelor’s degree in HR and Personnel Management from Kristiania University College in Bergen. Now I’m earning a Master of Science in Leadership and Organisational Psychology at BI Oslo.
What are your career plans going forward? Do you have a dream job?
Victoria: My dream is to work with economics and finance in a growth company. I hope to work in a company with a somewhat flat structure and good colleagues. A flat structure is probably the most important thing.
Håvard: That’s always a tough question. I don’t really have a dream place to work and dream responsibilities, as long as I like where I am and what I do. My co-workers mean a lot to me. Of course, I want to work with HR, perhaps mostly aimed at recruitment. I haven’t set myself a clear goal of getting anyplace in particular, but as long as I work somewhere I can thrive, I guess I’ll be happy.
Why did you choose to intern at Embriq?
Victoria: First of all, Embriq works a lot with the IT energy industry, which I’m very interested in. It’s also a growth company, and I find that very exciting. It seems like things are happening all the time here, and that’s really important to me. I’m very grateful that I had the opportunity to intern here!
Håvard: I think the IT world is super exciting. I don’t know much about it, but since I’ll be working with recruitment and employer branding, I hope to learn more about how IT works. The company and the premises are very modern, and we’ve been made to feel really welcome here. It’s kind of Embriq that chose us, so I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity.
What will your tasks involve?
Victoria: I will be working on accounting, month-end reports, entering contracts, and updating the House of Control (agreement system), as well as tasks related to the integration of the two companies Enitech and Resight, which Embriq acquired earlier this summer.
Håvard: I’ll work with every aspect of recruitment, from A to Z. That will mean working with job advertisements, screening, interviews, etc. I’ll also be working with employer branding and other HR tasks that are part of the HR Department’s annual plan.
What do you think is the coolest tech trend right now?
Victoria: I’m really interested in e-commerce and everything that’s going on there. I was very fascinated by an inventory system that works super fast. If you order something, it’s on your doorstep the next day, because everything is digitalised, and even though the warehouse is abroad, everything goes very fast. I think people who manage to work so fast are the ones who will succeed in the future.
Håvard: I hear a lot about blockchain and crypto. A buddy bought a digital photo (NFT) that looks like something from Minecraft. The value of that picture has just skyrocketed. I don’t know much about the whole thing, but find it really interesting and would like to learn more. Artificial intelligence is cool, too. It’s being used more and more in industries like this one. Although I don’t know everything, it’s really fun to follow along, read about things, and understand more and more.
What’s your favorite tech gadget?
Victoria: Mine is the Apple Watch. It helps me remember what I need to do and also helps me find my phone, because I keep losing it. I’ve almost become addicted to the Apple Watch because it helps with reminders and other everyday stuff.
Håvard: I love my mobile phone. It’s probably my most important possession. I often go home to my parents, and they have this awesome robot vacuum cleaner, which means I don’t have to vacuum. That’s a real treat! First place mobile, second place robot vacuum cleaner.
What’s the best book you’ve ever read?
Victoria: Give and Take by Adam Grant is very good! I’ve just started reading How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It’s a classic psychology book that’s really interesting! I also love reading crime fiction, so I blast through a lot of those books – mostly from Lars Keppler.
Håvard: I have to be honest and say that I’ve not been very good about reading books from start to finish, but I once read Thor Hushovd’s biography. It was very good. Since then, it’s been mostly required reading for school! I should add that reading more books is a big goal of mine.
Do you have a favorite TV series that you would recommend to others?
Victoria: My favourite is definitely The Handmaid’s Tale, but I’m not sure I can recommend it to others. It’s a very powerful series with an important message!
Håvard: If there’s anyone out there who has yet to see Game of Thrones, I would definitely recommend that. It’s probably my favourite series of all time. I’m also a total reality TV junkie, so if it’s okay to recommend Ex on the Beach, I definitely have to!