Summary
How a three-day coding test and an AIESEC internship took me from freelancing on my own to a permanent job at Nettmaker in Oslo.
Every now and then someone asks me how I ended up working in Norway. The short answer is AIESEC. The longer answer starts in early 2019, with me freelancing from home and feeling like I had stopped getting better at what I do.
Stuck while freelancing
Freelancing gave me freedom, but it also meant I was mostly working alone. Nobody reviewed my code, nobody pushed me to try a better approach, and a lot of projects looked like the last one. I was shipping work, but I wasn't really growing as a developer. I wanted to be on a team where I could learn from people who knew more than me.
Finding AIESEC
That is how I found AIESEC, an international platform that connects young people with internships and exchanges abroad. You build a profile, browse opportunities around the world and apply to the ones that fit you. For someone who wanted a change of scenery and a real team to work with, it was exactly what I was looking for.
My first plan was Brazil 🇧🇷. I was excited about it, but in the end that opportunity fell through. It was disappointing at the time, but looking back it is one of the best things that didn't happen to me.
Three days to build a website
Shortly after, a Norwegian company reached out: Nettmaker, a web agency in Oslo 🇳🇴. Instead of a long list of questions, they sent me a design and asked me to build it as a website in three days.
I really liked that approach. It is a much more honest test than a whiteboard exercise, because it is the actual job: take a design, turn it into something that works in the browser, and make the right calls along the way. After I handed it in, we had an interview where we went through my code together, and a little later I got the answer. I had a six-month internship in Oslo, starting May 1st.
Moving to Norway
Moving to a new country can be a lot to handle on your own, and this is where AIESEC really made a difference. The Norwegian division helped me find somewhere to live and made the practical side of relocating much easier. It meant I could focus on the work and on getting to know the city, instead of spending my first weeks buried in paperwork.
After the summer the people I had been in contact with at AIESEC rotated out, as they do, and I slowly lost touch with the organisation. By then I didn't need much help anymore. I had settled in, and I was learning more at work than I had in a long time.
From intern to permanent
Toward the end of the six months, Nettmaker offered me a permanent position. I didn't have to think long about it. What started as a way out of feeling stuck as a freelancer turned into a job, a team and a new home in Norway.
What I would tell you
If you are early in your career and feel like you have stopped growing, a few things I took away from this:
- Working alone is great for freedom, but it is hard to get better without people around you who give feedback.
- Apply broadly. The opportunity you are most excited about might fall through, and the one you didn't expect might be the right one.
- Treat a practical test as a chance to show how you work, not just what you know.
- An internship can be a door, not just a line on your CV.
I can only recommend AIESEC to anyone thinking about working abroad. A big thank you to Marta, my experience manager, and to everyone in AIESEC Norway who helped me get here 🙏
