Heja Stefan! A new zoomer on board

We are happy to welcome Stefan Karlberg as a front-end developer at Zooma. His first weeks was a fast ride, so I asked him to sit down for an interview.

Stefan started at Zooma in October 2019. He brings experience and knowledge from various projects. He is helping our friends transition into the digital age and work with web, e-commerce, digital presentations and mobile applications.

What have you done before Zooma? 

I was working in a market research company in north Sweden for the advertisement industry. After a while, I got interested in producing advertising and content instead of researching and analysing. So I became self-employed and started to created print ads/material and websites. I enjoyed it, so I decided to do it more professional and moved down to Gothenburg and accepted a job offer from the amusement park Liseberg. I worked for 13 years in the marketing department as a graphical designer and photographer. Mainly I created lots of print materials but also shot some campaigns and created some microsites, e.g. the CEO blog. 

How did you end up with Zooma?

I wanted to focus mainly on the digital part, so I decided to gain more knowledge about front-end development in a Bootcamp to deepen my developer skills. It was four intense months of information overload. I got some offers after I had done the Bootcamp, but no one felt so good as Zooma's offer. Right away, it had something that the other companies hadn't. It was the matured mindset that I had discovered right from the beginning and the different approach. The feedback I got in the first conversations I had never received before. I had to work in detail on small stuff until it was perfect. It was challenging, but something that I liked! 

How was your onboarding?

I was very grateful that I got a mentorship in the beginning. I was coming out fresh from the Bootcamp, where I learned a lot of new stuff. The colleagues took the time, and I picked up a lot of information and modern techniques. It was beneficial to get the preparation time. They have seen the potential and let me become a great developer. I now work on various projects for customers from different industries, and you have to think outside the box. It takes time to sort all things out. 

What does your typical workday look like? 

I spend a lot of time on programming, coding and of course solving problems all the time. An exciting project is the new zooma.se which will launch this year. We work in a solid and tight team with excellent project managers and graphic designers. Every day is different. From briefings, discussions with colleagues to keep me updated and then dive into the code-base of course. For me, it is crucial to work in an environment where it is normal to ask questions—especially in the beginning, and everyone is knowing what they are doing and is secure and want to become continuously better.

What do you do in your free time?

In my free time, I do a lot of sports, e.g. running, cycling, swimming. I like to take part in triathlons, and of course, I spend a lot of time with my family. 2019 was a very exciting year; we had twins and moved to a house in Gothenburg, so I didn't find that much time to train, but this year I will start all over again. It gives you more energy, and more energy gives you more time; so you can put that precious time back into the family—it's a win-win situation. My physical activities affect my mind and my brain. So I'm happy to be back on the right track.

If you want to keep up to date with the latest news from The Bulletin, feel free to subscribe to our news alerts.