IT companies used to have a pretty bad image. It’s not that they’re bad companies giving people bad jobs. They just never screamed “job satisfaction” to the general public.
The stereotype of IT companies as inhuman, mundane places to work became so well-known that a hilarious comedy from the 90’s called Office Space satirized the idea. The movie told the story of a disgruntled programmer who rebelled against the soulless, life-sucking office environment of the IT company he worked for in order to find happiness.
The movie and the stereotype are a bit old now. But I think it’s still safe to assume that the environment represented in Office Space, and the lifestyles of the people who work there, is something everyone would like to avoid.
And according to Universum – a research firm that specialized in employer branding – F-Secure is ahead of the game in offering people a place where they’d actually LIKE to work. At least according to IT students.
F-Secure was ranked as the 4th most attractive employer amongst Finnish IT students in Universum’s 2016 Most Attractive Employers ranking (up from 5th in last year’s rankings), beat out only by Google, Microsoft, and Finnish game company Supercell.
So what is it that makes F-Secure such an appealing employer? Well, here’s a few things we’re doing that separates us from the kind of company shown in Office Space.
We don’t box people into cubicles
People at F-Secure aren’t expected to isolate themselves from other Fellows and sit by themselves in cubicles. Our Fellows work together in whatever way makes them feel comfortable. In fact, as a global company with offices and people working all over the world, we often think outside the box and take whatever approach lets people work together to get the best results.
We don’t stop at securing computers – we secure society
This sentiment, recently expressed by F-Secure Chief Research Officer Mikko Hypponen, highlights the importance of what we do at F-Secure. We deal with real adversaries and security threats, whether that’s an advanced persistent threat group working on behalf of a government, or a gang of online extortionists looking to spread ransomware or steal data to blackmail people. Having active adversaries to work against presents us with a constantly evolving set of threats to people and companies. The opportunity to combat those threats makes our days challenging, but exciting and fulfilling.
We know how to chill out
Cyber security is a tough business. As mentioned above, we deal with real adversaries and threats. When we’re doing our jobs, we’re focused 100% on winning. But we also understand it’s important to be able to unwind, so Fellows are encouraged to enjoy themselves at work. Our HQ has things like a sauna, a gym, games, and other things for people to enjoy when they need to step out of the fight for a few minutes. With great power comes great responsibility, but everyone needs some time to chill out (even if it’s in a scorching hot sauna).
So F-Secure has a lot going for it, and based on Universum’s rankings, it looks like that’s paying off.
But why don’t you tell us what’s most important to you in a workplace. Finnish IT students already think F-Secure would be a great place to work, but we’re always ready to do more. And why not check out our current openings to see if there’s a place that’s right for you.
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Image: A team of Aalto University students that won an award for a software project sponsored by F-Secure. Read more here.
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