New employees at Strawberry – from first-day jitters to a sense of belonging
Join us as we deep-dive into the "fresh recruits bubble" where we'll reveal what it feels like being new at Strawberry and why it is that so many people stay. What's the secret? Could it be the employee benefits? The work culture? The people? Stay tuned...
Nervous first-day jitters
Few things are scarier than starting a brand new job. We've all been there. You have finally bagged your dream job or secured that summer job you were longing to get.
But as you head off for your first day, you're not just filled with feelings of joy. Those butterflies in your stomach are stressing you out, you're seriously sweating and you fear that you could have done with some more deodorant.
"On the first day of my housekeeping job, I felt I should do my best right from the first moment, but instead it was a pretty confusing day,” says Sheila Marie Gallego who got a job within housekeeping at Clarion Hotel®.
"It was a big hotel with lots of doors, so I spent the whole first day trying to find the correct doors and corridors. I kept getting lost in the during my first week and I felt so embarrassed when my colleagues saw me scooting around,” she adds.
- Meanwhile Vilborg Tomasdottir, who had “worked her way up the ranks” in order to land the job as Barception Manager at Comfort Hotel® Xpress, was most nervous about the language barriers:
"I was hideously nervous when I was on my way to my first day, as I didn’t speak Norwegian very well. I’d only just started speaking a little Norwegian, but there are so many dialects,” she says.
Diversity – our secret superpower
Fortunately, a language barrier is seldom something we regard as an obstacle at Strawberry (and neither is scooting around hotel corridors when you’ve just started – after all, they’re pretty much like labyrinths). We have around 18,000 employees from around 170 different countries – so yes, diversity is our superpower! This is the case all throughout the company – come as you are, love whomever you want and together we’ll work our magic!
Wow! Did you say 4 free overnight stays?
Did you know that one of the benefits of being an employee at Strawberry is that you get 4 free hotel nights per year, and that you’ll also get good discounts on all other stays too – both for yourself and your family and friends? If there’s a better room available, you may well even be able to get an upgrade.
“My absolute favourite employee benefit is discounted overnight stays for myself, plus family and friends. I’ve made a bunch of my friends very happy with this discount,” says Sheila Marie.
“The free nights benefit meant that a friend and I could enjoy a complimentary ‘girls night’ at a really nice hotel, and we even got upgraded to a better room. All the staff were so nice and we really loved the spa and our room. It’s one of my best memories,” says Vilborg.
Tempted to get a summer job at Strawberry? Check out all available jobs here!
No experience? Enthusiasm will take you far!
At Strawberry, we’re not so bothered about how much experience or what qualifications you have…
…as long as you’re enthusiastic and service-minded, you can go really far with us. You can also pick and choose among 6 different hotel chains, each with their own personality (Clarion Hotel®, Clarion Collection® Hotel, Comfort Hotel®, Comfort Hotel® Xpress, Quality Hotel™ and a number of independent hotels within Nordic Hotels & Resorts), as well as numerous different destinations including mountain hotels, city centres and countryside locations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania and soon also the Faroe Islands.
"You'll get friends that feel like family."
Sure, there are many opportunities at Strawberry, but the most important thing about a job surely has to be the people around you, right? And ideally different kinds of people.
- That’s what Sheila Marie, Vilborg and Rafael Brito, Head Chef at one of a Clarion Hotel®, think anyway when asked what is the very best thing about working at Strawberry:
"The people!" says Vilborg.
"The people, of course! The colleagues you get here are unique. There’s not just colleagues – you’ll get friends that feel like family,” says Sheila Marie.
"Diversity!" says Rafael.
Colleagues & friends – two sides of the same coin
Rafael reveals that the thing he was most nervous about on his first day was getting along with the people he’d be working with.
It turned out not to be a problem, and he quickly made friends at work – friends that he’d later hang out in his free time with too:
“I used one of my free nights on an amazing snowboard trip to Norefjell Ski & Spa with a really good colleague of mine and some other friends,” he says.
Tempted to get a summer job at Strawberry? Check out all available jobs here!
A safe & inclusive workplace for all
A survey we conducted right after we became Strawberry in May 2023, which was completed by 716 employees across the Nordics, supports what Vilborg, Rafael and Sheila Marie are in agreement about:
That the work culture at Strawberry is inclusive and they all feel like a big family at work.
Furthermore, a large proportion of the employees regard the environment to be open and respectful with a lot of energetic and positive attitudes – and most people also said that they feel safe, and receive good care and support in their workplace.
“I love how Strawberry cares about the mental health and wellbeing of its employees,” says Rafael.
Top tips for those applying for a job at Strawberry
If you’re now considering applying for a job at Strawberry – such as a summer job of which there are so many – then perhaps you’d appreciate some tips from our employees. Rafael, Sheila Marie, Vilborg and Alain would like to share their advice:
"Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. It’s through them that you learn the most,” says Alain Irutingabo, Front Desk Manager at a Clarion Collection® Hotel.
"Be yourself and take advantage of all the opportunities you get. Be curious rather than afraid, and don’t forget to ask questions,” says Sheila Marie.
"Be aware that there’s a big risk when you start here – and that’s that you’ll want to stay! I’ve already been here for 5 years,” Rafael says with a smile.
“I checked two different guests into the same room.”
A summer job at Strawberry often leads to continued employment. And just like that, you’ll have been here 5 years and counting! Along the way, you’ll of course experience nervousness, uncertainty and a fair amount of total confusion, but you certainly won’t be the only person who’s ever had a new job – and don’t forget that embarrassing experiences are part of the experience!
“I actually managed to check in two different guests into the same room,” says Alain, who fortunately didn’t quit his job as a result.
“I was going to make a quick cake, and I ended up putting the wrong kind of flour in it, so it ended up really hard and dry,” says Rafael, who didn’t make that same mistake again.
Are you ready to come and work for us, and perhaps even make the occasional mistake? Then go ahead and explore all our summer jobs here!
