Welcome to our newest HubSpot developer, Alexander Wärendh! Who mainly works remotely from Norrköping, but still manages to send energetic and positive vibes, working closely with the team. We're happy to have to have you on board!
Stay crisp - where did your moonshot journey begin?
What did you do before you landed on the moon? How did you get started in development?
My earliest memories of getting in contact with some sort of web development was probably at the age of 10 or 11. At that time, the most popular social network in Sweden was a community called LunarStorm. Like any other social network you had your very own profile. But the thing was that you had to build your profile with HTML. This led me to experiment on different ways of constructing the profile page in terms of colors, structure and overall theme. In your profile you also had a files section where you could upload stuff to be shared with whomever visited your profile. I uploaded the code for the various profile pages I built. As time went on I would eventually see those profile themes being used by a lot of people. And that was a very satisfying feeling (and still is today). Creating things with code was the fun part, but having people use and appreciate those things was the satisfying part.
Since then, web development (especially the coding part) has always been a huge interest of mine but also an interest I've mostly executed in my spare time. With having a lot of other interests fighting over my attention, time and focus, it never fully crossed my mind that I should or could pursue a career as a web developer.
With that said, since graduation I've always been working with the web in some way but coding was never a part of the job description. I've worked with e-commerce, social media and as a project manager for various websites (big and small). And yes, in many cases I would still be able to utilise the coding knowledge that I had, but in the end, I was not a developer in that context. Me being able to code was just an awesome bonus.
At the age of 30, I realised that coding (and everything that comes with it) is not only one of my biggest interests - it's actually a great passion of mine. And with all my relevant experience and knowledge I've gained so far - both through the different jobs I've had and the side projects I've started - I've pushed that imposter syndrome far away enough to be confident to say that this is also something I'm good at.
Becoming a father also made me think twice about how I wanted to spend my days when I'm not with my kids. To be able to justify being away from them, so many hours every day, it had to be of value for them as well. And by working with something you're passionate about, you gain so much energy (rather than losing energy) that can be brought home and transferred to the rest of the family.
All of these personal insights and the values that comes with that aligned very well with the values of iGoMoon and their search for a new HubSpot Developer.
Tell us a little about your journey to the moon and what are you most looking forward to in your new role here?
I'm looking forward to working with talented people that share the same values and vision to be able to grow in many aspects. I always strive to be a better version of myself. I'm also looking forward to contributing to successful projects and deliveries, ensuring happy customers and a healthy, profitable business.
How did you find out about iGoMoon and what encouraged you to apply for the position here?
I actually found out about iGoMoon when they reached out to me on LinkedIn for a different position. Like mentioned previously, I was ready for new challenges and wanted to focus more on being a developer. The reasons for choosing iGoMoon were many. It was a great recruitment process, their company values aligned with my own and it was very cool to be able to feel the jargon through the månresan vlog.
What do you love most about being a developer?
I love finding solutions to the problems, issues, or pain points our customers have. And that the level of creativity, structure and logic in these solutions have different outcomes depending on the ambitions.
Get to know iGoMoon and our team which makes the Moon so special by watching our vlog, Månresan.
Have Fun - Tell us more about Alexander
How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
Calm, passionate and curious.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever been given?
"It's just a job". It's maybe not the best sounding advice and it can almost sound somewhat pessimistic. But it can have a different meaning depending on how you choose to interpret it. For me it's a reminder of what's really important in life. Don't let negativity ruin your mindset or goals. Don't spend your precious energy into things that in the end won't give much back. Put your main focus on the great stuff and do your things in the best way you can. Remember that the level of what is considered your best changes depending on time and context - it's not constant. And don't try to - in the moment - do more than your best because that's not possible and in the long run not very healthy. Of course, you can always strive for improvement and try to do better the next time, but that's not the same as doing better than you are capable of.
What do you enjoy doing as soon as you have spare time?
Spending time with my family and friends is the number one priority. Besides that, I must work out whether it's going out for a run, lifting weights or playing football. I also need to be creative, maybe in the form of some coding project or making music.
Tell us something most people don’t know about you.
I have a bronze medal from the 2019 Asia-Oceania Floorball Cup where I represented the Philippines men's national floorball team scoring a total of 5 points (3 goals and 2 assists) without having any real floorball practice or even one single full game prior to the actual tournament.
Tell us about your proudest accomplishment.
Starting my family.
Speed round:
A hidden talent of mine is: Don't know, it' still hidden. Jokes aside, maybe my musicality?
At the top of my bucket list is: Visiting the Philippines with my family.
If I could choose one superpower, that would be: Definitely freezing time! Then I could catch up on cleaning the house, doing the laundry and getting some well needed sleep.
One thing I can’t live without is: My family.
My favorite season is: The spring. You are starting to get beautiful weather (and even better is waiting in the next season) and you don't have any of the annoying bugs and insects as you do in the summer.
My Favorite podcast is: Crime fighter with Jarmo Ek
You have your own late night talk show, who do you invite as your first guest? I don't have a good answer here. And I'll probably come up with a different answer if you ask me again some other time. But I think it would be fun to talk with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was a big fan of his movies growing up.
Top 3 apps used on your phone currently are: YouTube, Omni, Facebook/Instagram
If you're interested in working at iGoMoon and want to know more about our current job openings, check out our careers page.