Sometimes You Have to Leave – So You Can Come Back

How often do you stop to reflect on your working life, your personal development, and your career? Have you truly taken the time to think about what you're good at, what you're capable of, what you want to develop in yourself and within the organization where you work, what opportunities are available to you, and, most importantly, what you want to achieve and how you want to leave your mark on the world?

Throughout my career, I have paused to reflect on these questions four times. Twice on my own initiative because I wanted "something different," and twice because I was offered an opportunity to advance in my career. The last time, I had the privilege of choosing between two excellent but completely different opportunities.

The first was my position as Key Account Director at Pohjola Insurance: a stable and well-established employer, with the support and benefits of a large organization, fantastic colleagues and teams, challenging yet rewarding clients, and a job that I genuinely enjoyed.

The second opportunity was the role of Customer Success Director at Rantalainen, where I had previously worked in new business sales before moving to Pohjola Insurance. The position being offered had never existed before. The organization it belonged to had not yet been established, and the team would be built from the ground up while I stepped in to lead it, a true leap into the unknown.

Rantalainen is also an excellent employer: a dynamic and continuously evolving company that combines the advantages of both a smaller and a larger organization. It offers outstanding colleagues, excellent products, and innovative services for its customers.

I chose Rantalainen because I felt that, considering where I was in my career and what I wanted to achieve at that point in my life, it offered me the best opportunity to realize my full potential.

It's easy to lose yourself in the demands and routines of everyday work. That's why I encourage everyone to reflect on their personal goals, both in their career and in their personal development and to actively work toward achieving them.

Suvi Kankaanpää
Customer Success Director