For the last two weeks we have had an extra Cru member, Ruth Nousiainen. She has been a great help to the Cru, especially to our Office Manager, Nora, and it was a pleasure having her in the office. Ruth was here thanks to the työelämään tutustuminen program and has now gone back to Kruununhaka Secondary School to continue her studies. Let’s see what she has learned during her two weeks here.
What is “työelämään tutustuminen”?
“Työelämään tutustuminen”, also known as TET, is part of the curriculum in Finnish secondary schools. The same kind of experience is offered to the secondary school students in many other countries, too, for example in Britain, where it’s called the work experience. As you can probably guess, the idea of TET is to offer students an opportunity to get to know work life. In my school the TET period in the ninth grade lasts two weeks but the length of it depends on the school.
Why did I choose Grand Cru and what did I expect?
Before I came here to Grand Cru to do my work experience I didn’t know anything about companies that make mobile games or start-up companies. You are probably wondering why on earth I chose to go to Grand Cru in the first place but that is a long story. Anyway, I didn’t know what to expect. Maybe some kind of small, dark and dirty office with a few anti-social nerds working quietly on their computers. I was almost scared when I first came here.
What was my first impression of Grand Cru?
Quite quickly I noticed that my ideas of a game company were just stereotypical and terribly wrong. From the start people were really friendly and nice to me, and I felt very welcome. This may sound a bit cheesy but I really enjoyed coming here every morning. The atmosphere of the office is just great; it seems like everyone likes what they are doing and does their best. And no, I still haven’t met any anti-social nerds.
What kind of people are behind Grand Cru?
The people here are a very international bunch. You wouldn’t recognize them on the streets except when they are wearing their Grand Cru hoodies, of course. Sometimes it happens that everyone is wearing their hoodies on the same day, and when they go out for lunch together they look like they’re all wearing some kind of compulsory company uniform!
What kind of things can a person with no previous knowledge of making games do?
The tasks I’ve been given have been quite different which means that I have done everything from scanning receipts to testing the game they are developing, and furniture shopping. I even made an advent calendar for the office. All this has been great fun and I don’t think there have been any moments when I have regretted choosing to come here. My timing was also good as it has been busy during these two weeks so there has been quite a lot for me to do.
What was the most exciting moment during the two-week work experience?
I don’t know! Every day has been great and I have enjoyed being here hugely. Learning new things and doing things you haven’t done earlier is always exciting.
So, what have I learned during these two weeks I’ve spent working here?
A lot. Now I know what it’s really like in a game company; the people working there are not stereotypical nerds, or if they are, at least they hide it very well. I’ve seen some real work life, more or less realistic; the things I’ve been doing here are probably a lot cooler than I would’ve been able to do in many other companies.
Thank you for two great weeks!
