Sofia Broberger
Recruitment Manager, Toca Boca
1. Who was your favourite teacher at school? What did you learn from that person?
My favourite teacher was Margareta, my primary school teacher (year 1-3, age 7-9). She taught me how to read and write, and maths. All the usual primary school stuff (perhaps I already knew how to read, can’t remember but not exactly relevant).
She taught us little songs and rhymes to remember stuff like the multiplication table. I still sing the song for 4 when I have to multiply things by 4. And I just gave it a Google and look what I find, now you can all learn to multiply things by four whilst singing in Swedish!
She looked like a little old lady back then, and she still looks like a little old lady now, but the difference is that she really is a little old lady now. But she still remembers me. I saw her on the train a year or so ago and I said “Hi, do you remember me?” and she just said “give me a name” and I did and she immediately clicked and started asking how my parents were and if I still kept in touch with any of my old primary school friends. When I mentioned one of them, Elise, she asked about her parents as she hadn’t seen them in a while.
All in all a great person with the memory of an elephant. I mean, she stopped being my teacher almost 30 years ago and she still remembers me. Crazy.
2. When did you first stand up to your parents… what was the issue and...were you right?
I’ve never had to stand up to my parents, we’ve always had a good relationship and still do. I don’t really have a theory as to why this is, I guess they are just genuinely good people who has always let me do things my way and supported me and my crazy ideas. And maybe the fact that they trust me. As a child I never asked for permission to do stuff, like sleep over at my friends’ house, I simply told them that that’s what I was doing.
3. What seemed like an inconsequential decision at the time, but in hindsight turned out to fundamentally reshape your life?
I guess it would be going to England to work as an au-pair.
I ended up living in England for about 8 years, that wasn’t the plan. Not that I had a plan, but that wasn’t it. I’m not quite sure how this has reshaped my life as I don’t know what my life would have looked like if I hadn’t moved there. All I know is that it would have been different.
So I’m pretty sure it has shaped my life, but not how. I’m a live in the moment kinda person.
4. If you wrote a ‘user manual’ for how people should interact with you, what would be the most important point in the manual?
Just come say hi and don’t be an arse. That’s about it.
5. Imagine: if we were to go to people who don't think very highly of you, what do you think they would say about you?
That I’m up myself.
6. What’s one misconception people generally have about you?
That I’m younger than I am and that I’m not married with kids.
7. Have you always had the same political beliefs? If so, why do you think you have held them so long? If not, what event caused you to change your view?
Yes, it’s just the way I’m brought up. I’ve inherited my parents political views. Sometimes I wonder if the views are my own, or if I’m just a copycat, and I do some test online. The results are always the same. The views are mine, they just happen to be the same ones as my parents.
I think I’ve had them for so long because they make sense.
8. In the last few days, what news has given you most cause for alarm? In the last few days, what news has given you most cause for celebration?
That a 3 year old girl had gone missing where I live. I wish I could have like a filter on news stories, Facebook etc. for things involving children as it always deeply affects me.
The most cause of celebration is the fact that I now have a bedroom and can sleep in a bed for the first time in over 2 months. No more sofiabed!! (hahaha, I’m gonna leave that mistake there. See, I am totally up myself, can’t even write sofa without turning it into my name (and I can say I did it again, but this time I changed it)).
9. What is the best purchase you’ve made recently? Why?
A new lamp. It’s beautiful and I love it. I’m not really a big fan of golden stuff, but it works so well together with my cozy orange corner. And the big leaves go well with the floral wallpaper on the other side of the room. Buying a house and decorating it has turned me slightly materialistic.
10. What is your most prized possession? What’s the story behind it?
Probably Kalle. He’s a teddy bear I had since I was one.
He’s currently tucked away in a box somewhere, I need to go rescue him. (we’ve moved house recently, otherwise he would not be in box).
I used to take him everywhere with me. Once I forgot him at daycare and cried myself to sleep. He’s just awesome.
11. Cheese or Chocolate?
Can I pick both?
12. If you were to survive the zombie apocalypse, what role would you play in the new society that would follow?
Maybe I would harness my passion for gardening and growing stuff and be the one in charge of growing food for us all to eat.
13. If you could invite any 3 people - living or dead - to your final dinner party before the end of the world, who would they be and why?
People might find my answer to this boring, but I’ve given them same answer to this question before. The 3 people would be my husband and two daughters. There are really no other people I’d want to have a final dinner party with.
14. What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever received?
That when it comes to work you have to be selfish. I was speaking to my mum before resigning from a job and I was worried about how my managers would react. It was a small company and I was good friends with the owners. My mum told me not to worry about them and just to think about myself and what I wanted as that’s what they would do. I have since given this advice to others, both friends and candidate’s hesitant to accept my offer of employment. It always works.
15. What’s the one bad quality you wouldn’t mind in a colleague? Why?
Messy. I’m messy too so can’t really moan about others being messy.
16. What role do you find yourself playing when you join a newly formed team? Can you explain why this happens?
This is a tricky one as I’m generally the only one in the team. But, and this is such a generic answer, I tend to be the one who takes charge if no-one else does. I won’t fight for the leadership position, but step in if needed.
17. What is the optimal number of people in a team, with you in it? What roles are those people playing?
One – Me. I’m bossy and a control freak. It’s best if I’m just left to it 😀
18. Have you ever been the weakest member of a team? How did you handle it?
Seeing as I’m a one person team I’m always the weakest member. I handle it by always trying to learn new things and improve the ways I do things.
19. Aside from your parents, name one person who has had an extraordinary impact on your career. What did they do and what did you learn from that person?
As much as I don’t want to say it I would have to say Johan Blom or Marcus Nordqvist. I applied for a job as Junior Account Manager at Talangjägarna 7 years ago. Marcus is the one who called me for an interview and once in that interview he said something along the lines of “You can’t be an account manager, but you can be a researcher if you want”
Johan was one of the owners and the one who hired me. I just thought the job sounded fun, and that was my way into the recruitment industry. See what happens when you let fun be your motivator?
20. Who would you recommend to do the next 20 Questions With … ?
Liz, cause I love her.
