Greetings from Alumni: Mari Ukkonen, HR Consultant, Orion Corporation

This time around in our Greetings from Alumni series, we interviewed our alumna Mari Ukkonen, HR Consultant at Orion Corporation. During her time at Hannes between 2006 and 2018, Mari worked as a legal assistant in our IP & Technology and M&A Practices.

Hi Mari! How has the spring been so far?

Hi, it’s been good, thank you for asking. I really enjoy the springtime, and it feels great to have more and more daylight. Hope all is well at Hannes, too!

You work as a human resources consultant at Orion Corporation. Can you tell us about your daily work and what is included in the responsibilities of an HR consultant?

Orion is a globally operating Finnish pharmaceutical company, which develops, manufactures, and markets human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. I currently work in the Talent Acquisition Team, the main purpose of which is to obtain best available talented employees into open positions in a timely and high-quality manner. My role mainly consists of supporting our hiring managers in recruitment processes, that is from planning the recruiting strategies and creating the recruitment advertisements to supporting managers in decision making by assessing final candidates. Additionally, in my role, I have operative ownership of our onboarding system and the company’s employee survey.

My working days vary depending on the ongoing projects, and for example today I have been preparing for the spring’s pulse survey and supporting the hiring managers in different questions. I am very happy to work with an excellent team of experienced HR professionals from different HR fields. I share my days between the newly renovated and modern Orion head office in Espoo and my home office in Helsinki.

What was the most valuable learning you took with you when you moved forward from Hannes?

I feel that I took a lot with me over the 12 years at Hannes. I was able to work with very talented colleagues, both lawyers and support professionals, from whom I learned a lot, and the quality of work stands out the most, based on which I set my standards even today. I feel that my time at Hannes also developed my ability to work under pressure and my attention to detail. In addition, the warm and open culture at Hannes is something I think back on fondly.  

What is your favourite memory from your time at Hannes?

There are many! I still remember some unique IP & technology related projects that we had, but it was the people that made them memorable. I also enjoyed doing the Bits & Pieces Newsletter. After-work activities were a lot of fun, from team activities to summer and Christmas parties.

One theme that currently stands out in working life discussions is purpose at work. To conclude this interview, we would like to ask what the things are that keep you going and motivated at work — what is your purpose?

Well, that’s a big question. I am motivated by interesting responsibilities and the ability to learn new things, together with a good work-life balance. Furthermore, the days are fun when you get to work with an excellent group of professionals.

Meaningfulness of work also stands out in the discussions with our candidates regardless of their field of expertise. For me, I find it meaningful to have challenging work with a good team in a sustainable company that has an impact on people’s wellbeing in our society.