He was drafted into the senior team of IK Start from its youth section in 1996. Already the next year he went to Vålerenga, where he played throughout 2002, except for a season-long loan to Bryne in 2001. Haraldsen, who also played for Norway U21 and was a squad member for the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, got a spell abroad in Belgian K.V.C. Westerlo from 2003 to 2005 before returning to Norway's Hamarkameratene and finally Start.