1. Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Lynn Willems, I am 20 years old and have been living in Tilburg for over two years now. I am currently doing a fulltime board year at Flow and I am also trying to follow some courses of my third year Communication and Information Sciences.
2. Can you tell something about the side job you do?
I currently work as a Student Assistant in the Marketing and Communications Department at Tilburg University. My main task here is to prepare the newsletters. Think of the student newsletters, employee newsletters and faculty newsletters. So if you’ve ever received a newsletter in your mailbox, chances are I formatted and sent it 😉
3. How did you end up doing this and what was your motivation? Did you need work experience or prior knowledge?
I ended up here through the University’s job site. I then submitted a cover letter and my CV here. After this I had a short application and had to do a small assignment, because they were still hesitating between a number of people. I didn’t necessarily need work experience or prior knowledge, but my experience within committees was an advantage.
4. Approximately how much time are you spending in the week? Have you suffered any study delays as a result?
That varies every week. I work on call, so it really depends on how many newsletters need to be sent out during the week. If I have to do an estimate it would be about 4-6 hours a week. It is great to combine with your studies, so I certainly haven’t had any study delays because of it.
5. Why do you think this side job will add value for you when you enter the job market later?
First of all, it looks very good on your CV if you have worked at a university. Secondly, I work in the Marketing and Communication department, which is also the direction I want to go in later on. So I learn a lot of relevant things here that I can use later. It’s also nice to work with people who are a lot older and have a lot more experience on the job market, because I can learn a lot from them.
