Can you introduce yourself briefly?
I am Mijndert, 24 years old and I come from Breda. After I was active in the music industry as an artist from the age of 15 to 19th, I started studying at Tilburg University in 2012. Here I passed my Bachelor of CIW and two Masters: first Business Communication and Digital Media and immediately afterwards Online Culture: Global Communication. In the meantime I started organizing dance events in Tilburg. I still live here.

Could you tell me something about the company you work for now?
I have been working at 013 Poppodium since August 2016. The largest self-scheduled pop stage in the Netherlands with a large hall for 3,000 visitors and a small hall for 750 visitors. It hosts about 350 activities a year, of which about 60 are dance events. Besides pop concerts, club nights and – more and more often – cabaret, we also organize two festivals: WOO HAH! and Roadburn Festival.

How did you get there?
Already during my studies I decided to gain work experience and I was able to work at NAC Breda on a voluntary basis. Here I worked on Fridays and Match days in the Communications Department. After one and a half years of investment, I got a small contract here. At the same time I started organizing the club evening Gaande. First in Studio, then in 013. When I finished my studies and my contract with NAC almost came to an end, someone from 013 drew my attention to the vacancy for a non-existent position: dance marketer. People were already aware of my skills at 013 thanks to Gaande, and after several conversations and a presentation I got the job. Now I fill in the job as I see fit.

How quickly did you get a job after graduating?
I had completed my first Master just before the summer and for my second Master, I only had to complete one course. I did this during my first weeks at 013, so I was actually able to get started immediately after my studies.

How did you select the type of job you wanted to apply for when applying?
I have two major passions: soccer and music. In any case, I knew that I would like to be active in one of those two sectors. The fact that it would be in the field of marketing / communication was in line with my study, but not necessarily necessary. My main concern was with the sector.

What is your job title at the moment?
I work as a (dance) marketer. As such, I am responsible for the branding of our night label ’00:13′ and promotion of all 013 club nights. In addition, I promote regular shows (ranging from The Prodigy to G-Eazy) and – together with my colleagues – I keep myself busy with the communication strategy of 013 as a whole.

Can you tell us something about your daily work?
We organize many different (dance) activities varying in profile, both musically and in terms of target group. As a result, I am continuously working on an appropriate interpretation of its promotion. This translates into online advertising on platforms such as Google/Instagram/Facebook, searching for visual identities for events and often also designing and creating (content) yourself.

To what extent does CIW reappear in your work? Does it connect properly?
I experienced CIW as a pleasant study and I certainly learned some lessons from it, but I owe most of the qualities that I learned and that are now useful to the University itself: performance under pressure, correct spelling, English language proficiency and personal development. Those are the first things that come to mind.