How it is to be the creative mind of the board

March 18th, 2019

Chiel Tijdink

We are halfway the year which means that the current board is looking for a new-board. A good moment to give a small glimpse of the experiences of the current board. In this part you can read about the experiences of our Marketing Officer, Marjolein!

Why did you decide to apply for the board? 

Last year I started my pre-master Business Administration at the Radboud University. I knew Sabien from the board last year already, because we did the same study in Den Bosch. Because of her I came in contact with Synergy and I liked Synergy. I went to some activities and I became an active member. Because I know Sabien I saw what she did for her function as Marketing Officer and that makes me enthusiastic. During last year I was thinking like: ‘wow, the year is going really fast’. I decided to do a pre-master because I didn’t want to work already. Then I thought by myself ‘why not the full student experience?’, so I decided to apply for a board year at Synergy. 

Which committees did you do at Synergy and did these committees help you during your board year now? 

Last year I was a part of the PR committee and the case-competition committee. As a member of the PR committee I learned to make posters, brochures and aftermovies. I also learned to work with programs like photoshop, illustrator and InDesign. Nowadays, I work a lot with these programs. So, the experience of the PR Committee helps me a lot with my function as Marketing Officer. As a member of the Case Competition Committee I learned to call with companies and to have negotiations with companies, this doesn’t mean that I’m the new external haha ðŸ˜Š. 

What did you expect of your function? 

I expected to get many responsibilities. During the day I expected to be busy with my function and in the evening I expected to be busy with all kind of activities. When I started as Marketing Officer I think I had a good idea about the tasks of a Marketing Officer, but in reality you have a lot more to do than I expected. I have always something to do. Beside this, I expected to be busy with the committees that I guide and to help people of other committees with their PR issues. 

Did you have some specific goals when you started as a board member? 

When I started as board member, I had the idea to set up something like a management week. I saw this at an association in Tilburg where a girlfriend of me did a board year. They invited some big companies to tell their stories. I wanted to do something the same at Synergy. We achieved this with the management month which focused on some different master specializations. Another goal I have this year is to organize an end of the year cantus on a field somewhere in Nijmegen, but this is more a dream than a plan now. 

What is your experience till now as a board member? 

I have nothing of regret till now. A board year is heavy, because you are the full day in the Synergy Office working for the association and in the evening you have nearly always an activity, but that makes it also a lot of fun because you are doing a lot of different things. During your board year you do many informal activities but also many formal activities, I like this combination! In my board year I have met a lot of new people and that’s fun. A board year is also challenging, you have many different situations which all asks for a different way of approach.  

What do you like the most about your board year till now? 

The thing I like the most is when I put effort in making a poster or flyer or something, you directly see the result. Everything people see about Synergy is made by me. I like that you can decide by yourself how something is going to look and that everything you make is tangible. In the beginning of the year I made the member cards, when the package is delivered it is fun to unpack and see how it looks. 

What did you learn till now from your board year? 

I learned to have more confidence about the things that I make.  Sometimes you get a confirmation that you are doing well and that gives a good feeling. I also learned to handle opinions of other people and to stay with my own opinion. Now I can say no to people when they ask me if I can do something for them. 

What are the requirements to become Marketing Officer at Synergy? 

I think that you need to enjoy making posters and flyers etc. You need to be motivated to make things and you need to like social media. I like to make Instagram posts attractive with GIF’s or something. You don’t have to be very good with InDesign or something, because you can learn it very fast. The most important thing is that you need to like making things.  

Why do people need to become Marketing Officer? 

It’s the best function! Joke, I think there isn’t a best function. It is important that a function fits you. I think there is no other function that would have fit me. If you don’t like to make things you shouldn’t apply for Marketing Officer. If you like to be creative, you should definitely apply for Marketing Officer!