in
‘Even during my education I was looking for social internships where I could do something concrete for others. I still think that’s very important, and that’s what I focus my work on. For the past two years I worked as a brand marketer at a start-up that connects volunteers with social organizations. A really nice place, but I found myself with more ideas to work out than I could there.
“That’s why I’m looking for a new job from March. As a freelance copywriter and illustrator I can also work in between, but I am looking for a new place where I can be of significance as a marketer. Because I still had two weeks of vacation days and I wanted to use them usefully, I volunteered for seven days at different locations last week. Something I always wanted to do, but was always ‘too busy’ for. I have never met so many special people in such a short time, learned life lessons, felt happiness and experienced gratitude. I reported on the week on LinkedIn because I want to show others how important volunteering is.
“You usually don’t earn that much in the social sector. I think that’s a shame and not entirely fair. I have friends who work in the financial sector and they earn a lot more than me. Yet this is the direction I want to go: improving the world with creativity. That is my dream. The salary is secondary to that.”
out
‘I live in Amsterdam and I can get by just fine, but it’s not a lot of money. I usually don’t manage to save and I still have a student debt that I have to pay off. And because I haven’t found a new job yet, I also started cutting back. For example, I often ordered the groceries I felt like at that moment from such a flash delivery service, and then you ended up buying more often and more than you need. Now I just go to the supermarket around the corner and it’s cheaper because I buy less.
“I have a sports subscription with which you can visit various gyms and classes in Amsterdam. Very handy and fun to try other sports besides boot camp. Very important to me is the peace that sports bring me next to work. I do notice that I always want to exercise more than my package allows, so I actually have to adjust my subscription.
“I have also started to buy less clothes, and if I buy something it is more often second-hand. I also don’t need that many clothes, I gave a lot away. For some cities you have a Facebook group where you can offer stuff for free, that’s really fantastic. For example, I once provided a mother with two children with clothes, shoes and toys. It is nice to be able to help someone who may not be able to afford it.”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of February 20, 2023