Name: Sissy Böttcher
Place of Birth: Borna, Germany
Age: 29
At TU/e: Master in Operations Management and Logistics from 2010 until 2012
Current position: Project and community manager at StudyPortals

What are you doing now?
I work as a project and community manager at StudyPortals. I manage an EU-funded project, which includes communication with eight partners from six different countries, internal communication with our IT development department, management of the financial administration, marketing of the project, preparing and running project meetings et cetera. I am also responsible for several internal processes and for the communication with students that register for our services, and I’m involved in some strategic projects. The diversity of the job has been helping me to find out what I am good at and what I want to focus on in the future. I’m happy I ended up at a small company as I’ve had the chance to grow and contribute to the growth of the company at the same time.

How did you find this job?
I had a part time job at StudyPortals during my studies, so I already knew the company. When they had a job opening I was immediately interested, but it was too early for me to apply, as I hadn’t finished my master’s yet. When they still hadn’t found anyone for the position months later, I stated my interest. I was interviewed by the hiring manager, and I had a new job on the same day. I think it’s funny that I ended up at StudyPortals, because StudyPortals (MastersPortal) helped me decide to do my master’s degree in Eindhoven.

How do you reflect on your time at TU/e?
I was looking for a chance to study in English, which was not very common in Germany yet at the time. I was looking for a program that would combine Logistics and IT. A friend of mine was studying in the Netherlands. I used MastersPortal to compare study programs in the Netherlands. In the end I opted for Eindhoven as it was only a six-hour drive from my family’s home and the tuition fee was manageable. School kept me busy but thanks to the fact that there were so many assignments and exams every quarter I never procrastinated much, and got things done in time. Outside my studies I was very active in the Common Room and participated in many activities with Dutch and International people. It was an intense two years, but they certainly paid off.

What advice would you give current students?
I would really recommend students to get involved in as many things as possible and not focus solely on studying. The experiences and friends you gain through extracurricular activities are invaluable. In order to find a job, start reaching out early. Not only do application processes take time, but for some reason employers tend to prefer hiring people who are not currently jobless. Get in contact with recruiters early, take part in recruiting events, contests, trainings. Ideally, try to get an internship or part-time position at the employer you’d like to work for. It’s all about connections and if you can be referred by someone, that always makes a good impression.