A day in the life of the girl with three functions
The position of chairman at one of the Asset departments is a very special one. As a chairman, you are not only responsible for your own department, which is Asset | Econometrics in my case, but also put forward to take a position within the General Board of Asset. As such, I hold the positions of acquisition coordinator and vice-chairman of Asset.
This variety of positions makes my responsibilities extremely diverse. Allow me to show you a day of my life to illustrate this:
08.00h A little jingle called ‘Rise Up’ wakes me up and kick-starts my day. I check my agenda to determine the appropriate dress code for the day and take at least an hour to get ready and make my way to building E. Months of board experience have made me much more efficient at many things, but I am still a slowpoke when it comes to getting up.
09.00h [Asset | Econometrics] Today starts with a meeting of the Asset | Econometrics Freshmen committee. We organize several activities for first years’ econometrics students, which each require a lot of brainstorming, creativity and careful planning. The committee members do most of the work; my job as coordinator is to help them if they have questions and to make sure that the activity is in line with the Asset | Econometrics strategy.
10.00h I have one hour to check my email and work on current projects. My productivity is short-lived, due to a tsunami of active members who want to have committee meetings/do committee work/have a cup of coffee at the Asset | Econometrics rooms. I secretly love being kept from my work, because active members are always joyful, enthusiastic and up-to-date on the latest gossip.
11.00h [Vice-Chairman] Important meeting with Philip Joos, the vice-dean education of TiSEM, and Simone Hofland from TiSEM Career Services. We have regular meetings and a great cooperation because we share a common goal: to increase career-mindedness and preparation for the job market among TiSEM students. We exchange ideas on informative sessions and career events, and complement each other because we have such different perspectives. All parties leave the meeting with fresh ideas and a sizeable to do list.
12.00h It is time to prepare for the Acquisition Meeting later today. I check the acquisition inbox for points put forward and company requests that need to be discussed. My contacts with companies are very different in nature. Several times a year, small companies approach Asset wanting to offer an Asset Member Card discount. It is my job to find out what exactly the terms and conditions of our cooperation should be and to arrange a contract in collaboration with one of the external affairs officers. On the other hand, sometimes recruiters just want to be forwarded to certain study-specific departments and hardly require involvement on my part.
13.00h [Acquisition] Acquisition Meeting. As the name suggests, every person responsible for acquisition within the different Asset departments joins this meeting. This congregation of external affairs officers is chaired by the holder of the Acquisition portfolio, which is yours truly. One topic on today’s agenda is the Asset In-house Days. Together we are responsible for the planning, the website and the promotion of circa twenty in-house days during the month of October.
15.00h Me and my fellow board members are jointly responsible for the association, so it is important to keep each other up to date on current affairs. I write several updates about my portfolio, committee and other responsibilities:
“Asset The next Food for Thought session takes place on Wednesday February 11. Two of our student interviewers will ask Job Barth to explain the key to his great entrepreneurial success at such a young age.
Acquisition Portfolio Company X wants to invite students from the target groups Finance, Economics and Econometrics to their office in Amsterdam. External affairs officer Bas will prepare a contract for an AID.
Alumni I have booked a restaurant and invited all Former Active Members for the upcoming Asset | Econometrics Former Active Members dinner.
…”
To maintain a clear overview of all current affairs, updates are shared before and discussed during board meetings. As the chairman, it is my task to prepare an agenda and thoroughly prepare each board meeting.
16.00h [Asset | Econometrics] The chairmen of the six Econometrics study associations in the Netherlands are joined in Stichting Landelijk Orgaan der Econometrische Studieverenigingen, or LOES. We have regular meetings and keep in touch through e-mail and Whatsapp. I get an e-mail from Joost, chairman of our sister association in Maastricht, Scope | Vectum. He has several questions about chamber of commerce registrations for the LOES board, tax remittance on joint invoices and the LOES website www.Econometrie.nl. Before my board year, I would have never expected anyone to ask me about laws, taxes and other regulations, but it turns out that you can learn a lot in a year. I love to be challenged and it feels great to help someone with a difficult question. It is often a combination of discussion with other board members and research online that leads me to the correct answer.
18.00h Committee dinner! Every Asset | Econometrics committee plans a dinner with the board. They arrange the location and the food, we do the dishes. These dinners are a great way to chat with active members and get to know them outside of their committee. Of course committee members try their best to put a delicious meal on the table, since the winner of the competition will be rewarded by the board at the end of the academic year.
22.00h Asset | Econometrics Après Ski Drink. Econometricians dressed up as Heidis and Antons drinking beer from Asset | Econometrics beer mugs, need I say more?
Text by: Cleo Mauritsz
