Testimonials Students Career Minor
Karoline about the Career Minor in general
Many students will have to choose a Minor soon. Why did you choose the Career Minor?
To be honest, in September 2020 I was actually planning to follow my Minor at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid. Unfortunately, the pandemic has ruined this plan for me. When this was cancelled, I started looking for alternatives and I ended up choosing the Career Minor, because I had no idea what I wanted to become. I did have some doubts, because it was indicated that it was a very intensive Minor, but my curiosity won. In the end, the Career Minor turned out to be a lot less full-time and intensive than I was expecting, I just did a lot more at the university and a lot less at home.
What makes the Career Minor different from other Minors?
Many Minors have the same structure as the Bachelor's degree you are following. In fact, not much changes except for the subjects and your fellow students. The Career Minor really has a completely different structure and design. First of all, you are at university much more often and have to do little or nothing at home. Secondly, you meet a lot of interesting people from different work fields. This gives you the chance to gain insights into different career paths and make useful connections. Additionally, you will learn many practical skills, such as how to make a good LinkedIn profile and how to apply for a job. Many people who you will meet during this programme are open to questions and eager to help. The fact that the Minor was given on campus, despite the coronavirus pandemic, was very special and a relief for us.
The Minor provides insights and training skills that are necessary if you start working after your studies. What are those skills/what are the workshops about?
On the one hand, you will receive workshops about this from Career Services. These include workshops on job applications networking, writing your CV and pitching. We also received lessons on leadership and (online) communication. On the other hand, training in these new skills is also up to you. Many of my fellow students and I talked to the guest lecturers after the workshops or lectures and gained valuable contacts/experiences from this. I also put my newly acquired skills into practice by applying for a number of jobs, some successfully, others not. Here, too, Career Services has supported me.
In addition to the general part, there is also a thematic part. Which themes are present and which theme did you choose?
Last year you could choose from: Peace & Security, Working in and on Governance and Entrepreneurship and Leadership in the Humanities, but the subjects will vary each year. I chose Peace & Security (P&S). The Governance theme was very obvious to me because I studied International Relations, but I wanted to do P&S because I was totally unfamiliar with it. It really surprised me; I even applied for a job at the Ministry of Defence last year, but unfortunately without success.
You finish the minor with a placement, a business plan or an assignment for a governmental institution, a company or a non-governmental institution. What did you choose?
Initially, I wanted to choose a placement, also because I might be able to go abroad after all. Unfortunately, the pandemic did not allow this. Therefore, I chose to do a group assignment. With this choice, I also hoped to experience working in interdisciplinary teams. I was very lucky to have a team that worked very well (together) from the beginning till the end. We carried out a study commissioned by Cordaid, and both Cordaid and my team were very enthusiastic about the final product. We were even asked to present our final product to a group of PhD students in Leiden!
What kind of labour market competences did you acquire?
The project with the group for Cordaid in block 2 certainly helped me to improve my communication skills. We learned about group dynamics beforehand from a very insightful guest lecturer and were able to consciously experience the whole process of working in an interdisciplinary, well-prepared team. What helped was the reflection and goals we set beforehand. We had a very open group, without any fuss. If there was something wrong, we talked to each other about it. I also learned to interview people and to organize things well. It was a big project that was under deadline pressure, so it felt like you had to 'organize for your life'. I also learned to improve my decisiveness, my ability to take decisions. I also learned to really immerse myself in a subject. We did a lot of research to find out more about the topic. Because we knew a lot about it after a while, it felt very professional when we approached specialists for the interview. It felt very satisfying that they spoke to us as a full partner.
What did you think afterwards of your practical interpretation?
It was a very pleasant change. Something different from the ‘academic setting’ that I normally experience. I had to read a lot less - which I am not very good at - and was allowed to do a lot more. I often had to go to university early, but I enjoyed going there and came home satisfied in the afternoon, after which I had the rest of the evening and afternoon free to do other fun things.
How do you look back on this Minor? What did it bring you personally? Can you tell us what you learned?
I am very glad that I did this Minor. I learned a lot of (practical) skills, and it feels like I am one step closer to finding the job I want. Partly because of this Minor, I ended up with a position at the Municipality of Stadskanaal, where I might be able to start at the Policy Department. I have also expanded my network considerably and I have figured out what my own strong points and points for improvement are during various activities, because there is also a lot of reflection. I have also met many cool and nice people, with whom I built new friendships last year!
What did you like most?
What I liked most was the satisfaction that this Minor gave me. Actually, every day I came home with positive new experiences and I learned something new every day. I am also very proud of the final product of the group assignment. We did our very best as a team, learned to give and take criticism and received a lot of praise for the final product. In addition, I made lasting connections with a number of interesting guest speakers, which I found quite exciting. The icing on the cake was that the coordinator of the Minor asked me to become the Student- Assistant for the Career Minor next year. This really felt like a reward for my efforts over the past six months.
Do you have any tips?
You can choose this Minor for many reasons; because you don't know what career you want, because you like to be practical, or because one of the themes interests you. Actually, all motivations are good, and I think you can get a lot out of this Minor. However, if you are not open to it and do not show any commitment, you will get less out of it than is possible and your satisfaction will be much less. If you enter this Minor with an open, inquisitive and social attitude, I am sure that you will make many nice new contacts and learn a lot about yourself and your future. With this Minor you really have the chance to work on yourself and make yourself even better!
Luna about her placement
Luna Dupalo, third-year International Relations student, decided to do a Career Minor and placement. We asked her how she came to that choice, what the Minor is about, and what her biggest lessons were.
This time last year, you had to choose a Minor. How did you approach this?
Going to the Minor Information Session is what helped me the most in making the decision. There I talked to the Minor coordinators about what I could learn from each Minor. After that, I could carefully think about what I wanted to accomplish and which Minor would fit the best.
Why did you end up choosing the Career Minor?
With my Minor, I wanted to get a better idea of what I want to do after university. During the information session, it quickly became clear that the focus of the Career Minor is on preparing you for the job market. You do this not only by learning various employability skills, but also by exploring your own ambitions. Another thing that really appealed to me about the Career Minor was the opportunity to do a placement. I saw that as an ideal combination; first - develop skills, and later apply them in practice. This way, I hoped that by the end of the Minor, I would have a better idea of what direction I wanted to take.
So during the second block of the Career Minor, you chose a placement. Do you also get to personalise the first block?
Yes, you get to choose your own theme module in the first block of the Career Minor. For two days a week, you can pick a theme that fits your interests. I chose the Vrede en Veiligheid theme because I had heard many good stories about it. You could also choose the Working in Governance theme, which might have been a more logical step for an International Relations student, but I wanted something different. I found it interesting to delve into a topic that I knew little about.
What did the theme course Vrede en Veiligheid look like?
Along with thirty other students, I had guest lectures, a UN simulation, and a number of field trips. For example, we went to the Ministry of Defense, the Royal Military Academy, and a military barracks (where we were even allowed to shoot guns!), and we were assigned by the Municipality of Groningen to come up with a number of proposals to combat drug use among students. Of course you learn a lot from the guest speakers, but you also learn a lot from your fellow students with different academic backgrounds. Through the field trips and lectures, we also came into contact with many different types of people within the security domain. Through this network, I eventually ended up at my placement organization.
What did a day during the Career Minor look like for you?
With the Career Minor, they try to simulate working life. In block one I was in “school” all day, and in the second block I was doing a full-time placement from nine to five. That takes some getting used to, but you get a lot in return. Among other things, during the workshops you work on your personal development and find out what your ambitions are. But you also have keynotes, in which professionals talk about their careers and especially how they got there. This is very inspiring for your own future.
How would you explain the Career Minor in one sentence?
It is a diverse and interactive Minor, in which you will gain various skills, self-awareness, and work experience that will prepare you for the job market.
You complete the Career Minor with a placement, a business plan, or an assignment for a government agency, a company or a non-governmental institution. Why did you choose the placement?
I wanted to do a placement from the beginning, because I knew I would learn a lot from it. At first I thought I wasn't ready, but fortunately during the Career Minor I gained a lot of self-confidence. You learn so much from working directly with experienced colleagues!
Can you tell us a little bit about your placement and what you do there?
I am doing a placement at the Center for European Security Studies (CESS). CESS strives to improve political development, democracy, human rights, and in particular the security sector in countries in democratic transition. The project I have been involved in recently is the BIHOS project (Bosnia and Herzegovina Building Inclusive Oversight of Security). Here I was allowed to help organize a study visit of Bosnian MPs to The Hague where they got to see how Dutch institutions approach parliamentary oversight. I also got the chance to go to Sarajevo myself to help organize a training for parliamentary staff. Currently, I am mainly engaged in research and making an overview of the political situation in Bosnia for external trainers.
That sounds very useful!
Yes, that's also the reason I wanted to do a placement. All that theory at IR was and and all, but I didn't really know what I could do with that information so I wanted to do something in practice. Now I also notice that all that theoretical knowledge is good for something. It has given me self-confidence.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned?
I thought that with the Career Minor I would finally find out what I want to do after university. Well, I didn’t, but I did find out that there are so many directions you can take. Through all the keynotes and people who came to talk about this, I learned how “fluid” it is. It is okay if you don't have to know your end goal yet!
What is one concrete skill you will take with you to your job later?
What it has taught me most of all, is that I now know how to present myself. I can say what I stand for and what my strengths are. We had to pitch a lot. That was confronting, but it will help me in my job search later.
And the last question: do you have any advice for students who want to do the Career Minor?
If you know from the beginning that you want to do a placement, start looking right away. Many students find out too late that they want to do a placement. If you only start looking in October for a placement in November then you are too late.
Oh yeah and start exercising your arm muscles, because if you are late to a Career Minor lecture or workshop you need to do push-ups! One of the professors is former military.... ;)
Ditte about her practical team assignment
Ditte van Dalen about her practical team assignment:
The practical team assignment was by far the most insightful part of the career minor for me. It was something new and refreshing next to my academics, as I was allowed to work with and for a real established company. It was exciting to work on because the company’s work also directly linked to my personal and academic interests. The combination of elements of a professional working environment, getting to know and work with the amazing team I had, having to deliver a meaningful end-product to the client and expanding my network with very interesting people is what made this such a great experience. It is motivating and exciting to have to deliver an end-product to a real important client. Besides working for them you also get to know them through meetings and engaging discussions. Also, the part of working in a team adds meaningful challenges and most importantly lots of fun and interesting debate.
“A refreshing and new experience next to my academics, and the excitement to work towards delivering an end-product to a real client”
Bart about Humanities at Work
Bart van der Meulen about Humanities at Work:
Humanities at Work starts with an individual conversation with a coach. Who are you? What are your plans? I especially got stuck with the second question: I did not know what direction I wanted to take. As a Business Administration student I had many other interests as well! This course was therefore one of the reasons I chose the Career Minor. Here you are stimulated in a positive and professional manner to broaden your network by following workshops of professional coaches and experts from the field. You get to know yourself, you learn how you an professionally present yourself, and you discuss your developments weekly with your buddy by which you get stimulated to get to work. Next to this, the guest lectures helped me to construct a clearer image of a variety of specializations that I was not yet familiar with, related to the three themes. The guest lecturers came from top positions in different fields and enlightened us about their career path, by which you realize how many different paths there actually are! This provides perspective and gives to the rest to determine what you really want.
“The course of Humanities at Work has encouraged me to start working on my future. I now have a much clearer picture of what I want”
Esther about her practical team assignment
Esther Ploeger about the practical team assignment:
During the team assignment you get the chance to put your knowledge into practice. Together with my team I worked on finding a creative way to inform military forces about the culture in a possible deployment area. To achieve this we build an interactive website, that can be used by the client as a source of knowledge.
“It is a special experience to get the chance to work on a product that is actually going to be used. Next to the fact that I have learned how informative it is to function in an interdisciplinary team, I gained valuable insights in the activities of the client”.
Marije about the theme Peace & Security
Marije about the theme Peace & Security:
As an American Studies student I thought the theme of Peace & Security as part of the Career Minor was very interesting and refreshing. I really like my studies, but this team all of a sudden felt really concrete and close to me. During the period I followed the theme of Peace & Security I got to know lots of interesting people and I got to attend many exciting lectures. The guest lecturers had different functions within the department of Defense, the national police, the marshals, NCTV and the AIVD. Through these lectures you realize that so much safety issues arise below the surface of an organization where you were not aware of before. Also you hear about problems and dilemma’s about possible solutions and even about different visions regarding the right approach inside different departments in the security field. Next to this it is also interesting to be able to speak with people that work on the executive side as well as people that work on the policy-making side. As an average student who had not previously been very actively engaged in the security domain, a world sincerely opened up to me.