“It's the tone that makes the music”

For over 25 years, we have been connecting organizations with the best marketing, communication and content professionals. We find suitable assignments or positions for junior, medior and senior professionals. In Spot On, we would like to introduce them to you. This time, Spot On: Anna ter Schegget, Content Coordinator, Communications Advisor and Editor at Babbage.

“I connect in both my singing and my work language en show to create a whole.”

For Anna it took a while before she knew which direction she wanted to go after her studies at the conservatory. She grew up with the expectation of working in music, but after some sidetracks she chose a different path. A path in which music as a creative form still plays an important role. Because in the world of communication and in that of music it is all about the tone you strike. 

Anna: “I come from a real musical family. My father is a recorder player and main subject teacher at the Utrecht Conservatory, my mother is a pianist and singer and my sister is a violinist. So music was instilled in me from an early age. I especially liked theatre, the creativity of singing and the application of language. As a child, I looked more outward at school, I preferred to be on stage. I had 2 great loves: singing and language. I got threes for mathematics and tens for Dutch. I read a lot and writing came easily to me. So studying Dutch was an obvious choice. Only I had no idea what I could do with it. Yes, teaching, but nothing more.” 

Off the path

“But still, I – blood is thicker than water – first went to the conservatory. As I got older, I wondered whether I shouldn’t go in a different direction, or make a combination. I also had other interests, for example, I have always been interested in social work and I found the editorial side of writing interesting. After my bachelor’s degree at the conservatory, I therefore did a traineeship in Social Work. I learned at my first job that I enjoy maintaining (business) relationships, coordinating people and work and less in providing care itself. So I looked for the ideal combination.”

Talent + passion = perspective

Anna gained her first work experience in marketing and communication in relationship management & marketing-communication functions at music-related organizations. Anna: “I increasingly discovered that language is my strength and that working in the communication sector offers me opportunities. I see a great connection between language sensitivity and singing. Singing is not just about being able to sing well, but also about how you convey the text with your voice and let it reach people. Singing and language make music become one, merge. It is about rhythm, what is emphasized or should be emphasized. I also use that in my daily work as a content specialist, I connect language and tone to create a whole, an image, something that comes to life for people. I knew what I wanted by then, working in communication with language as my strength. And then Babbage came my way.”

“In recent times I have been able to develop myself even further in various positions and at various organizations."

Specialist at Babbage

Anna has been working at the in-house agency of Babbage Company for over a year now, where she coordinates communications, advises herself and creates content for multiple clients. Such as for the GGD, VNG and the Tax Authorities. It is precisely this variety that she likes: "if you look at my career, you will see that I have many different interests. This is fully reflected at Babbage, because not only do I have varied functions (from communications advice to editing), but there is also a lot of variety in terms of clients. That makes it challenging!"

Not only in her position, but also in the team Anna is completely at home. “We have a small permanent core team in-house. As colleagues we are very different, but that makes us strong because we complement each other. It also makes us flexible and ensures that we can be called upon for both communication and content, for both long and short periods.”

A department full of development

The in-house agency for communication and content has developed enormously in the meantime. “It almost feels like a child that has grown up! We work for both large government agencies and smaller organizations. We do this with our own team, we work with permanent partner agencies on large assignments and have a large network of ZZP specialists that we can use.”

“I have also been able to develop myself a lot within the agency. I started as Content Coordinator, but in my second week I was already put out as an editor. A real leap into the unknown, which I personally really enjoy. In recent times I have been able to develop myself even more in different functions and at different organizations.”

“I have also followed many trainings through Babbage in the field of content and editing. In the coming period I want to grow further in communication advice through a training, to further substantiate my skills theoretically. It is great that Babbage gives me the opportunity to develop further in this.”

Are you also looking for a new challenge? We would love to talk to you and find your next step together.