'It feels really good that someone is investing in me.' Anneloes shares her experience as a Communications Consultant at Babbage

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: Anneloes Wagenaar Hummelinck, Communication Consultant at Babbage and seconded on various assignments. She wrote this article about secondment via Babbage.

Everyone at Babbage sees the person behind the professional.

“We are actually one big family here,” is how Lotte Biesenbeek, Recruitment Consultant at Babbage, described the organization to me. And that is true. There is no internal conflict among colleagues, as can sometimes be the case, but only team spirit and respect for each other. That is because everyone at Babbage sees the person behind the professional. And that is a pleasant experience.

A long run-up

Babbage and I 'go way back'. When I graduated in 2010, it was a crisis. An economic crisis, recessions... One quarter was worse than the other and the unemployment figures kept rising. Not really a pleasant period to enter the labor market. I worked in shops and tried in all sorts of ways to find a job in the communications field. But yes, as a recent graduate with little relevant work experience, it is difficult to get in. Especially when there is a global recession. Many employment agencies responded with a standard rejection email to my CV and application, but Babbage saw my potential and an intake interview followed. Unfortunately, the position passed me by, but I do remember the pleasant conversation. The focus was on me as a person and there was a very pleasant atmosphere in the office. 

Persistence pays off and I managed to secure a job that matched my studies at a large healthcare organization. The beginning of my communications career. I rolled from assignment to assignment, sometimes arranged myself, sometimes via secondment or employment agencies, and built up my resume in this way.

Job applications in uncertain times of corona 

Fast forward from 2011 to 2020: after maternity leave I was looking for a new assignment. Not easy, because corona had broken out and the labor market was, in my opinion, locked down. Job interviews were not conducted in anticipation of what might come. After a few months people got used to the situation: everyone was working from home instead of the office, so why couldn't job interviews be conducted from home? Fortunately, recruiters and companies saw this too, and so vacancies started appearing online again.

When I saw an interesting vacancy on the Babbage website, I immediately called. Despite the fact that all conversations were by phone or online, I was struck by how pleasant the contact with everyone at Babbage was. I am always nervous about job interviews. My Recruitment Consultant knows this and therefore takes all the time to prepare me well for the interview. And not without reason, because I got the job! That is how the collaboration between Babbage and me began.

Towards the end of my last assignment I was asked if I would be interested in joining Babbage as a 'permanent seconded employee', i.e. Communication Consultant. In that role you are seconded to various assignments. Based on my exclusively positive experiences I said 'Yes'! 

Getting started as a Communications Consultant

As a permanent seconded employee, I quickly landed my first assignment: communications advisor (ai) at the Talking Traffic project of Rijkswaterstaat. Here I discovered that there is a whole world behind our extensive, well-maintained road network and that people are working 24/7 to ensure that we can all drive safely. That alone made the assignment super interesting. 

Also interesting: data plays an increasingly important role in improving our road use. This data, obtained via route apps on your phone or in your car, ensures, for example, that traffic jams are avoided and that you are offered a diversion route in time if an accident has occurred. It is therefore logical that my projects mainly had to do with data.

The most interesting project I found was a new system that was rolled out in all five traffic control centres of Rijkswaterstaat. I was allowed to interview many people for this and write very visually designed newsletters, which allowed me to get to know the organisation and atmosphere within Rijkswaterstaat well. At each traffic control centre that switched to the new system, we were treated to cake and bubbles. So I ate a lot of cake during that period. You have to celebrate successes, right?

The benefits of a Babbage Professional

Being employed as a Communications Advisor at Babbage on a permanent basis. One of the advantages I find is the opportunity to follow education and training and to have regular personal coaching sessions. That feels like a luxury, because I have never had that opportunity before with temporary assignments. The fact that they are now investing in me feels really good! Another advantage of secondment is that I get the chance to take a look behind the scenes of many different companies. Many assignments run for 1 to 2 years, which means that you work for many different (large) organisations over time. In addition, Babbage has some of the best partners in its portfolio, so there is always an interesting vacancy somewhere. 

Another big advantage: Babbage pays my salary. And that gives me peace of mind. My assignment may end, but my contract with Babbage does not. So if I don't start a new assignment right away, I pick up projects and take work off the hands of my Babbage colleagues. And there is always enough to do, so I never get bored! I work hybrid and go to the office once a week. It is very nice to see everyone in real life and experience that pleasant atmosphere. 

As a team, we celebrate each other 's successes and everyone supports one another.

The Babbage family at its best

Of course, they are also eagerly looking for a new assignment. As soon as something comes in that might be interesting for me, I get a text message or a call: 'Did you see my text message? Is it something for you?' Not only does my permanent Recruitment Consultant keep her eyes open for me, the entire team is involved and helps each other. I also get vacancies passed on to me by everyone. They always take my interests, experience and personal situation into account: before they forward a vacancy, for example, they have already checked whether it is hybrid. And whether the number of hours that I can work at most is an option. As a team, we celebrate each other's successes and everyone thinks along with each other. This is partly why Babbage feels like one big family.

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