Frans - MSc Health & Nutrition - Data analyst Foodstep - March 2020

I'm Frans and working as a data-analyst for Foodstep, a market-intellegence company for the Dutch foodservice market. I found this job by googling on 'Foodservice', in combination with places around Wageningen. The search term 'Foodservice Ede' lead me to the website of Foodstep. The company had vacancies, but actually I wanted to have just coffee first, because I was investigating the possibility for a start-up at that time as well. After a night of good sleep, I grabbed my phone and asked for a coffee. A few weeks later I decided to bin the idea of the start-up and dedicated myself for this job.

At the end of my masters, I was quite nervous about applying for jobs. My study-focus had been on academic research, but I decided to switch to business. It felt strange to get to a company with a CV that was full of theoretic research. The MOS module for Career Development and Planning (ELS-65900) helped me to make a proper CV, and there was plenty of time for feedback rounds. One of the workshops gave me the opportunity to practice my job interview at CSK Food Enrichment. The CSK-recruiter and Astrid (teacher of the MOS-module) encouraged me to just start applying and try out. They gave me the push I needed.

My tip is to search for added value. What value do you want to add to a institution or organization or company? The better you can tell what drives you, the better you can draw the picture of how you can help them with their challenges. Ask for the challenges they face, and feel if these challenges resonate with your ambition.