Step Aboard • Dare to challenge yourself like Azra Talic did last year!

Have you ever thought about doing a board year? It’s a perfect addition to any curriculum vitae and definitely a lot of fun. To give you an idea of what you can expect, we asked Azra Talic about her experience as last year’s Career Officer!

Introduction

Hi everybody! A quick intro: my name is Azra, 24 years old, living in Amsterdam and currently I am a working student at Beiersdorf, known for its brands like Nivea, Eucerin, Hansaplast and more. I did my Bachelor IBA at the VU, went on exchange to Lisbon, and did an extra specialization. 

How did you get into Aureus?

In my first year, I joined the Aureus trips (like the EST and the Bachelor trip) and attended their after-exam drinks. Then I realized there was more to it and I could really develop myself further by becoming a committee member. In my second year, I became a committee member. First, I was part of a social committee and after that, I joined a career committee. After my Bachelors’s, I decided to take the next step in developing myself and applied for a board year. After going through the selection procedure, I got a call whether I wanted to be in the 70th board of Aureus. I was extremely happy with the news that I got to fulfill the position of Career Officer.

What did you spend your time on and what has it taught you?

As the Career Officer, my main responsibility was to create synergy between the different career events. This sounds really cool, but this basically comes down to brainstorming and implementing how to stay relevant for the students in terms of their career and their step after their studies. Aureus organizes many career events throughout the year to prepare the students of the SBE for the job market. Most of my time was spent coordinating the different committees behind all these events. It has taught me a lot about the coordination of teams, how to manage people, how to manage time, and, in terms of strategy, how to stay relevant for students and companies while innovating these events.

Apart from being busy with the committees, I also spent my time on company visits together with our Commercial Officer. We brainstormed with the company on how they can get to know and stay relevant to students, the different ways students get to know a company, and what students want to see from them. This has taught me more about relationship management and to look at things from different perspectives.

So why should people do a board year?

I have really, really – (words cannot express) – enjoyed my board year more than I could have imagined beforehand. Although being confronted with every side of yourself can be intimidating at times, it eventually taught me what gives me energy, what kind of work environment I work best in, which skills are my strengths, and what I have yet to learn. It is a perfect combination of working hard and enjoying the fun of student life. I can truly say I have made friends for life, met loads of people across the country and definitely expanded my network. I can only advise you to step aboard! 😉

Did Azra spark your interest in a board year? Great! You can look here to find all the basic info, including the selection procedure. If you are in need of even more information, you can contact the board via [email protected] to get your personal copy of the information brochure that will provide you with more insights into the Board Year. So, dare to challenge yourself and Step Aboard!