Can you introduce yourself?
Hello everyone, my name is Noortje and I’m in my fourth semester here at UCR and I’m a Psychology and Law major. I work at the Hotel Roosevelt in Middelburg and I’m a student assistant at the Social Science department.
What do you do at your jobs?
At the hotel I work in the restaurant, I take orders, sometimes helping the chef prepare the food. Sometimes I check people in when they arrive.
When did you start working there?
I started working there at the end of my first year, so almost a year now. I didn’t want to work in my first year, I wanted to focus on school and social life. But then I wanted to get a job for the summer and I liked it so I was able to continue my work there.
What about your job in the Social Science department?
Basically the head of the department mentioned in class that there was a student assistant position that was available. I applied to that because I thought it was gonna be good experience and something other than working at a restaurant, which is what I’ve been doing since I was 15, and this was a completely different field. What I do for that job is some research, findings articles, printing things, and scheduling meetings, just a lot of different tasks.
How do you manage both school and work?
It’s really easy to combine those things because work for university I can do that on my own time and at the hotel I usually work 2 to 3 times a week, so it’s not difficult, but it does require commitment.
How did you find a job at the hotel?
Because of covid there was a lot of jobs available in horeca, restaurants, cafes and bars. I think someone I know also worked at the hotel, and I just sent them an email and they replied back and that worked out really well. There’s a couple of other UCR students that work there as well, and it’s good hours because it’s not too busy at the restaurant.
What can students here do in order to find a job in Middelburg?
If you are looking for a job while studying it’s really important to just reach out to cafes, restaurants whatever you want to do. Those are kind of the easiest jobs to get here, especially if you’re not Dutch. You can send them an email or pass by them, they’re always willing to help. If you have connections and maybe know people who work somewhere then you can reach out to them and ask them if there are any opportunities available there.
Any final thoughts?
Yeah, Middelburg is full of places where you can work and it has a lot of opportunities so I say just get out there and you’ll definitely find the job you’re looking for!