It’s time for our September Employee in the Spotlight! Last month we interviewed one of our newest colleagues Haris from the development team. This month, we’re switching gears and would like to introduce you to our Office Manager, Tessa Goudswaard.
Meet Tessa. Tessa started at Mopinion just 7 months ago as our Office Manager. She’s the friendly face that greets all of our customers before meetings, organises and coordinates our office administration (i.e. personnel, finance and recruitment activities) and plans our amazing team events. But in her free time, she’s either having dinner and drinks with friends, traveling or watching Netflix on the couch with her cat, Banshee.
We recently sat down with Tessa to talk about what it’s like to work at Mopinion. Here’s what she had to say…
What does your position at Mopinion entail?
‘I am the Office Manager here at Mopinion and that basically entails taking care of all office-related activities such as keeping up supplies and making sure the employees have what they need. I am also responsible for all HR activities (from recruitment to employee onboarding), some finance administration and organising events, including our two big team events, the WinterJam and the SummerJam!’
What initially drew you to Mopinion?
‘I was looking for a small company that had short lines of communication and it turned out Mopinion was the perfect fit. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the office is just a five minute walk from my house,’ she laughs.
What does a typical work day look like for you?
‘Every day is different from the next. It starts off the same with me being the first one in the office and running through my emails. After I’m all caught up, I’ll start prioritising my tasks based on incoming payments and emails. Since we are a growing company, I am also working on professionalising our employee administration and various office re-organisation tasks.’
What is your favorite part about working at Mopinion?
‘I like the fact that while I have a lot of different responsibilities within my role,I still have the space and freedom to choose how I carry out those responsibilities. No one is ‘breathing down my neck’.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your job?
My biggest challenge is that I have to learn a lot by doing! There are topics that I didn’t really know a lot about when I first started out. For example, there are certain aspects around Finance and Recruitment such as Employee Conditions, that have proven to be pretty complex. My position requires me to understand these topics thoroughly so I’ve had to do quite a bit of research to fully understand them.
What is your proudest moment at Mopinion?
‘Probably planning this past summer’s team event at the Efteling! It was a big project, planning an event like that for the whole team and it turned out to be a great success. Everyone had a lot of fun and it was a nice opportunity for some team bonding.’
So what is Tessa like outside of work?
What is your guilty pleasure?
‘Hmmm, well I can watch Mamma Mia pretty much everyday so I guess that.’
Who inspires you?
‘Famous Dutch Youtuber, Claire Lucia. She’s originally from Breda, the Netherlands and recently moved to New York on her own. I really admire that she just dropped everything, moved to NY and started a life there (despite the fact that her family and boyfriend live in Holland). To me, she’s really someone who knows what she wants and has a great personality, which is fun to watch.’
What is one thing you can’t live without?
My cat, Banshee.
What is your favorite quote?
Je bent een pyramide, alles glijdt van je af’
This is her favorite Dutch expression for, ‘Everything is gonna be fine’.
What do you like to do in your free time?
‘If I’m honest, I’m usually doing one of two things. Either drinking, eating and going out with friends or sitting on the couch with my cat watching Netflix. But I also love going on short weekend trips to cities in Europe with friends.’
What is your biggest fear?
‘Plane crashes & snakes.’
Source: Snakes on a plane
What is something that not many people know about you?
‘I’m a certified Dolphin trainer. Many years ago, I took summer Dolphin training courses in Curacao. I learned how to teach them tricks like singing, jumping and pushing me through the water with their nose. I even kept in touch with a biologist who was studying dolphins in the wild.’
Stay tuned for more!
We hope you enjoyed this month’s Employee in the Spotlight! Stay tuned for our October spotlight…
