Femke Gobius du Sart: Adapting to a new reality Starting a job during a pandemic can be challenging but with the combination of having the right mindset and paying extra attention to a good onboarding process, anything is possible. “When I was looking for a new job during Covid-19, I was bracing myself for quite the challenge and a bumpy road. I wasn’t sure what direction I should go to until I found a job advertisement for a Technical Author, and I instantly knew what I wanted to do,” Femke explains. Femke Gobius du Sart is currently working at Etteplan’s Eindhoven office in the Netherlands as a Technical Author, in exactly the position that called her name in the job ad. Where other companies require previous experience in technical documentation or a technical background, Etteplan takes another approach. Femke proved herself through an ability to structure information, to keep an overview as well as the end goal in mind; a lack of previous technical experience was not a deal breaker. The most important thing is to have an open mind and not be afraid to ask questions - these are the kind of people Etteplan loves to meet. Untapped potential is a source of talent! When you get hired and start a new job in the middle of a hard lockdown, you know that your start will be different. However, Femke had years of experience working from a home office. “That has definitely helped me a lot. I was already used to working online and meeting people digitally.” Etteplan has adapted to the new reality very well and the high quality of the onboarding process for Femke was important. This phase included personal (online) contact with her direct colleagues, meeting a lot of new people and naturally, training on the job. “My appointed buddy, my Team Lead and other colleagues had an incredibly good eye for when to go forward and when to give me some extra time to process all the new information... Guidance is constantly available and senior writers make the time to help you whenever needed,” Femke shares. The flexibility that Etteplan offers when it comes to working hours, is a very big plus. You can be an early bird or a night owl, or take a longer break in the middle of the day to go for a run. As long as you get your work done and are available for client meetings and internal talks, you are free to choose the hours that work for you. “The fact that I can work on a flexible schedule means that it is easy to balance work and life. Etteplan actively promotes a healthy lifestyle with these flexible hours, but also with social events like EtteplanGO. This is another reason that I feel totally at home at Etteplan.”
