1. Tell us a little about yourself and your function at Twente Branding.
My name is Karin Louwers and my function as an account manager is very broad. The various tasks are; acquisition of new partners, relations management, contact with stakeholders and the educational partners Universiteit Twente, Saxion University of applied sciences and ROC. Also, keeping the Twente Careers job board up to date with my colleagues is one of my tasks.
2. What is the motivational driving force in your job at Twente Branding?
The driving force is that I, as a real ‘Tukker’ (born in - and after a small time back in Twente), think I have a real unique area in Holland where it is good to live and work. It is also a nice place to live for my husband and our two children.
3. What are the specific features of your job search engine that distinguish it form other portals?
The Twente.com job portal is special because of its content. Only jobs for higher educated professionals are shown, and the combination of these jobs and the internships and graduation assignments makes it THE job portal of the eastern part of The Netherlands.
4. What services does Twente Branding offer to expats?
Twente Branding has the job portal to offer, and we are as well the window for whatever is going on in the area. When Expats are in Twente, we have collaboration with the Expat Centre Twente. They organize events for expats, but they are also helpful with ‘daily matters’.
5. How is the market trend in expat recruitment developing in your region?
Companies in Twente get more used to expats and that is a good thing. We actually need more highly qualified professionals. There are just not enough Dutch professionals in certain fields of expertise, so we need expats. Big companies as Demcon, Siemens, Thales and Apollo post their jobs with us, and The University of Twente is also looking for professionals. Smaller companies are not used to this. That makes it a little bit more complicated, but we are working on that.
6. Describe the ideal expat candidate searching for and applying to jobs or to study via Twente Branding.
The ideal candidate is an IT engineer or other technical engineer. Almost 50% of our jobs are technical. Because of the University of Twente, with their wide range of technical studies, there are lot of spinoffs of the university.
7. What tips would you offer candidates applying for a position advertised on your portal that do not fit the ideal standard?
I always advise candidates to make a phone call to the recruitment department to explain their situation. 9 out of 10 candidates will be invited for an application.
8. What are the major challenges you expect Twente Branding to face in the coming years?
The major challenge is to find a way - with all the companies in Twente - to show what Twente has to offer, not to compete but to collaborate!
