Work experience

I started my career in retail at Dirk van den Broek, where I worked as a bakery employee and fresh produce employee for five years. My time there was dedicated to efficiently managing the bakery department and providing products to our customers. Here I learned to deal with time management. Working in a supermarket means working with tight schedules and deadlines. I learned to manage my time efficiently and complete tasks within a given time limit. In addition, it has made me appreciate the value of hard work, commitment and perseverance because working in a supermarket can be physically and mentally demanding.

In addition to Dirk van den Broek, I also worked at G4S during the corona period, where I was responsible for checking COVID documents for passengers traveling to the United Kingdom for six months. My focus was on scrupulous compliance with the applicable health regulations. During my work at G4S I met many different people with different origins and cultures. Besides the fact that I often have a friendly chat with people, it was also common that people did not have their documents in order. At such a moment you have to explain to people that they have done something wrong and may not be able to catch their flight. Because you have to communicate with so many different people in a clear, transparent and respectful way, I have developed my communication skills enormously here. In addition, I learned here to work with accuracy and precision. When checking such documents, accuracy is of the utmost importance. Even small errors can have major consequences for travelers and regulatory compliance. It therefore required an eye for detail and consistency.

My professional path then led me to the aviation sector, where I started working as a passenger service agent at KLM. Within this role, I was responsible for coordinating the boarding process, checking in passengers, providing information to travelers and ensuring a seamless travel experience. During my work as a service agent I have developed several skills. This is how I learned to deal with passengers from different backgrounds, with different needs. This required customer focus and empathy. You learn to listen and respond to the needs and concerns of the passengers, which has contributed to developing my empathy. In addition, working at the airport was often quite hectic during the period that I worked there. I worked at Schiphol during the period of long lines and many staff shortages throughout Schiphol. This caused many people to miss their flights. This has taught me how to deal with stressful situations while performing multiple tasks at the same time, and how to prioritize to make everything run as smoothly as possible. Of course, I did not do this alone, but with a team of people. Because you have to rely a lot on each other and respond to each other in difficult situations, I have developed my collaboration and communication skills a lot further. During this work I also faced many challenges, such as last-minute changes in flight schedules or passenger problems. This has improved my ability to make quick decisions and solve problems effectively.

With a year of experience as a passenger service agent at KLM, and a background in both the retail and security sectors, I have developed a wide range of skills.