It’s okay to change the destination, as long as you have a target in mind.
This is Tessa, our city coordinator for Delft & the Hague
Growing up in the US, Tessa was inspired by her dad – a successful businessman – and decided to attend Business School in Washington DC. She was business savvy like her dad, but also inherited the creative side of her mom. This mix of business & creativity and inspired by her parents she was drawn to the field of advertising. During university, her team won a regional advertising competition. They wrote a campaign for The New York Times, which she presented in the World Trade Center one year before 9/11.
An important (double move)
After her studies, she got her first job with the help of a neighbor of her parents, who was the VP of an advertising agency.
“But I soon realized that the field had changed since my dad had started in 1965, and that I actually wanted to do the marketing work my clients were doing. This often required an MBA, so I decided to explore my roots and moved to The Netherlands.”
“During my MBA, I met my husband, which is why I am still here.” 😉
An Open mindset
After her MBA, she made a career switch. “The job market was horrible, so I started at an agency again. Then, I got a job at GE Plastics as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, but realized that manufacturing is not my thing.” Finally, she was recruited by ABN AMRO to improve their business processes.
“Never in the world did I think I would work for a bank. But when you are open to things, they can really surprise you.” She stayed at ABN AMRO for 12 years and learned all about the dynamic world of banking.
Launch into entrepreneurship
In 2018, Tessa left ABN AMRO during a reorganization and joined a start-up. This didn’t work out but did launch her into entrepreneurship.
“I started as a freelancer at the beginning of 2020 and was networking like crazy. That’s when I joined Masters of Scale International as a co-founder. I’ve learned more in the past 2 years than in the 20 years before that.”
Tessa’s top 3 pieces of career advice:
- Always go to your manager/client with a possible solution and not only a problem.
- “One of my mentors challenged me to think about where I want to be in 10 years. Think of it like islands, he said. You set course to an island, and you can always change the island, but it’s important to have a target in mind.”
- You can’t just expect things to fall in your lap. You need to take action. You’re in control of your own destiny, although not everything will go your way.