Graduation in People & Organisation: Maartje’s experience🎓
A very exciting time: graduating. For Creative Business student Maartje, this took place at Booking Experts, within the People & Organisation team (HR). In this blog, she looks back on her graduation period, what she learned, and how she developed herself at BEX. Her graduation supervisor Charlotte also shares her experience of working together and Maartje’s growth during this time.
Where it all started
At first, Maartje was looking for a graduation project within a traditional marketing topic. Through a mutual contact, she ended up at Booking Experts, where there was an interesting and creative challenge within Recruitment Marketing.
This was not exactly what she had in mind at first. She was mainly thinking about standard marketing departments, but recruitment marketing turned out to be a very different and surprisingly fun part of marketing.
After an initial conversation with Lars (Teamlead People & Organisation) and Charlotte (Recruitment Marketeer), things quickly became clear. She immediately felt a connection with the team, and the assignment also really appealed to her.
Maartje: "I went into the conversation not really knowing what to expect, but I quickly felt excited. The atmosphere, the team and the assignment just felt right."
Working on Employer Branding
During her graduation period, Maartje worked on an employer branding challenge: how can Booking Experts strengthen its identity as an employer and improve the way it fills job openings?
Employer branding is about how a company presents itself as an employer and how potential candidates experience what the company stands for.
Based on research among employees, the job market, and the current positioning of Booking Experts, she developed a concept for the careers page.
Maartje: "I created a wireframe that helps show better who Booking Experts is as an employer. This way, candidates already get a good idea of what it’s like to work here before they apply."
Learning and graduating at Booking Experts
Even though it was not a working internship, Maartje quickly felt like part of the team. Through meetings, knowledge sessions, trainings via StudyTube (e-learning), and the open atmosphere, she got a real look behind the scenes at Booking Experts.
Maartje: "From the start, I really felt like part of the team, even though I was only here for my graduation project."
What stood out most to Maartje was the mix of trust and flexibility she got during her time here. She had the freedom to organise her own work and could work both in the office and from home, depending on what worked best for her.
Guidance also played a big role. With Charlotte, she could regularly talk things through, brainstorm together, and improve her ideas. A quick chat in the office or a call from home made it easy to move forward whenever she got stuck.
On top of that, it was often the small things that made the experience so good: having lunch together, going for a walk, or chatting with colleagues. There was always a nice and friendly atmosphere, but nothing was forced — you could choose what worked for you.
Maartje: "Those informal moments and the nice atmosphere really made it a great time for me."
What she takes with her
What Maartje takes with her into the future from this graduation period? More confidence in her own ideas and creativity. By getting the space to work independently and contribute her own input, her confidence grew. She also learned how to plan better: using an Asana board helped her keep overview and structure her work.
Maartje: “You should really believe in what you can do. You don’t have to be insecure about it, even if you sometimes doubt your own work.”
Ready to start your own graduation project?
Maartje’s experience shows that graduating at Booking Experts is all about learning in practice, developing yourself, and working together with colleagues. Whether you are interested in HR, marketing, or still exploring what fits you best: at BEX you get the space to grow and experience real working life up close.
Curious if there is a graduation or internship opportunity for you? Feel free to check our vacancies or send us an open application. 👇
