18 July 2022
Up-and-coming expert Thomas van Huissteden has a lot of responsibility within his department, Employer Branding, which helps him build on his expertise as an Employer Brand Specialist. Thomas has an important role in attracting new talent to the bank and is also a board member of PRIDE+, the network for and by employees for LGBTI+ people.
I said a little too loudly that I would never work in a bank
While he had previously said that he would never work for a bank, he was curious to see what things were like in a corporate organisation. Thomas started as an intern and is by now a full-fledged colleague in Employer Branding. The possibilities of discovering the direction in which he wanted to develop himself as an intern then and as a starter now, the opportunities he saw for this and the security of working for a corporate organisation such as ABN AMRO appealed to him.
"There are so many possibilities in terms of training and development goals. But also discussions with, for example, a People Manager, who looks at how you want to develop as a person and what your goals are. I never had that in the past, so it takes some getting used to. There is still so much possible, and what do I want exactly?” Speaking of what he wants, he feels that he would above all like to take a more intensive look at large projects in order to further develop his consultancy skills. He regularly sits around the table with internal and external stakeholders and is allowed to set up contracts with preferred suppliers on his own, where these skills would come in handy.
No one day as an Employer Brand Specialist is the same and they can provide quite the challenge. "One minute I'm sitting around the table with a student association that wants to work with us. The other moment, I am running an experiment to see how we can best inform young people who are looking for an internship or starter job. But I'm also currently working on, for example, how we want to communicate about our sponsorship of The Next Web Conference on social media."
At ABN AMRO I have always felt able to say who I am
Thomas previously worked at Winq, the largest queer lifestyle magazine in the Netherlands. As a student, he also worked in a gay bar for a while, for which he did PR & social media. Because of this background, he has always had a connection with diversity and the LGBTI+ community. It makes him happy that he can also make a difference in his current job.
"For example, I pay a little more attention to certain things when I am looking for a job. Even if it’s only a page on the website about what the organisation does to promote diversity or what kind of networks there are within the organisation. Luckily, ABN AMRO seemed to have its house in order on that front. I can really bring my background into my work. Of course, inclusiveness and diversity are aspects of my job as an Employer Brand Specialist. After all, everyone should be welcome in an organisation, including people with a different sexual orientation, origin or religion. The fact that PRIDE+ also involves a great deal of inclusiveness makes it a great combination. I believe that what I am now working towards with PRIDE+, I incorporate into my job and vice versa."
Inclusiveness and diversity need to be embedded in your DNA
Thomas has always felt that he could be himself, but he knows very well that things could have gone differently. Fortunately, he has never felt disadvantaged by his orientation during his studies or career. However, he did notice during his minor in Sweden, for example, that inclusiveness and diversity are even more integrated into society there. He regularly has interesting conversations about this with his partner, friends and colleagues.
"There, for example, the difference between men and women has almost disappeared. Something that struck me was that they have almost no men's or women's toilets there. That is something I would like to see more of here. We should always keep looking for ways to improve things; inclusiveness and diversity need to become embedded in your DNA. I see a lot already happening at ABN AMRO in terms of inclusiveness and diversity, such as the PRIDE+ network, and I am very pleased that it allows me to contribute to the LGBTI+ community."
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