I have explained my interest in sustainability and how it has led to making an impact
professionally. And that was the initial focus of my graduation project. In the process, however,
my focus changed to an entirely different challenge. A challenge which does not only cover other
themes but is also aimed at a different target group, namely young professionals. Especially
young professionals who experience the challenge of not knowing what their goals and
ambitions are and who are unsure which steps they want to make. You can read more about this
in my graduation project report. In this blog, I will discuss why I am interested in this challenge
and how that might influence my career path.

The most obvious reason for my interest in this target group is that I am part of it. I can relate to
the challenge of not knowing what to do after graduating, what my ambitions and goals are, how
to achieve them and find out what professional life path fits me. Another reason why I am
passionate about co-creating with this group is that I have always been curious about guiding
and coaching people. When I left high school, I was not certain about my interests and
capabilities. Eventually, I found it hard to choose between International Leisure Management
and Psychology. Luckily, I now know for certain this education was the right choice for me. At the
same time, I am still very interested in elements of psychology such as guiding others, listening
to their opinions and challenges and guiding them in finding solutions and opportunities. That is
why these aspects return in many of my projects. I guide organisations and target groups in
creating these opportunities and solutions. Sometimes I wonder whether I can continue
practising all of these activities, in my own professional way, in an organisation. Even without
having a diploma in Psychology or Social Work.

In spite of my doubts, I am eager to focus on this particular ambition and goal, even though it is
uncertain and challenging at times. This mostly has to do with the fact that it is very unclear to
me how I can practise this role. What possibilities do I have to make a positive impact with young
professionals? I want to pursue this exciting question to see how I could achieve this in my
present /current job, even though, it scares me to think about leaving my current job.

Why do I expect employment to be restrictive? Firstly, working for a company does not allow you
to decide who you will collaborate with and for how long. While I was studying social innovation, I
did various projects that can be compared to entrepreneurship. Why? Because you determine
with who you will collaborate and for what period of time. You can even decide to have various
projects at the same time. To me, this felt like heaven, experiencing different tasks each day,
getting inspired by various approaches and companies, co-creating with many different groups
of people and most of all, creating a positive impact in my own way. I notice that I cannot
practise this in my current job. Perhaps, this is just the case in my current job, which is why I am
following a lot of entrepreneurs on social media and they all mention this is what they used to
experience when working for a company. They all present entrepreneurship as the solution on a
silver platter. This makes me curious and hungry for more information, examples and stories.
This is why I will attend a webinar about entrepreneurship and Digital Nomads. I am looking
forward to seeing what this can bring me, what this can lead to and how I can make more impact
professionally.