“As a student employee at TRIMM, you get a lot of responsibility, and also a lot of appreciation for everything you do”

“As a student employee at TRIMM, you get a lot of responsibility, and also a lot of appreciation for everything you do”

Bart Zomer is currently working as a student employee at TRIMM's Performance Cloud. This is a separate organization as part of TRIMM. In this interview he tells all about his experiences.

Hi Bart, which study are you currently following?

Currently I am following the HBO-ICT study, in the direction IT Service Management at Saxion Enschede. I am in my final year, so this year I will graduate.

What are you doing at TRIMM?

Within Performance Cloud we deal with system management and hosting. I am mainly concerned with picking up second-line tickets. These are problems that cannot be solved immediately because they are technically complex. Since I am a student employee and therefore part of PiT, TRIMM's talent development program, there is a lot of room for learning. For this reason, I am free to take up various projects in which I am well supervised. This can vary from setting up entire infrastructures to, for example, complete migrations to the Cloud.

How did you end up at TRIMM?

I was in the first year of my studies and was working in the room of my study association when all of the tables were suddenly pushed aside. I was asked to leave because a networking drink was about to start. This seemed interesting to me so I decided to stay for a while. There were only companies looking for programmers and software engineers. Then Joeri, the HR employee of TRIMM at that time, came to me with the question if there was something interesting for me. I told him that there weren't really relevant companies for my direction, IT Service Management. Joeri indicated that he still had a vacancy for me in system management. He talked about the work and the PiT program. That same week I immediately applied and then got the job. So it really came my way!

That is why I have been working here for 2.5 years now. First as a student employee, then as an intern and now I am working as a student employee again. I also think it would be fun to graduate here.

So you like it here?

I like it very much! There is a very nice working atmosphere and I really see it as one big TRIMM family. The atmosphere is quite informal, which means there is also room for humor in addition to the activities. Every day is a new experience and there are always new challenges that come my way. There is a lot of room for knowledge sharing and development, which really appeals to me. Let me put it this way: at TRIMM you get a lot of responsibility and a lot of appreciation for what you do.

What exactly does a working day look like for you?

I start in the morning by looking through the ticket system. This is where the second-line customer questions, problems and malfunctions come in. I look at the tickets with the most priority and then go to work on them. In addition to resolving tickets, as a student employee, I am also responsible for checking these tickets. This means that I ask within the team about the status of a ticket if it has been open for a while. We do this during the stand-ups. During these stand-ups we discuss all current business projects and there is also room for giving or receiving advice.

In addition to picking up second-line tickets, I also work on my own projects and assignments, such as automating work processes or finding out new techniques. As a student employee you are given the space to work on this. For example, I implemented a complete migration process from start to finish for a customer. For this I also conducted customer meetings which I found very interesting. Every day is different and you never know what tomorrow will bring.

How do you experience the guidance?

Before corona time, everyone was in the office and guidance was easier. You could easily approach someone with your question. It is sometimes difficult to ask for guidance at home, but everyone is willing to help you; if you have any questions you can always call. So although guidance has changed since working from home, efforts are still being made to properly guide student employees.

What are the differences between your period as a working student and your period as an intern?

As a student employee I have a contract of 12 hours, and when I became an intern I went to 40 hours. During my time as an intern, I knew exactly what was going on because I was there every day. When I became a student employee again (and therefore started working 12 hours a week again), I noticed that a 12-hour work week is quickly over and that a lot of information can pass you by. It takes some time getting used to, but thanks to the stand-ups you can still keep up to date with what's going on in the team. As an intern and as a student employee you actually get the same amount of responsibilities. After all, you are part of PiT in both positions. So I have not experienced much difference.

Would you like to return to TRIMM after your studies?

Yes certainly! I think it would be great fun to graduate within TRIMM and to work there after completing my studies. The close relationship of the team and the challenges in the work are the main reasons for this.

Thanks, Bart!

Would you also like to become a student employee or to graduate at TRIMM? You can read all about it here!