Apply for a committee

Why you should apply for a committee

Joining a committee offers you many great opportunities. Not only will you be responsible for an event or project, you will have loads of fun while doing it! Whether it is planning a trip, organizing an event or managing your own project, you get to work in a dedicated team with students equally as excited as you are. Sounds good thus far? Then we suggest you read along!

Valuable Experience

Every committee offers a number of roles you can fill. These roles are specified towards developing certain competencies applicable for your later career. Do you have a creative brain? Are you good at managing organisation and planning? Do you have it in you to be an authentic leader? Or, are you capable of networking or closing a deal with a big company? If the answer to any of the previous questions is a yes, then committees definitely have some vacancies available just for you!

The many committees mainly offer either a Chairman role, Marketing position or Commercial roles. Job descriptions can be found on the associations’ websites, however, below we will present you with a general description of what to expect.

THE CREATIVE MIND

MARKETING

Your task is to market your project and communicate your vision during for example a promotional period to all participants, students, companies and other stakeholders. As the commissioner of Marketing you will flood the campus with your campaign! Additionally, you must think of ways to spend the marketing budget wisely. Your greatest challenge is to be creative, responsible and reach your goals.

SELL THE VISION

COMMERCIAL

In this position, you’ll oversee supplying the project with financial input and resources needed to fund the project. You will be responsible for obtaining a commercial target and convincing companies of the vision of your committee.

LEADER OF A TEAM

CHAIRMAN

The leader, motivator, supporter and coordinator of a project. Being a chairman is a diverse function which requires strong communication skills and a sense of responsibility. Next to that, the chairman is responsible for the committee’s budget. As Chairman, your main task is to keep the overview. Are all tasks performed by your committee members? Is everyone having fun? Those will be questions you should ask yourself during your term. Lastly, you are the link between your committee and board members, possible supervisors and other committees.

Enhancing your CV

Through a committee, you can gain experiences you can show on your CV. What were you responsible for in your committee role, and most importantly, what did you achieve? Recruiters are interested in students that participate in extracurricular activities, and are actively enthusiastic to learn. If you can show your personal achievements and developments during your committee term in your CV, recruiters will certainly be interested to learn more about you.

The - slightly more - Fun Part

Joining a committee not only offers you the opportunity to enhance your skills and make new friends it also allows you o to have the best time of your life at the many association parties or (networking) drinks.

Committees organize internal teambuilding activities, which include - but are certainly not limited to ;) - weekly dinners and (the occasional) going out and having drinks. Then, associations are known to organise several active member’s weekends, trips and team or skill building activities. Together with your teammates and friends, these events create experiences worth remembering.

How do you apply?

Come to one or more Recruitment Drinks and get to know the people at the assocaitons. Check out recruitment brochures, the associations’ websites or Instagram for more information on Recruitment deadlines and more.

Check if the recruitment period is open! The part-time recruitment will open toward the end and start of the academic year. For example, the application the ER team of Erasmus Recruitment opens in June and September. For more information, visit the associations website frequently and keep an eye out for their Instagram posts!

Usually, board members want to get to know who is going to apply for which position and to recruit a certain type of person for each role. Depending on your committee of choice, you will have one or two interview rounds. Be sure to prepare for these rounds, but also make sure to show why this association suits you and why you think you will have fun while working towards your committee goal.

If you applied, you will get a call in the weeks after the Recruitment Period to inform whether you are selected or not.

We hope you give it a shot after reading this article, because trust us, it's worth it!