I have been working for Leaseweb for more than 7 years, and I’m still enjoying every day. But in all this time, I have yet to write a blog post about my experience, or reasons for staying at the company for all these years. So here’s my story.
I joined Leaseweb in 2010 as a Corporate Recruiter, the first one they hired in fact. Although I felt insecure about leaving my job to start a new adventure, all my worries disappeared at my first interview. I knew the company; I had been recruiting new employees for them as an external recruiter more than 6 months. Impressed by their growth I understood the challenges they were facing, so I was excited to have my interview.
I had been working for Manpower for more than 10 years, and really enjoyed the variety of fun projects I worked on. Still, for a number of different reason, I had the feeling that I was not at full speed. Feeling somewhat limited in my personal development, as well in my goal to reach bigger achievements, I took the chance on a new company.
I quickly got to know exactly how fast Leaseweb was growing. My job was to bring in new employees by the dozen, helping to create new futures for people looking for a challenge. I knew I was at the right place. They made me feel at home. I became one with the Leaseweb family. It was not easy, not at all, but the freedom and trust I got to execute my job were amazing. The company gave me the freedom and trust to achieve my goals in every way, and I took every opportunity. The drive to succeed was incredible, and it took me to a level I never would have imagined.
We grew the company from 100 to 250 in a short time. Every month we were searching for more office space, and saw ever more international employees join. For some, we showed them how to ride a bike (an important part of Dutch culture). While for others, we got to watch them experience the first snowfall in their lives or seeing the ocean for the first time. In addition, my own world was growing as well. I got involved in (inter)national events, created traineeships for developers, started an induction program for our new Leasewebers and even expanded our recruitment skills for hiring in the US and Germany.
A few years ago, we moved from offices from Haarlem to Amsterdam. Facing new growth every month we needed a bigger place to expend, an office that could easily meet our needs as an expanding company. Aware of this explosion we faced a challenge. But like always we showed the world, and our customers, how flexible we can be and how ready we are to adjust to ever changing demands.
On a personal level, the success of the company lifted me to a new level. No barriers, which we could not overcome. The hard work and positive recognition made me feel invincible. But, not everything was smooth sailing. I unfortunately got quite sick and needed to be hospitalized. As bad, as it seemed at the time, gratefully, I am better now. I got lots of (global) support from my colleagues that helped me during this hard time in my life. When I first returned to work and I would have never expected to take supporting role within HR, giving me the opportunity to fully recover. And so I did, and the choice helped make me stronger every day.
Today I am fully recovered, have tons of energy and support our employees every day to get the most out of them, energize them to reach the next goal, and take the challenge to grow. I am proud to say, I created every opportunity at Leaseweb myself and was given tremendous trust and support to grow as person. At Leaseweb we believe in empowerment, connection and reliability. This is what I have been giving to the company as well. So this was not a story about my daily tasks at Leaseweb, but rather about how grateful I am to be part of this amazing journey!