During his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Engineering at the TU Eindhoven, Johan accidentally ended up at De Mandemakers Groep. He immediately felt right at home and after graduating he was unstoppable as a test automation specialist at Team Tech & Digital. Not only is he following his dreams within IT, but he is also chasing his passion of nearly a decade in the world of wonders at the Efteling. As an enthusiastic host of attractions, he welcomes the public. It seems like a double life…
‘’I work one day a week at the Efteling and that is easy to combine with my office job at De Mandemakers Groep’’
‘’During my study, I didn’t expect to become a test automation specialist’’, Johan says. It didn’t seem to align with my study profile, and the thought of fulfilling this role had never crossed my mind. Still, I got into it more or less by accident, and you know De Mandemakers Groep. They had pleasantly surprised me as a fun and innovative organization and you get a permanent contract right away. I was hooked right away!
In 2014, I began my adventure at the Efteling as a 16-year-old looking for a summer job. The warm feeling the Efteling evoked in me, along with the thought of working there, seemed fun. ‘You won’t know unless you try’, so I applied for the job. Since then I have never left the park, even after the start of my ‘serious’ career.
I’m not the type of person who wants to sit behind a desk all week. Besides my great passion for IT, it is also important to me to work with people, roll up my sleeves and keep both feet on the ground. This is why I find the combination of my work at De Mandemakers Groep, where I deal with digitization and improving application quality, along with one day a week welcoming guests at the attractions, ideal to fill my full-time work week.
‘’A typical day at De Mandemakers Groep.. yeah we don’t have one’’
We start every morning with a stand-up, and then you start working on your tasks. Every day varies from doing research to having a Dutch ‘lunch walk’. During my work, quality comes first; even one extra space in the code is marked as a red cross through the test. As a test automation specialist, I focus on analyzing, researching, and efficiently implementing the various business processes. We do this together with team Tech & Digital, which includes business analysts, product owners, and developers — all working in the same room. If I want to ask something, all I have to do is turn around and we can take care of it right away.
‘’Working at the Efteling is more of a paid hobby than it really is a job’’
My job at the Mandemakers Group cannot be compared to the Efteling. I enjoy entertaining people, fooling them a little and laughing together. However, I never expected this to be my future career, it always felt more like a paid hobby.
I am grateful for working at De Mandemakers Groep. They gave me the opportunity to combine my work with my hobby. Initially, they found it a little bit strange, but later on, everything became clear to them. Due to their flexibility and the space they give me, it is a great organization to work for. Moreover, I fully support the mission of the organization which my work contributes to. We strive to provide the best service to the customer and promote the digital optimization of their world.
‘’Just find a (part-time) job that you really enjoy, and not because you have to’’
A side job should be fun as an addition, not out of necessity. As long as the two jobs don't cost me more energy than it brings me, I will continue to enjoy my double work life. Because let’s be honest, the benefits I have are the double employee parties and ''Hey, two Christmas parties a year. That's fantastic, isn’t it?''.
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Our team of over 70 IT professionals is dedicated to creating digital solutions for the home and living sector. Find out how surprisingly digital De Mandemakers Groep is and how surprisingly fun Team Tech & Digital is.
