30 years at Brunel - A walk down memory lane

What’s it like to work in the same company for decades? Gita joined Brunel Netherlands 30 years ago and is currently working as Senior Invoicing Officer.

Hello Gita! In which circumstances did you join Brunel 30 years ago?

After different projects for big organizations in the Netherlands, I was looking for a new opportunity. At the time, Brunel was not as known as it is today. I physically went to a staffing agency with my CV, I told them that I was looking for a job and the type of mission I liked: doing administrative tasks and helping people. I was called soon for a role at Brunel’s new office in Rotterdam. 

Do you remember your first interview?

Yes, vividly! I had an easy interview with the recruiting manager based in Rotterdam. He was a very relaxed person, the interview was very quick.  I signed my contract as a management assistant (the equivalent of “sales support assistant” today).

How did you develop your career since 1992?

When I started, missions were not split as they are today, I have learned the whole process, from the contracting to the invoicing. Later on, I became the office manager for the IT business lines in Capelle aan den IJssel. In 2000, I joined the shared service center which moved to Amsterdam in 2003.

In 2011, I became Invoicing Team Leader, but I preferred being a project manager, so since 2014 I am happy to be a Senior Invoicing Officer, a job I truly love.

How did working at Brunel look like at the time?

Brunel – via my HR manager - had really helped me by allowing me to spend my time as I could, as I was living in a small village far from Amsterdam with a 1-year-old son. Sometimes, I could arrive later in the office, or leave earlier. In that case, I would organize myself to be able to continue my work outside the office. It was the beginnings of working from home! And of course, back then we did not have the same tools! We were working on Lotus 1-2-3 and MS-DOS.

A visual presentation of Lotus notes from back in the day