SENSE Special Interest Groups ‒ Meet the Starters SIG

The University of Amsterdam specifies what a special interest group (SIG) is for, stating that ‘Within a SIG, interested parties come together to exchange, develop and apply knowledge and experience. In doing so, a SIG focuses on expertise and networking around a specific theme.’ 

Currently, SENSE has ten SIGs that meet a few times a year in person or online. SIG meetings are open to SENSE members and non-members alike, and are announced on our SENSE events calendar.

This week I invite you to meet the Starters SIG and its conveners, Anne Oosthuizen (left in the photo) and Becky Tomas (right), who define this SIG as ‘a community of newcomers to SENSE and to the industry as a whole’.

I believe the Starters SIG began in 2020. Is this correct? How did it all start?

It all started during the SENSE Conference in 2020. I (Anne) had joined SENSE the year before and in 2020 I joined the Executive Committee as SIG and Social Events Coordinator. At the time I was approached via Zoom by Danielle Carter, who was equally fresh-faced and looking for other newcomers to the industry to bond with. As it turned out, we lived very close together in Amsterdam Oost and decided to meet up for drinks. We also invited Martina Abagnale, who was also new to SENSE and was being mentored by Jenny Zonneveld. The three of us really hit it off and decided, right there during that first meeting, to propose a new SIG. Being SIG coordinator, I had been toying with the idea of a SIG specifically for those starting out – mainly because I felt that some of the knowledge about the industry was sometimes a little dated and didn’t always benefit newcomers. Together, we came up with the concept of the Starters SIG as a platform for peer-to-peer learning and a safe space for horizontal knowledge sharing.

Can you describe your backgrounds and what made you volunteer as conveners?

Anne: In 2020, I had just finished my MA Linguistics: Translation in Theory and Practice at Leiden University. I was working as an in-house translator at AzTech, a technical translation agency, under the guidance of Ellen Singer. Martina was just starting out as a legal translator, and Danielle was coming at the language industry from a completely different angle: museum studies. All three of us were new to freelancing and to the industry as a whole, and found it extremely helpful talking about our respective obstacles with people who were going through the same thing – but sometimes ran into very different problems. So, we decided to expand our platform and formalize our collaboration. We had a good run, but when Danielle and Martina took a step back from the SIG’s activities, I found it hard to continue the Starters SIG on my own. However, I was reluctant to just let it go. The Starters SIG was kind of my baby. That’s why I was overjoyed when the current SIG and Social Events Coordinator, Becky Tomas, volunteered as co-convener at last year’s Professional Development Day (PDD). It’s been really lovely running the SIG together – I think we make a great team!

Becky: My story is quite different! Since immigrating to the Netherlands in 2012, I’ve been a freelance dance instructor (Lindy Hop, specifically), and I’ve been busy running a dance school in Rotterdam.

I had graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree in English Literature back in 1999, and although I had dabbled in editing and proofreading over the years, other work opportunities always seemed to come along. So, for quite a long time I did not pursue this avenue of interest.

Sitting at home during the Covid pandemic, with the dance school closed and not a lot to do, I decided this was the perfect time! I stumbled upon SENSE online, attended the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2023 and jumped into the role of SIG & Social Events Coordinator.

Anne and I met at the 2023 PDD, and the rest is history; the Starters SIG is going swimmingly!

What’s the main purpose of the Starters SIG?

The slogan of the SIG is ‘run by starters, for starters’. This SIG provides a safe space where members can network, share their experiences, and ask for tips and advice from their peers, who are all in the same boat (or may have just managed to clamber ashore). In addition to serving SENSE’s newer members, its aim is to support existing members who might be branching out into new territory. We also hope to attract potential new members to SENSE with our starter-geared topics and low-key vibe.

What kind of discussions or events are on the table?

In the past, we have organized meetings on finding clients, pricing your work, web design, and LinkedIn marketing. This year, Becky and I decided to approach the revival of the Starters SIG from a starting-point perspective: what would you want or need to know when you’re just getting started or have recently made a career switch? In upcoming meetings, we’ll cover money management, branding and rebranding, taxes, and more!

Can you walk us through some Starters SIG meetings?

The Starters SIG likes to organize meetings that aren’t strictly top-down, meaning that they are either guided group discussions or group discussions following a short, often interactive, presentation. During our meeting in February, business coach Miranda Apeldoorn spoke about finding your business focus. We had many fantastic contributions from the group and I think many of us came away feeling quite inspired.

In April, Martina Abagnale gave the talk ‘Money management with Martina’, on how freelancers like us can manage the money that comes in our bank account and what to do with it once we’ve earned it.

In our last meeting in July, Anne presented her talk ‘Personal branding: Lessons learnt through trial and (t)error’. For those who missed the talk about branding and marketing, you can read Linda Jayne Turner’s blog post about it.

Do you have plans for the future of the SIG?

Anne: We plan to keep up our regular meetings every two to three months.

Becky: We had our first meeting as conveners in Bagels & Beans in Leiden, and between mouthfuls of hummus we managed to plan events for an entire year. We’re really excited about our meetings and speakers. We can’t say too much, lest we ruin the surprise!

Are you good readers? What are you currently reading?

Anne: I am a terrible reader! As a book translator and editor, I do almost nothing but read all day and so I find it very hard to sit myself down with a book at the end of a long day. But I do want to, so I keep trying. Right now, I am simultaneously reading ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ by Bonnie Garmus, Johan Fretz’s ‘Met Vriendelijke Groet’, and ‘Wizard of the Crow’ by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o – and have been for ages.

Becky: I like to keep a fiction book and a non-fiction book on the go at the same time. I’m currently reading Jonathan Franzen’s ‘Purity’ (I’m a huge fan) and ‘Black and White Styles in Conflict’ by Thomas Kochman.