Lieke Zeilmaker and Jurjen Velthoen
Your buddy understands exactly what you’re going through
Your buddy is the person you can fall back on during the first phase of your career at ING – someone who shows you around and who you can turn to with any questions about your work or personal issues. Lieke’s buddy is Jurjen, who started in the same team a year earlier.
They both work in the Structured Lending team within Business Banking. In collaboration with other banks, their team provides loans to mid-corporate customers in what is always a complex process. Due to the high expectations, fast-paced environment and low average age, the young team can face quite a lot of pressure – so a work buddy can come in very handy.
Challenging and exciting
“One of the most exciting things is that, despite being so young, we get the chance to be involved when companies’ management teams and CFOs are deciding on important steps for their businesses. It’s a very steep learning curve,” says Jurjen. “I attended my first client meeting after being here for just three weeks,” adds Lieke.
'It’s useful that my buddy has recently had similar experiences’
Afterwards, it’s great to be able to let off steam and evaluate the experience with someone on your own wavelength: your buddy. Lieke: “The first time I do something new, I love being able to talk to someone who has recently had similar experiences. Jurjen understands exactly what I’m going through and why I have certain questions.”
Weekly coffee meeting
What kind of questions does Lieke have? Jurjen: “We chat about everything from ongoing projects to practical things like IT systems, and there’s time for personal issues too.” Lieke continues: “We meet up for coffee at least once a week, and I regularly call Jurjen in between, usually about deal-related matters. But we also talk about things like how I can ensure my visibility in the team and who to contact if I need certain sector-related expertise... sometimes the questions are very simple and sometimes they go deeper.”
Feedback
“I give Lieke tips and help her to move forward, but I also learn from her, such as the need to communicate clearly and to not automatically assume that everyone is familiar with all the abbreviations and acronyms we use here,” continues Jurjen. “But I think the most important thing in a buddy relationship is that you’re honest with each other and both feel free to speak openly.”
Does Lieke feel the same way? “Definitely. In fact, our appraisal is coming up soon, so we’ll have the chance to give each other a ton of feedback,” she says with a smile.
Lieke:
- Did her bachelor’s degree at Hotel Management School in Maastricht and her master’s in Finance in Groningen
- Previously worked as a Finance Consultant (Deloitte) and Business Analyst (Royal A-Ware)
- Lives in Utrecht
- Is an avid tennis player and is on her tennis club’s technical committee
- Enjoys going out with friends and cooking.
Jurjen:
- Studied Business Administration in Groningen, including a minor in Taiwan and internships in Berlin and Amsterdam, and returned to Groningen to do a master’s in Finance
- Used to own a company running boat trips together with a couple of student friends
- Lives in Amsterdam, where he also has his own boat
- Enjoys sports including crossfit, padel and running
- Does volunteer work helping small businesses with financial issues.