ABOUT MARJOLIJN
When you’re interested in being coached, it’s important to feel aligned and comfortable with the point of view, approach and personality of your coach.
So… this is me.
WARM WELCOMES AND A WAY WITH WORDS
Having been raised by a kind, open-minded mum and ditto aunties who cared about making people – all people – feel included and feel welcome, led me to get a business degree in hotel management. The hospitality industry seemed all about making people feel welcome.
I’ve always had an interest in other people’s perspectives, stories and cultural backgrounds. I’m also always hungry to keep learning. So I followed up my management degree with another one, in English, where I learned more about stories and perspectives, and honed my language skills: speaking, writing, and editing.
To my surprise though, my career path led me to working in HR. I learned how hiring managers think and make hiring decisions. I also developed a good eye for people’s individual talents as well as where they can be useful in an organisation. I became known for acknowledging and focusing on people’s real experiences in the workplace.
Eventually, I spent a decade of my career in HR and recruitment… until I realised it wasn’t the place for me. I care way more about giving people the space to be real than calling them resources.
While navigating the job market throughout my own career, I experienced how strenuous it can be to land a job.
… how difficult it can be to create a career that fulfils your aspirations, fits well with your lifestyle and priorities, and allows you the space to excel being YOU.
… how challenging to find career spaces where I felt like I was welcome as myself, where I belonged.
I don’t want you to feel the way I did then.
That’s why I pivoted my career and am here now to coach you.
FINDING THE COURAGE TO BE ME - AND TO PAY IT FORWARD
After some soul searching and working with a career coach myself, I made a big career switch and became a certified Co-Active Coach. This is a coaching degree (accredited by the International Coaching Federation) that is recognised as the most rigorous in the industry.*
I’ve come to realise that I’ve dealt with not being included—with being excluded, not welcome—at many moments during my life. As a kid in my own family, at school, at work. It was not kind, not right, and it was never fair. It never is, no matter your gender, age, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, physical appearance, health, (dis) abilities, cultural background, race or otherwise.
Feeling so profoundly excluded has made it easier for me to imagine the hurt and the unfairness to other people who are not experiencing inclusion or belonging. If this is what I encountered in my life, those even more significant, more frequent, and pernicious experiences are seriously hurtful, unfair, unjust. And just. Not. Ok. At all.
Paying it forward, I’m putting my coaching skills to work to inspire and amplify diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging for others.
The life-long journey of discovering who I am, what I believe in, and stand for, and gathering the courage to step into it all and build a me-shaped career and life hasn’t been easy. But it has been worth it!
In my coaching, all of this comes together. Creating space for people’s experiences, making sure they feel welcome in their own lives and work. Being pragmatic about how to communicate effectively. Creating and actively contributing to more inclusion in individual lives and in the world.
To make coaching more accessible and inclusive, I do pro bono work with Empowerment Foundation as a volunteer coach for unemployed and underemployed internationals (immigrants) in the Netherlands. Are you unemployed and don’t have financial access to coaching? Sign up with Empowerment to get up to five sessions from the team of professional coaches, workshops and more.
My background at a glance
Professional Co-Active Coach certified by the International Coaching Federation*
Born & raised in the Netherlands, international perspective and experiences
Fluent in Dutch and English
10+ years of work experience in HR & Recruitment
Speaker at the Amplify DEI Summit in 2020 and 2021
Worked in organisation sizes from 2 to 500 people, from culture to finance and from market research to real estate
Co-host of the People Impact Podcast
Masters in English
Bachelors in Hotel Management
Straight, white, middle class, university-educated (first in my family) and vocationally educated, cisgender, non-disabled, slightly neuro-divergent, right-handed, Dutch woman.
My pronouns are she/her.
Multipotentialite (what’s that, you wonder?)
My coaching approach
As a coach, my main focus is to let you leverage your skills, talents, strengths, potential… everything that you bring to the table, in your own style and approach. I will look at the whole of you - your situation and circumstances, strengths, personality, talents, insecurities, hopes, and aspirations.
I will be open, honest and kind.
Creating a safe, non-judgmental, welcoming space for all my clients to share their stories and perspectives, where you can express yourself openly, is fundamental to my overall coaching approach.
I will not pretend I know all the answers, but I will ask you the questions that will help you find your own answers, inform your decisions and propel you forward.
I will be a partner on your journey to guide you, support you and champion you on your way.
This is what I want for both my clients and me:
To feel valued and appreciated for exactly who you are
To be able to excel at your work, in your career and as a DEI professional
To do what you enjoy and what you’re great at, enabling you to make a difference at work, at home and in the world
What my clients say
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As a career coach, I help my clients find a fulfilling job that fits their lifestyle, lights them up, and lets them shine through both comprehensive coaching and practical job search support (in English or Dutch).
As a DEI coach, I guide my clients to identify, clarify, and implement the ways THEY can contribute the most, as well as keep it up long-term.
Even more about me
Besides being a solopreneur, together with my partner I am also raising two lovely, lively kids.
Having studied in various countries, I’ve made friends all over the world (and visit them often).
They’ve shown me different cultural perspectives on life and this world, which is so valuable working with people from all kinds of backgrounds.
My kitchen is my playground as I try out and explore new recipes from all over the world, whenever I get the chance.
I enjoy immersing myself in all kinds of wonderful stories - my favourite type of small-scale travel - from my diverse and overflowing bookshelves.
... while sipping tea, pretty much all day every day.
* My coaching credentials
What my clients say - in Dutch
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I would love to connect with you!
I would love to meet you and see if I can help you reach your career and/or DEI goals.
This introductory call is free, and even if you don’t decide to work with me, you’ll likely still walk away with an insight or two on your specific situation.