ben-pustjens

Welcome to WUA: Ben Pustjens

Ben Pustjens has been with WUA! since April and works as data analyst. In this interview, it’s our honor and joy to introduce Ben: a conversation about neurobiology, friends, and focus.

Good to have you here, Ben. How did you end up at WUA?

“Through Facebook. A colleague of mine at my old job shared the vacancy. At the time, I was working for the University of Amsterdam as assistant teacher, and I knew it was temporary, so I was looking for a new job. So I applied for the vacancy at WUA and was invited to an interview with Liz and Shanna, my predecessor. I thought Liz looked incredibly strict, but I definitely changed my mind about that later. I came for the job of data assistant, but later I received a phone call, saying they had a different job they felt I was more suited for. So I came in for another interview, and was hired.”

Why did you want for WUA specifically, why did you choose us?

“First, I wanted to do a PhD in neurobiology at the University of Amsterdam. But in the last months of my study program, I realized I didn’t actually want to do that. I wanted to work in a different environment than the university, I was quite done with that world by then. I wasn’t sure what would suit me, so I oriented myself very broadly. That was the moment the vacancy on Facebook just happened to show up. I immediately noticed that the atmosphere at WUA is very pleasant, and that it’s a sporty, young, ambitious team. These were all positives for me.”

You have a background in neurobiology. Tell me more about that: how are you going to use your knowledge for our customers?

“I think I’m good at critical thinking thanks to my academic background, that’s an important feature. I’m a fast learner and I’m good at analyzing, all things I can definitely use here.”

What’s your dream ambition?

“I don’t have one. Not one specific one at least. I do have three things I find important in a job: that the team and environment are fun, that I like going to work, and that I keep developing myself. I can definitely do that at WUA.”

Are you like your friends?

“Wow, this interview is tougher than I thought it would be. Let me think for a bit. Yeah, I’m similar to some of my friends and different than others. I have a group of friends I’ve known for a long time, since my youth in Maastricht. I also built up a group of friends in Amsterdam in the past few years. These two groups of friends get along nicely as well; they’re kind of like one big group now. I don’t know what that says about me or my friends. Maybe they’re all sort of similar types. It’s very important to me to keep all my friendships.”

You’ve been here since April; it’s November now. How would you describe the average person at WUA?

“Energetic, intelligent, passionate – also in work – and definitely very sporty.”

Which (business) book do you think everyone should read, and why?

“I’m now reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. It’s a fairly well-known book, about the origins of humanity, so it’s really from primeval times to now. I just had a discussion with someone a few days ago about why it’s such an amazing book: everyone tends to read books from their own perspectives. A biologist reads books about biology, a yoga instructor reads spiritual books, etcetera. This book mostly tells a story about the history of mankind with all the ideas and cultures that go along with that, and that’s why everyone, regardless of vision, can read this book and connect their truth to it, and that makes it an amazing book.”

What’s your motto?

“Try to focus on the things that are going right, instead of the things that aren’t. Short and sweet.”

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