Stijn van Hooff: Television and politics

By Alexander van den Berg

Although the RMA Modern History program helped Stijn van Hooff develop his research skills, he decided not to pursue an academic career. After graduation he found a job in the Revenue Management Department of the Netherlands largest commercial television network, RTL. His position made him responsible for scheduling commercials in Dutch television programming to make them as profitable as possible.

Since January 2013 Stijn has worked for the political party D66 as a policy advisor. In this dynamic environment, he offers a valuable contribution to the daily functioning of the political party by reading and writing official papers, motions, and speeches; in addition, he prepares debates and proposals for D66 parliamentarians. His work for D66, similar to his position at RTL, contains a strategic-analytic component. Stijn helps to position D66 within the political spectrum, to generate media attention, and to get proposals adopted.

Stijn advises current and future students to work on their academic skills during the RMA program while also developing other skills such as organizational experience, management, and cooperating in a team. This can be done through internships, part-time jobs, extracurricular activities, and working in clubs or associations. Doing so will not only broaden your horizon and give you experience, but may also teach you what you are capable of and what you want to do in the rest of your life.