On WHI Talks, we're sitting down with We Heart It team members to get to know them a little better and learn more about their experience working at WHI. This week we're chatting with Niny, our Community & Content Strategy Manager from The Netherlands.
Q: So Niny, tell us a little bit about yourself, and where you're from!
A: I'm Niny, also known as Noascha on social media. I'm twenty four years old and was born and raised in a small town up in the North of The Netherlands. Last February I graduated with a degree in Business Administration and a specialization in fashion. As a true social media junkie I have active profiles on almost every possible social media platform you can think of. Besides fashion and social media, I'm really into music as well. My musical taste goes from Dutch rappers like Fresku to Jamie XX and Justin Bieber. I also cherish deep, late night conversations with my partner and each and every tear of laughter with my friends.
Q: We have heard that you're really into traveling. We would love to hear more about your wanderlust adventures!
A: I think I was only five years old when my parents took me and my brother to The United States for the first time. Having parents with strong wanderlust taught me much about different cultures and people at a young age. Not only did it bring me strong social and communicational skills, it also inspired me to travel as much as I could. Instead of spending my money on partying and expensive clothes, I preferred saving money to pay for trips.
"Traveling is such a valuable investment in yourself: both personal and professionally."
At 21, I moved to Bali to do my minors and I fell in a deep love with the Indonesian culture. It's hard to explain into words, but in my entire life I never felt so care-free and happy. Once I got back in The Netherlands I felt quite restless and decided to go abroad again for my graduation semester. This time I went to One Happy Island, also known as Aruba.
Even though I’m blessed to have seen quite some countries already, there are still so many places that are high up on my wish list. I would love to visit the Kawasan Falls in the Philippines, see the Northern Lights in Iceland and stroll around the concrete jungle of New York. Traveling is such a valuable investment in yourself: both personal and professionally it has brought me so much! If you ever have the chance to travel, go abroad or on exchange: please, GO!
Q: What is your inspiration and how do you keep yourself inspired?
A: I literally get my inspiration everywhere. I get inspired while watching a beautiful sunset, when me and my friends are dancing at a great festival with our feet in the sand and when I'm sharing ideas with another creative mind. I think the key to keeping yourself inspired is to surround yourself with inspirational things and people that force you to level up. One of my closest friends is a fashion designer, another one is a successful DJ and then I also have a friend that is practically a walking version of Wikipedia. They are all so talented and inspirational in many different ways, which makes me want to evolve as a person well.
Q: How did you first hear about We Heart It, and how do you use it?
A: For as long as I remember I've always been an online content geek. I made my first 'website' when I was 14, learned myself how to Photoshop at 15 and I stumbled upon We Heart It at the age of 17. At first I mainly used We Heart It to gather beautiful imagery, but later on collections served as a source of inspiration for my own photography. Besides pretty and inspirational images We Heart It offers me the most caring community I've ever experienced!
Q: How did you land your job at We Heart It?
A: I started working for We Heart It as a Community Coordinator two years ago. I had just heard that I got rejected for a job in a local clothing store, and I felt extremely sad about that.
"If a door in your life doesn't open, it's just not your door."
A few days later I spotted the vacancy on the Facebook page after which I opened the job description with trembling fingers. I could tick all the requirements except for the one which asked applicants to be living in Amsterdam. I took the leap, and applied anyway with my fingers literally crossed while hitting the ‘Send’ button. When I heard that I was hired, I was ecstatic. This experience really taught me that if a door in your life doesn’t open, it’s just not your door.
Q: What does a day working for We Heart It look like?
A: With We Heart It really wanting to accommodate the talents of its team members, I recently got the opportunity to grow into a new position: Community & Content Strategy Manager. A regular day ‘at work’ usually starts with opening my laptop to check my e-mail. Depending on the day of the week, I start planning that week’s content for Instagram before I head out for lunch. In the afternoon I’ll spend my time preparing campaigns, spotting trends & developments, and meeting with my colleagues through Google Hangout.
What makes working at We Heart It so special, is that you’re working with an international team that mostly communicates using the internet. I have never met any of my colleagues in real life! I’m currently living in Amsterdam, but since my job only requires a laptop and a strong WiFi connection I could basically do my job anywhere.
Q: What are your favorite images to heart? Any specific collections you suggest our users follow?
A: When I'm Hearting I pay a lot attention to the quality of images: I favor high quality and bright uploads. With my strong wanderlust I tend to Heart images that are tropical or travel related. Also my love for quotes, food and fashion is highly represented on my canvas.
You should definitely check out my WANDERLUST and DELISH collection. Oh, and don't forget MINE, which (as the name already suggests) contains only my own shot content.
Q: How do you like to express your creativity?
A: I really really love sharing my creativity on my We Heart It canvas. In my collections I gather everything I love, everything I want and everything I'd love to do someday. There's actually a funny quote on We Heart It about this: if you want to get to know someone, take a look at what they Heart.
I also love to express my creativity through photography, graphic design and Instagram. My Instagram profile is a reflection of the highlights in my life, which I love to capture. I can't stop smiling when I scroll down my feed and see all the good times, my loved ones and travel memories flash by.
Q: What are your career interests and how have your goals evolved over time?
A: It might sound strange but in five years time I went from being a quitter to being extremely ambitious and committed. At 19 I had dropped out of college twice and had absolutely no clue what I wanted in life. Among other things, it was mostly my partner who turned my life around. From the day that we met we've always challenged each other to do better, reach higher and prosper.
"It’s okay to not have a clear plan on what you want in life."
While finding out what I wanted in life I was all of a sudden aiming for A's in class and working hard on building my resume. Through volunteering, work experience and several internships I learned about my passion for coordinating and visual (online) content. I love working on projects where creative beings come together to make something beautiful. Add a lot of stress and sleepless nights to the mix and that's when I feel most alive. I now know that it’s okay to not have a clear plan on what you want in life. It’s part of the process.
I truly believe that the combination of passion and hard work always pays off. This is also why I don’t believe in luck. Luck is what happens when opportunity and preparation meet. If you are passionated about what you’re doing and working hard to achieve your goals: You. Will. Succeed!
