Meet the team: Jinan
As our Mapify team keeps on growing, we’re becoming more diverse and our offices are starting to feel very international! One of these wonderful people is Jinan Vyent, our Operations & Office Manager. Read on to find out more about her!
Hey Jinan,
Please tell us bit about your background :)
My name is Jinan and I am 33 years old. I’m born and raised in Amsterdam. I have three associates degrees; in social cultural work, political science and criminal justice, as well as a bachelor in film and media studies. The last couple of years I have been working for an on- and offline cultural platform, where I organised and produced events and did artist booking and handling. I was also responsible for creating online content; writing socio-cultural articles and interviews with up-and-coming and established artists and brands.
When did you move to Germany and why?
I moved in October 2018, because I wanted a change of scenery and found a corporate job in Berlin as a damage claim adjuster at a big company, thinking I could really benefit from a structured environment. It was very valuable; I learned a lot about subjects I had no previous knowledge of! Since I love learning new things, I think all-in-all it was a very good experience.
How many languages do you speak and where did you learn them?
I’m fluent in two, English and Dutch. When I was doing a voluntary work service in Honduras, I had about 20 hours of basic Spanish lessons when first arriving. As I wanted to give workshops on social issues and be a youth mentor, I started learning it by myself. I still have my phone in Spanish, just so I won’t forget the language! I learned French and German in high school and am still pretty proficient in both. I also speak Surinamese, which is a mixture of English, Dutch and Creole, created through colonialism. My mom is from Surinam, so besides Dutch, this language was also spoken at home. Mostly when she was mad at me for not cleaning up my room though, so I mainly know how to give parental advice and use profanities!
What triggered your interest on Mapify and how did you find out about us?
I like to spend around 1,5 hours every night just reading up on random things, and I stumbled upon an article about Mapify. So I checked out the website and app and immediately thought it was just such a great concept! I’ve travelled a lot before and worked as a travel agent, so I definitely felt an affinity with the industry. I decided to check out the jobs page and found the position of Operations and Office Manager listed there. I thought it would fit in well with my previous experience, as I’ve been an office manager before. Also, I felt my past job as an organiser, as well as my social cultural work experience, could be valuable. I decided to go for it and I’m very happy Patrick decided to take me on board!
What do you do at Mapify? What is it that you most love about working here?
It’s all been fairly new, so I’m adding new tasks to my workload every week, which is very exciting. Basically I need to make sure everything runs smooth at the office, so from preparing our weekly Monday morning breakfast to organising team events, re-organising the community space, thinking of new ideas for team-bonding (preferably without calling it team-bonding because that sounds a bit stuffy ). I also help out the Operations team; answering support email, help handle social media and working on content ideas for the product.
I really like the atmosphere at the office! My colleagues all seem very talented individuals and they have made me feel very welcome. From what I have seen so far, I can learn a lot of new skills from this Startup environment and transform my mindset due to the amazing energy there is around here. For me, that is the most valuable!
After working for Mapify a few weeks, explain in your own words: what do you think is our magic recipe?
Passion. It sounds corny, but I guess that also means it’s true, right? Everyone seems really passionate about the vision Mapify has and about their mission as a unified team. It is undeniable that this passion sends out a lot of positive energy, which I think gets thrown back by the MapiFamily in the same way — and therefore makes Mapify an unforgettable brand.
Lastly: is there any hidden talent you have that we don’t know about :) ?
I haven’t missed a single episode of Forensic Files since 1996 and actually wanted to become a criminal profiler since I was around 10 years old. I’ve always been very interested in criminal law, criminal psychology and the criminal justice system. I went on to study some of these subjects, but ended up majoring and working in different fields after my studies. Still, you can ask me things about most serial killers or criminal cases and I’ll know them all! I’m not sure if that qualifies as a talent, but it is for sure a lot of fun at special events or parties!
Thanks Jinan!
If you are interested in working for Mapify, don’t hesitate to take a look at our website or email us at work@mapify.travel.
See you in the next one!
