Her very first introduction to her fellow Heart Hunters took place via an online webinar, and when we finally got to see her in the flesh, she treated us to a mini recorder concerto. Three years later, Eline is still the same cheerful and dynamic project manager she was on day one. Let us introduce you to her!
As a project manager, Eline is the permanent link between our clients and our internal divisions. ‘As soon as the client has expressed their needs and wishes, we at Expliciet attach a plan of action to it. The concrete action points that result from this are for us, the project managers. We schedule appointments, brief our colleagues, and ensure everything is completed by the deadline. Afterwards, we perform one final check on the delivered work.’
‘Creating such a schedule can be quite challenging. You work with several people on a project, whose timings you have to coordinate carefully. There are many puzzle pieces that have to fall into place every time, but in the end, it always seems to work out.’
‘What gives me the most energy in my job? Seeing an increasingly concrete end result emerge from something abstract, like a briefing or that puzzle of schedules.’
‘A great example of that is the guerrilla campaign we helped develop for Tennis en Padel Vlaanderen. In the dead of night, we set up tennis courts at various locations in Belgium, such as the Mont des Arts in Brussels, to record a national campaign video at sunrise. A team effort with a fantastic end result.’
After three years, Eline has already built a great career with us. However, the start of her time at Expliciet happened in the most atypical way—for us, at least.
‘Covid-19 entered our lives just as I was changing employers. On my first day of work, there was almost no one in the office. I met most of my colleagues online. I had to sit on a stool in the studio, the camera was pointed at me, and I got to introduce myself live to my fellow Heart Hunters who were sitting behind their screens at home. A rather strange entrance, to say the least.’
‘I only met the rest in real life at the next Expliciet Christmas party. It was whispered to me that everyone had to do something special to hand over their Secret Santa gift to their secret recipient. So I pulled out my recorder and came up with a personalized lyric to the tune of I’ll be there for you by The Rembrandts. An entrance that surely stuck with many people. It certainly did with me (laughs).’
If Eline could do a completely different job for a year, what would it be? ‘As a child, I mainly wanted to be a singer, but that turned out to be a bit too ambitious (laughs). I would really love to do something in the cultural sector. Putting together the programming for a cultural center, for example. Organizing is simply in my DNA.’
How do you want to be a next-level project manager?
‘On the one hand, by staying two steps ahead in my projects as much as possible while remaining calm at the same time. I am often described as a zen person, and I am convinced that this makes an effective difference in my job. On the other hand, I try to learn as much as possible from my colleagues. Not just from my fellow project managers during our bi-weekly internal training sessions, but also from the copywriters, the web developers, the designers—you name it. It’s super interesting to learn from everyone.’
What tip do you have for clients looking for a high-quality marketing approach?
‘Have faith in our expertise. We have your best interests at heart; trust the system.’
What gives you an invincible feeling outside the Expliciet workplace?
‘Currently, it’s my renovation project that I’m trying to manage together with my boyfriend. That too is largely project management: making phone calls, monitoring the work, ticking off checklists… It’s very rewarding to see everything moving forward.’
‘Besides that, I love to let off steam on the tennis court. It’s ideal for hitting away any negative vibes and getting back to work full of energy. And I will always keep singing, even if it’s just in the bathroom or in the car. I inherited that musical side from my father, and it will always be a part of my life.’