Harmen Wijkstra

Background

About Harmen Wijkstra

I started my career as a Maritime Officer at sea. An unusual work environment, in which a small group of people worked and lived together for six months on a workplace that moved slowly around the globe. During this period, I barely escaped certain death twice and in various ports I was confronted with death threats at least half a dozen times. Just another day at the job in those days. I look back on this time with intense pleasure and gratitude, because during this period I gained more knowledge of people and gained more life- & work experiences, than I ever could have gained in a job ashore. I am always extremely driven to continue to develop myself and to perform at the top of my abilities. This includes gathering knowledge on work which does not make part of my primary duties, so that I can help colleagues and provide customers with ever better service. In addition, I have always enjoyed optimizing (work) processes, both internally and externally. I get my job satisfaction from a pleasant collaboration with colleagues who complement each other, making meaningful contributions, and new challenges every day, small or large.