How Diep landed her Software Engineering Intern role at Van Lanschot Kempen
Meet Diep, Software Engineering Intern at Van Lanschot Kempen, where she worked on real client-facing applications used by bankers and clients every day. Her path there started at a HerFuture in-house day at VLK, where she met her future manager and got CV advice from HR. Applying with a real feel for the company and a stronger CV opened a door she wouldn't have known about otherwise. It's a story about showing up, staying open and doing the hard thing anyway.
How she found HerFuture
Diep studied computer science at VU Amsterdam. She already had some work experience in tech, interning at a game development company back home and working for a startup in the Netherlands. As a next step, she wanted to find a community of women in STEM who were on the same journey as her, and that's how she found HerFuture. It felt like a no-brainer: "why not connect with more women like me?"
The connection
Diep first stepped into the Van Lanschot Kempen offices for an in-house day with HerFuture. There, she met Feyza, who later became her manager. Feyza was so genuinely excited talking about her work, her career, and the company's hackathon that Diep thought: "This is a place with the kind of energy I want to be part of." She also met Florencia Uhart from HR, who gave her great advice on how to improve her CV. So when Diep applied for an internship at Van Lanschot Kempen, she already had a real sense of the company's vibe and a stronger CV, opening a door to an opportunity she wouldn't have known of otherwise!
Her role
Diep was a full stack software engineer intern at Van Lanschot Kempen. The coolest part was that she got to work on real client-facing applications, actual software used by bankers and clients every day. Beyond the code, she learned so much about how a real tech organisation runs: the architecture decisions made for the long term, the cross-team alignment, the meetings that are short but keep everyone connected.
Her advice to women who want to land a career in tech
"Show up and be open! Opportunity really does come when you put yourself out there, especially in a community like HerFuture. And when something feels hard? Just do it anyway. There's no such thing as something that's truly hard, there's only things you're used to doing and things you're not used to doing yet. The more you throw yourself in, the more you practice, the more that scary thing becomes just another thing you're good at. Don't turn your back and run. You've got time to get used to everything!"
Ready to start your journey?
Join the community and put yourself out there: your next big opportunity might just start at a HerFuture event. Sign up at app.herfuture.nl.
