Living and working in Amsterdam

Now that I have been living in Amsterdam and been working at ABN AMRO for a few weeks, I would like to tell you all something about my internship. During my internship, I will be working on my thesis for my study Human-Machine Communications, which is the final part of my final study. I will be investigating the relationship between loading delays and conversion. It is well known that long loading delays are detrimental to conversion rates. I will investigate what this relation exactly looks like and what the causes of web site abandonment are, and how these can be mitigated.

The ABN AMRO office where I am working

Furthermore, I am also working as an interaction designer alongside my colleagues. The department is divided in several optimization teams, which try to optimize sales of product groups (such as loans, mortages and saving accounts) by improving the design and content of the online forms and information pages. (Everybody is doing other stuff too). I am currently helping in the loans and the savings optimization team. Each team consists of a web analist, an editor, somebody from the relevant product departement and an interaction designer.

We have a really nice usability lab here at ABN AMRO, which enables us observe users perform tasks at out web site and track their eye movements. It is really insightfull to see actual users use your websites and – at times – to see them struggle.

The first weeks took some getting used to. Everything was new, the city, all my colleagues and everything. I did not have my own access pass to the ABN AMRO office, so my supervisor had to pick me up every day at the main entrance, which grew pretty annoying. Fortunately, I got my own access pass two weeks ago, so I can now enter and exit the building as I please.

This is the street where I live

As for everything besides my internship: I am currently living in a huge canal mansion in downtown Amsterdam. The house is for sale, which means that the rent is very low but also that I will have to move out as soon as it’s sold. For now, it is a great place to live. I have a great view and the city centre is extremely nearby. I have joined a students choir and another student organization, Liber, which is comparable to my student organization in Groningen, only smaller. I have met a lot of great new people both there and at the choir.

It’s been a very positive experience, living and working in Amsterdam. I am glad for that, because the odds are pretty high that I will stay in Amsterdam once I have graduated.