# Katy Hundertmark, CJS employee, Stills

**Katy Hundertmark, 26, became a CJS employee with [Stills](https://www.stills.org/about) a year ago. Here she shares her experience with the CJS programme and how she utilised the training fund:**

"I became aware of CJS in October 2017 when I stumbled across a job advertisement on Creative Scotland’s opportunity webpage.

"Before starting at Stills I had been working in various fields for many years. Some of the jobs I did include English tutoring for a German kindergarden, work as a freelance photographer and Communications Assistant for an arts organisation called SCAN. On top of these jobs I gained a lot of experience through personal projects and exhibitions.  
  
"After spotting the job advert on Creative Scotland I visited my local job centre and submitted an application form. The interview with my line manager lasted almost 40 minutes and I received a positive answer shortly after.

"My role as Information Assistant was set out to cover mostly front-of-house work, administration of course and facility bookings and assistance with day-to-day tasks. After an adaption phase of a few weeks I started assisting with various other jobs, including online marketing and social media engagement.

"Unseen Amsterdam brings together the international photography community to discuss and debate the directions in which the photographic medium is evolving, exclusively focusing on what’s new in the photography world. A few of the objectives of the training opportunity were to gain new insights into current international tendencies, attend talks and panel discussions and make new contacts. In many ways it is ‘the place to be’ for young professionals and this was reflected by the dynamic and diverse programme and audience.

"On my last day in Amsterdam I visited the Steijdelek Museum, one of Hollands leading Contemporary Arts Museums near the famous Rijksmuseum. I was very impressed to see so many modern photography pieces back to back with paintings and sculptures. A sign that times are changing and that photography is accepted as an equal in the ‘fine arts’ more and more. All in all the trip to Amsterdam was a very significant experience in my career and I returned to Scotland with fresh wind, new ideas that will feed into my personal work and my job at Stills.

"I would definitely recommend the CJS programme to anyone at the beginning of their working career. For now I intend to pursue my new role as Programme Assistant and gain more experience in the gallery environment, while continuing to develop my own creative practice."

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## About SCVO

SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) is the national membership organisation for Scotland's voluntary sector.

Our role is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in Scotland and to support them to do work that has a positive impact.

SCVO supports members and the wider voluntary sector with all aspects of setting up and running a voluntary organisation. SCVO represents the needs and concerns of the voluntary sector to the Scottish government in Holyrood and UK government and Westminster. Through our learning and events programme SCVO offers training and development opportunities to the sector.

Members access an extensive membership benefits package including specialist, in-depth, 1-to-1 guidance from our Information Services team and from professional service partners.

Access to exclusive membership networks (including comms, employers, governance and policy) supports members to grow their connections, stay up to date, exchange ideas and views with peers, and learn through tailored learning opportunities.

SCVO members enjoy free access to Funding Scotland Premium to stay on top of funding opportunities to support their organisation’s financial resilience.

Discounts and savings on SCVO products and services (including our HR service, managed IT support, payroll service and events and training) and partner offers provide members with support to allow them to focus on delivering their organisation’s goals. Further SCVO products and services include [extensive digital support](https://scvo.scot/support/digital), a climate action resource [Growing Climate Confidence](https://climateconfident.scot), a voluntary sector publication [Third Force News](https://tfn.scot) and a voluntary sector jobs and recruitment service [Goodmoves](https://goodmoves.org).

For more information on SCVO membership, visit [SCVO membership](https://scvo.scot/membership)