Boomerang Interview with Lisa Silber

Written by: Els Oosthoek, September 2025

They left, grew, and came back: these are the stories of our boomerangs.

Lisa Silber began her career at Rvdb in the HR Interim Professional Program, right in the middle of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. She actually had very different plans at the time.

“My boyfriend and I had planned a trip around the world: we’d booked tickets, rented cars in the U.S., and given up our house and jobs. Everything was set. But because of the pandemic, the trip couldn’t go ahead, and we had to cancel everything.” With just their car, they spent a few months traveling through Europe. “We lived out of our backpacks, staying with friends and my parents. That was also the time when I started looking for a job.”

Lisa found Rvdb through Google. “What immediately appealed to me was that you could gain experience at different organizations, combined with plenty of training and personal development. That sounded exactly like what I was looking for.” Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, she was allowed to work partly in the office. “My very first day was special right from the start: onboarding in the morning and a meeting with a client that same day. By that afternoon, I already heard that I’d been hired. That was a flying start!”

The Interim Professional program was a great source of inspiration for her. “During peer review sessions and training sessions, we discussed the issues we encountered in practice. That made it incredibly valuable. Plus, there was a real sense of connection: learning together, brainstorming, and, of course, the get-togethers made it a lot of fun.”

After several assignments, Lisa ended up at Starbucks. “I started there with a four-month assignment through Rvdb, but was then asked to join the company on a permanent basis. I became an HR Business Partner, with overall responsibility for HR at Starbucks Netherlands.”

After a stint as an interim employee, she decided to stay, which made them very happy. I laid a solid foundation there, worked on professional development, developed a handbook, and facilitated change sessions. Another nice touch: I brought in another Rvdb colleague, Eline Smeets.”

Still, the travel bug kept nagging at her. After a period of more than a year, she and her boyfriend put their travel plans into action.

They traveled for eleven months and did volunteer work in twelve countries. Their journey took them from Suriname, Brazil, and Peru to the U.S., the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and ten weeks in India. “In Sumatra, I helped with a rewilding project, and in Malaysia, I worked on marine conservation. It was truly special to be so closely involved with nature and sustainability.”

After that trip, Lisa returned to the Netherlands, full of fresh energy. “I didn’t have a plan yet and thought, ‘I’ll just see how it goes.’ I started calling recruiters while I was still in India. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to work as a freelancer or join a socially responsible organization. That’s when I got in touch with Bob from Rvdb. Within two weeks, I was back in the office. It felt right right away.”

Speaking about her return as a Senior HX professional, Lisa says: “Traveling has given me new perspectives and strengthened my passion for interim work. For now, it feels great to be back at Rvdb and to be taking this next step. Traveling will always be a part of who I am, but for the time being, I’m happy to continue building my career here.”