One way of triggering deep emotions and sentiment in Barnard's, Janie Venter, is to remind her of her time at her high school in Middelburg, Mpumalanga. "I was, and still am, a very proud Rooies student," she smiles. "If I just hear our school anthem, I still get tears in my eyes. I honestly believed that I was in the best school in the country!"
After completing her BCom Law degree in 2015 at the North West University, Janie is now a Junior Associate in the Contractual, Rental and Delictual Litigation- department at Barnard. She deals with disputes and legal matters such as High Court and Magistrate's Court litigation, family law, medical malpractice, personal injury claims, Road Accident Fund claims, as well as commercial and residential lease disputes.
Barnard is a Strength-Based Organisation. Janie's CliftonStrengths® are a part of what makes her such a valued member of the Barnard family.
- Janie leads with the Achiever strength. She is always ready to work hard and possesses a great deal of stamina. Janie says that her parents and her grandmother have a tremendous influence on her commitment to her work and work ethic. "They taught me to always go the extra mile when it comes to my dealings with clients, to be an all-or-nothing person. They are enthusiastic about any and every project they tend to and hopefully someday someone can say the same about me."
- She also excels at her Learner strength. She has a great desire to learn and continuously improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, is something that brings her great pleasure!
- Janie's Input strength speaks to her need to collect and archive. She accumulates information, ideas, artefacts or even relationships (and compliments). There is always room for more.
- One of the strengths that Janie is best known for is her Empathy strength. She can sense other people's feelings by imagining herself in others' lives or situations. Her colleagues have fondly dubbed her the "Compliments Queen!" Janie regularly receives praise and appreciation as a result of the patience, kindness and professionalism with which she approaches colleagues and clients alike.
- The last of her top 5 strengths is the Restorative strength. Janie is beyond adept at dealing with problems. She is good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it. Her friend and fellow attorney, Krischka Müller concurs, "Janie is an extremely dependable, committed force of positivity that never backs down from a challenge.
When Janie isn't garnering compliments and successful outcomes at work, she enjoys cycling (another story of determination), socialising with friends and family, gardening, sewing and exercising. As her school song urges, "Healthy in spirit, healthy in body, we strive for this together each day." Janie's definitely playing her part.
If we may echo one of the many compliments that Janie receives from happy clients: "Baie, baie dankie Janie!"