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Concise, direct and professional communication is the style for job applications in the Netherlands. We offer some tips on how to land a job and the working culture to expect.

Working culture

Work life and home life are kept separate and office hours will be strictly observed. Newcomers working at Dutch companies are often surprised by the informal working relationships, horizontal management structures and (lots of) meetings (overleggen) at which every point of view must be discussed to reach a consensus. There’s a punctilious approach to these meetings, indeed social engagements of any kind: always carry your diary (agenda). Colleagues often lunch together (all part of working as an egalitarian team) or there may be a canteen.

The working environment in an international company can be very different. Flexible working is common, particularly for families with children (However, senior executive women are still some distance from the boardroom. In terms of gender diversity at the top level, “the Netherlands lags sorely behind other countries,” says Mary van der Boon of cultural consultancy firm Global tmc. However, things are looking up. According to the EuropeanPWN BoardWomen Monitor 2010, the Netherlands grew by 28.6 percent in two years ranking it as the 4th best European country for female board representation, up from the 10th place in 2006. This impressive growth is due to the commitment of a number of CEOs to improve gender diversity as a result of pressure from various private initiatives and continued press attention.

Cultural competency

Many international companies have headquarters in the Netherlands. For senior executives, ‘cross-cultural competency’ tests may be part of the selection procedure for international assignments. Following on from standard personality analysis programmes like the Meyers Briggs Type Indicators, these tests analyse personality preferences and prejudices that could affect performance in a new cultural environment; technical competence to do the job is already assumed. Top firms are looking for executives who are open-minded, flexible, mature, who show respect for, and interest in different cultures.

Culturally correct CVs

Concise, direct and professional communication is the style for job applications in the Netherlands. “Remember that a Dutch CV only states facts and figures,” urges the former Centre for Work and Employment (www.werk.nl) UWV WERKbedrijf. One or two pages maximum in this order: Personal details (address etc);

• Education (courses, not results).
• Work experience (the most recent first is popular with recruiters but some like to see career progression). Include job responsibilities.
• ‘Leisure activities’ are valued “very much” by Dutch companies, according to the UWV WERKbedrijf. In your cover letter (which should be in Dutch if possible) include more about your motivation for the job, but keep the tone professional. If you’ve done your research, you should know what the company is looking for and how you fit in.
  

bron: www.expatica.com

 

The Expatriate Archive Centre in the Netherlands claims that it’s unique, being the only archive collecting objects and data related to the life of expatriates. The archive’s aim is ambitious: to chart and study the life of expats all over the world throughout the ages.

The centre’s Archivist since 2007, former expat Rosita Arnts told Radio Netherlands Worldwide: “We collect anything that has a connection with expats’ lives: photos, love letters, diaries, films, everything. We’re not focusing on Dutch expats, but ones of all nationalities. So we do include the Chinese expatriate in Zambia or the US diplomat in The Hague. As far as I know, we are the only archive in the world collecting such material.”

The initiative for the Expatriate Archive was taken by women who were members of Shell Outpost – a network of Shell employees – but it became independent a couple of years ago. Given its international outlook, all business is being conducted in English.

As Ms Arnts explains, “everything that we receive is translated into English, so it becomes accessible for researchers.”

Research

The archive, based in The Hague, is modest in size but steadily growing. Ms Arnts says “last week a lady came by offering a box filled with documents belonging to her parents who had lived abroad. We’ll be archiving and digitising those documents.”

“The primary aim of the archive is to facilitate academic research into the history and nature of expat life. We’re not interested in gossip, but in the bigger story. If you leave private documents with us, you don’t have to fear them being made public. We are adhering to very strict privacy rules.”

A safe place

An additional advantage is that conditions for family documents are better in the archive, Arnts says. “We can keep them better than you could at home in a suitcase in the attic. We control temperature and humidity, and all the material is stored in acid-free boxes. All material having been digitised, it’s easy for family members to order digital copies. And of course you can still come to the archive and browse your family albums here.”

“It would be a shame for people’s memories, fixed in the shape of films, photos and other documents, which they lugged along all over the world, would end up in the dustbin because their children are not immediately interested,” Rosita Arnts says. “But often they develop an interest in family history at a later stage. Isn’t it great that there is an organisation where everything is being kept?”

What’s an expat?

The definition as used by the expate archive is: anybody who lived or worked abroad for a span of time. Once they decide to put down roots in a chosen country, they become emigrés, at which point the archive’s interest ends.

You can take a look at the archive’s latest acquisitions on the centre’s news page.

source: www.rnw.nl

Our brief introduction to the Employment section for the Netherlands includes guidelines on setting up a business in the Netherlands, finding a job and Dutch labour law.

European Employment & Trends

Looking for work in the Netherlands? Expatica covers everything you need to know about expat employment in the Netherlands, from work permits and European employment and immigration regulations to job applications and Dutch labour law. Detailed articles such as Working in the Netherlands, part I and part II take you through the rules regarding expat employment, including work permits, who does or doesn’t need one, whether partners can work or not, including a section on conditions applied to entrepreneurs and working holiday schemes for expats from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Employment & Trends section also informs you about a special programme for highly skilled migrants, which also lists expat centres in the Netherlands that help expats to cut throgh the red tape rapidly and with less hassle.

Labour law and contracts

What you need to look out for and expect in working expat contracts is covered in articles such as Dutch contracts and employment law and ending expat contracts in troubled times which looks at expat employees’ rights in the face of contract termination when employers feel the pinch of recession.

Working students

Students in the Netherlands can check out our Student Jobs section on Expatica’s student portal.

Women expats

Women expats are happier at work according to an Expatica survey of over 450 women living abroad, although opportunities for promotion and low wages continue to trouble women expats at work. According to the Expatica survey, female expats based in Spain are the happiest, followed by Belgium and France. Expatica’s Employment & Trends channel covers specific issues faced by women working abroad in articles such as Women at work: Making and taking opportunities and Women on assignment: An evolutionary perspective. Also read Tips for women in the Netherlands which offers valuable information on networking and career change.

Teaching English as a foreign language

Teaching English, which for some working expats is a way of making ends meet when they first arrive abroad, can turn into a full-time occupation.

Setting up a business in the Netherlands

Thinking of setting up your own business? Then read Setting up a business in the Netherlands plus our in-depth guide from the Dutch chanmber of Commerce (part one and part two) on setting up a business as a self-employed entrepreneur in the Netherlands. For more tips, read our interviews with expat entrepreneurs who share their experiences of setting up and running a business in the Netherlands. Click here to take the interview online.

European human resources news roundup

Our monthly updates from the Federation of European Employers (FedEE) inform on changes in EU employment law, key judgments from the European Court of Justice and national labour courts, income tax and pension reforms, pay agreements, company-level HR policies and trade union activities.

Job search

Don’t forget to use our job search function which lists a variety of jobs in the Netherlands!

bron: www.expatica.com

If you’re looking for a job in the Netherlands, be focussed, persistent and don’t lose hope, says Martina Mc Auley who offers job-finding tips on what can seem like a “never-ending job search.”
Well I’ve been looking for a fulltime job for a good while. As part of the compensation package from my last employer, I followed a career management course with an outplacement agency for nine months. One thing that I did learn from the course was the sort of job I’m looking for. And that’s half the battle.

I think the perfect job for me, would be working in a tourist office because I can make use of my 14 years of travel experience, 20 years hospitality experience and several years of customer service experience and make use of my good Dutch and French, great organisational skills and love/passion for travelling.

I did apply for a job working in the VVV (tourist office) in Amsterdam but they need fluency in four languages! Which I don’t have, and one of them must be Dutch. So I thought about other options and came up with Ireland, Scotland, England or Wales.

Now Ireland is one of the worst hit countries in Europe in the economic crisis, so I don’t think my chances of finding work there are very high and the tourism industry there has taken a nosedive recently. So what about Scotland, England or Wales? I would really like to work for Visit Scotland but I’m wondering if I’d be of any help as I just melt when I hear the Scottish accent, and I’d be mesmerised listening to any Scottish guys speaking… The Kiwi accent has the same effect, but I’m sure I’d get over it! I would definitely consider England or Wales, but my all-time ideal location to work in would be in the Wellington i-site office in New Zealand (I am dying to get back there, but getting the visa is difficult for anyone over 30 is nigh on impossible.

I also have to consider if it’s worth moving away, building up a different way of life, but if I wanted the job enough I’d go for it! Life is too short not to follow your passions, and I have at least another 25 years of a working life ahead of me and I’d rather not spend it doing jobs just to pay the bills.

As well as applying for tourism jobs, I’m open to other opportunities such as administrative jobs, and in the last 10 months have sent off God knows how many application letters.

Most of them have come back with rejections and a variety of reasons of why I’m not suitable for the job. Happily, I’ve also had quite a few interviews, and one is particularly memorable.

I was invited for a second interview with a company based in Amsterdam. Part of the interview was a video conference with the manager and other team members. At the end of the hour-long conference, the woman who had invited me for the interview came into the room. She went to turn off the connection on the video behind me, indicating that we should leave the room. I was on the point of standing up when I heard a clatter and bang followed by a muffled cry. My swivel chair span round as the woman, who had slipped in her high heels, grasped the arm of the chair to support herself on the way down, an action which sent me spinning, threw me off balance and dumped me on the floor beside her! We picked ourselves up with as much dignity and grace as we could muster. Needless to say, I didn’t get the job.

So what tips would I give after my many months of experience, of looking for a job? Knowing what you want is half the battle. Even though it might be difficult to achieve, keep going. You’ll get there in the end. There’s a saying by Theo Paphitis, one of the dragons on Dragon’s Den on the BBC which I like to follow: “If you haven’t got a passion for what you’re doing, go do something else.
Combine networking and applying for advertised positions. Networking especially, can be very valuable. It’s not always who you know; you never know who others might know. Evidently, 70 percent of your chances of finding a job are through networking.
Follow up is very important -before you apply for a job and after].
After you send in your job application, if you can, call the contact person/hiring manager and ask questions about the job. It will help them remember you.
Retrain yourself or do extra courses that will help you get that job.
Lastly, don’t underestimate support from family and friends. Over the last few months it’s been a roller coaster ride of emotions and at times I’ve been very down, constantly trying to deal with the vast number of rejections coming in and trying to keep myself motivated to keep applying for jobs. I would have been lost without the support of family and friends. They have been absolutely great and I’m so glad they have been there for me through the whole thing, with all the ups and downs. But persistence and patience will get you a lot of places. Stick to your guns. You’ll get there.

I started a fulltime job a week ago, nearly a year and a half after I finished my last fulltime job. The job is only temporary at the moment but at least it gets me out of the house and back into the routine of working again, learning new things and meeting new people. But I will still follow my dreams of trying to find work in a tourist office and/ or becoming a travel writer. I’m open to all sorts of opportunities.

Martina Mc Auley has a passion for travelling and writing about her travels. She describes herself as “determined, adventurous and creative,” with an “ambition is to become a fulltime travel writer and photographer.” Visit her blog at www.travelpod.com/members/flyingbat

bron: www.expatica.com

Life in the Netherlands has not only cemented my identity as an expat. Since 2001, I have been a part of the Dutch academic system. My journey has taken me from a bright-eyed, enthusiastic master’s student, to a determined and sometimes desperate PhD student, and finally into the grown-up world of employment as an assistant professor.

I am often asked how I have managed to stay here – rooted in a very Dutch sector – with such a pathetic understanding of the language. I try to gloss over my own laziness when it comes to language courses. But I can honestly answer that it’s mainly because English is my native language. Universities in the Netherlands are touting a new buzz word: Internationalisering. Whether one agrees with this or not, the race is on to internationalize. The process is resulting in more hiring of international staff, more recruiting of students from abroad, and more programmes and courses in English. This means that one can manoeuvre through the entire university system – from a bachelor’s degree to a PhD – entirely in English. And if a PhD graduate wants to continue on as academic staff, there are more and more Dutch and international students to teach…in English.
Another part of this experience is exposure to a very diverse group of students. From the University of Amsterdam to Erasmus University Rotterdam, I’ve taught small and large groups of international students, mainly who have incredibly interesting backgrounds, speak multiple languages and have lived in several different countries. I’ve also taught Dutch students who have never left the Netherlands and US students who had never left California until their four-month study abroad trip. With such variety come new challenges. Imagine teaching a group where some are incredibly deferential to authority (they call me “Professor Ward”) mixed with those who view our relationship as more of a professional negotiation between fee-paying student and salary-receiving faculty. Believe me, there are some days where I’m relieved that Rate my Professors hasn’t made it to the Netherlands.

Overall, being a part of Dutch academia has been a very interesting way to experience expat life. At home I can retreat to an expat group of friends, but at work, the debates that grip the country – immigration, budget cuts, social benefits – all play out.

Am I in it for the long haul? Perhaps. But so much time has gone by that I can already reflect on the growing number of students attending class with their laptops. It will be interesting to see how things evolve in the coming years, and whether the Dutch university will continue its drive towards the ultimate international experience.

bron: www.expactica.com