A couple of months ago, in a moment when I was feeling hopeless but determined to find a job regardless if it was something that I was passionate about or not, I applied to vacancies for jobs that don’t require academic qualifications such as cleaning offices and delivering post. Once again I was rejected: I didn’t have experience as a cleaner (naively I thought that keeping my house tidy and shiny was enough) and I was not able to speak Dutch. I remember a remarkable phone conversation with the hiring manager of the post service that drained away my determination.
-I’m sorry Madam, but if you don’t speak Dutch I can’t offer you the job.
-But Sir, the town where I live is pretty small, I know my way around, the names of the streets and there is a big bunch of people who already know me or at least recognize me.
-Well, I’m sorry but for delivering post we require you to speak Dutch.
-Could you please at least give it a thought? Or study my case with your supervisor? I have friends who had this job without speaking Dutch.
(We hanged up and he called me back)
-I talked to my supervisor, and we cannot offer you the job, I’m sorry. But please let me give you some advice: I would recommend you to learn Dutch. The day that you speak the language you can call us back and we will give you the job. So please Madam learn the language. Ok? Good luck, we will be looking forward to hearing back from you. Bye, Bye.
One hand I still don’t understand why is not possible to deliver mail without speaking Dutch, but on the other hand he was right, I should learn Dutch. He made it sound like something so easy to attain that left me speechless. I know that speaking Dutch could open lots of opportunities for me but the fact that I’m surrounded by expats that don’t speak Dutch either (Scottish boyfriend, French\Egyptian internship boss, German\Portuguese volunteer supervisor and my international friends) allows me to be in a comfortable (yet not the best) zone where is perfectly possible, and somehow encouraged, to interact only in English. In addition to this, as we all know, The Netherlands and its people are pretty considerate when it comes to the language: people are willing to speak to you in English, is common to find Dutch websites in both languages, bank statements, phone and dinner menus are in English, etc. It’s pretty easy to get around not speaking Dutch but when I’m in situations like a doctor’s appointment or checking vacancy posts the relevance of speaking the language becomes quite clear again.
I’ve been studying at home on my own and with the help of my neighbor but now it’s time to get further. I’m beginning with an appointment this week at the Regionale Sociale Dienst to discuss about my inburgeren process and check what would best suit me. I guess speaking Dutch will be the main topic to discuss. And maybe in a couple of months that postman job can be mine ; )
*A hilarious example of an awkward situation because of not speaking Dutch: click here