Every day I would sit down, search for jobs that looked appealing, tailor my C.V. to each, and write a well-worded and lengthy cover letter. Several weeks went by and I had not heard anything back from my applications or my follow-ups. This is when frustration set in. As a business major in undergrad and an active member of a business fraternity, I attended every mock interview, resume workshop, and meet and greet that my university had to offer. I have had numerous jobs over the years and each of those required the preparation I was trained to do, so this was disheartening. After those weeks of silence, I decided to look outward for help and that is when I found a job fair for expats.
The day of the job fair, I arrive in my suit with several copies of C.V.s in hand; ready to do several on the spot interviews, as I would expect to do in the U.S. That is when it started to dawn on me that maybe things were not done exactly as they were back home. While there were a few direct companies hiring at the fair, most were recruiting agencies. This was a surprise to me and a bit of a disappointment since I was told to contact these agencies at a later date to help me with my C.V. and job searching, something I could have done from the comfort of my home and saved some trees with the wasted C.V. prints. I decided to give the job fair another chance and attend some of the seminars they had. After all, I had travelled 40 minutes by bus, which might as well be 40 hours according to Amsterdam distance. I attended a seminar about building a Dutch C.V. thinking it would be good to be refreshed on the subject but that I already had a pretty good grasp of what was expected. This is when I started to get a grip on the reality I did not even know I was removed from.
At this point I was happy to have printed out so many copies of my C.V. because they acted as my notepad for the numerous amount of changes and suggestions I made. I kept thinking to myself: “No wonder I have had radio silence on the other end of these jobs I am applying for!” Other than the fact that I had listed my name, my C.V. could not have looked more different than what was showed. As opposed to a U.S. resume, having several pages is completely normal and expected to ensure you are fully represented. Dutch employers want to know everything about you including a picture of what you look like and what activities you do on the weekends. Team activities are highly regarded in the Netherlands and companies will sometimes regard your ability to fit into the team as more important than your qualifications. A great amount of detail is expected for each job description as well as in your introduction. This is crucial considering software is used to upload your C.V. and find keywords that fit the job description being applied to. It seems the more detail and correct keywords you have on your C.V., the more likely it will get picked up and recognized by the system.
One important lesson I took away from all of this was that I could not do it alone. I could not assume that I knew it all. I needed help; it just took me a while to realize that I needed help. After the job fair, I reached out to Together Abroad for a Skype consultation on what kind of jobs I was looking for and C.V. revisions. Not even a week after my 2nd call with the wonderful Irina, I had an interview and ended up taking the job. My first impression of the Dutch job market as an expat was that I know absolutely nothing and that reaching out for help was the best decision I could have made.
Ashley Herbert