Tue, 29 May 2012
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Employment
Employment Information
Dutch working culture and culturally correct CVs
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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). Despite this approach, a common complaint on expat forums is that meetings often start late apart from in the larger international organisations. 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.
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);
This advice from the Centre for Work and Employment is rather simplistic, and if you are an expat who is applying for a post that doesn't require fluent Dutch, then the cover letter for instance, should be in English.
For in-depth advices that has more 'international' relevance, read Writing your CV 10 commandments for interviews
Expatica 2011
For a short "fluff" piece there are a surprising number of things I take issue with in this article. I've been working in the Netherlands for almost 12 years for 4 different clients (Dutch and International) and barely recognize the advice written here.
Work and home life kept separate? Compared to where? In every Dutch office I've worked in we talk about relationships, breakups, kids, parents, infidelity, holidays, the lot. And that's before lunch! I find Dutch people very upfront and open about their personal lives, and that they expect the same of others or tend to distrust them.
Meetings? Sure, loads of them and the poldermodel means everyone will talk. But I don't find the frequency or rigid planning nearly as remarkable as the fact that they always seem to start 5-10 minutes late and then you get the coffee. The idea of the 30 minute meeting just isn't viable in this country except in the most international of offices.
Education on top of the CV? As a 25-year Dutch HR veteran told me recently when reworking my CV: "you're not fresh out of school, that goes to the back page". Same as any country: get the freshest most impressive stuff right there front and center on page 1 since that's all you're guaranteed that they'll read. If that's your education then great, otherwise it should be your most recent and most impressive work.
And the cover letter in Dutch? If you can't back it up on the phone with spoken Dutch I can see that causing more confusion and issues rather than solving some non-existant problem. The best CVs are upfront and honest about language abilities. This isn't an area to bluff, cheat, or use Jip en Janneke taal. Grammatically correct English will work just fine for anybody looking for CV writing advice on Expatica.
Dutch working culture is fun and fascinating if you take the right approach to it. Enjoy!
I agree with David. The piece is full of old clichés about Dutch working life.
Hi David.
We agree with you that the Centre for Work and Employment have given information which isn't of current interest to expats applying for a job. So I have linked to a relevant article on CVs and job interview tips. Plus, agreed that apart from in the larger international oranisations, the Dutch tend to start meetings late, so I have added a line in there.
Thanks for your feedback!
This article is pretty bad, and guys like me who read things like this before coming suffered because of that. Work and life kept separate? Conversation wise that is absolute nonsense. However, maybe it's slightly different up here in Groningen as I find my colleagues to continuously encourage me to tell them everything about my private life and even my salary, but they freakout when I ask them about those things. Or maybe it's because I'm not white but I will never know. For those who are playing with the idea of becoming an expat here, you can expect people to encourage you to be open but don't expect the same back. You're also not going to impress anyone with you education on your CV but I predict that's going to change in the hard sciences. Remember, the Dutch discourage competition in school. Hard subjects like math, physics and engineering are not only unpopular but discouraged at a young age. A senior engineer with a PhD from MIT will earn half the salary of entry manager that graduated from the local Hogeschool. The Dutch government have recently initiated some very ambitious programs in science/engineer one of which is in my field, but the principle investigator have not been able to find qualified personnel for these position simply because no one has this kind of education.
For a short "fluff" piece there are a surprising number of things I take issue with in this article. I've been working in the Netherlands for almost 12 years for 4 different clients (Dutch and International) and barely recognize the advice written here.
Work and home life kept separate? Compared to where? In every Dutch office I've worked in we talk about relationships, breakups, kids, parents, infidelity, holidays, the lot. And that's before lunch! I find Dutch people very upfront and open about their personal lives, and that they expect the same of others or tend to distrust them.
Meetings? Sure, loads of them and the poldermodel means everyone will talk. But I don't find the frequency or rigid planning nearly as remarkable as the fact that they always seem to start 5-10 minutes late and then you get the coffee. The idea of the 30 minute meeting just isn't viable in this country except in the most international of offices.
Education on top of the CV? As a 25-year Dutch HR veteran told me recently when reworking my CV: "you're not fresh out of school, that goes to the back page". Same as any country: get the freshest most impressive stuff right there front and center on page 1 since that's all you're guaranteed that they'll read. If that's your education then great, otherwise it should be your most recent and most impressive work.
And the cover letter in Dutch? If you can't back it up on the phone with spoken Dutch I can see that causing more confusion and issues rather than solving some non-existant problem. The best CVs are upfront and honest about language abilities. This isn't an area to bluff, cheat, or use Jip en Janneke taal. Grammatically correct English will work just fine for anybody looking for CV writing advice on Expatica.
Dutch working culture is fun and fascinating if you take the right approach to it. Enjoy!
I agree with David. The piece is full of old clichés about Dutch working life.
Hi David.
We agree with you that the Centre for Work and Employment have given information which isn't of current interest to expats applying for a job. So I have linked to a relevant article on CVs and job interview tips. Plus, agreed that apart from in the larger international oranisations, the Dutch tend to start meetings late, so I have added a line in there.
Thanks for your feedback!
This article is pretty bad, and guys like me who read things like this before coming suffered because of that. Work and life kept separate? Conversation wise that is absolute nonsense. However, maybe it's slightly different up here in Groningen as I find my colleagues to continuously encourage me to tell them everything about my private life and even my salary, but they freakout when I ask them about those things. Or maybe it's because I'm not white but I will never know. For those who are playing with the idea of becoming an expat here, you can expect people to encourage you to be open but don't expect the same back. You're also not going to impress anyone with you education on your CV but I predict that's going to change in the hard sciences. Remember, the Dutch discourage competition in school. Hard subjects like math, physics and engineering are not only unpopular but discouraged at a young age. A senior engineer with a PhD from MIT will earn half the salary of entry manager that graduated from the local Hogeschool. The Dutch government have recently initiated some very ambitious programs in science/engineer one of which is in my field, but the principle investigator have not been able to find qualified personnel for these position simply because no one has this kind of education.
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