Continuing your career abroad is not always easy. But what about making a career change abroad? How easy is it to find work in the Netherlands?
I moved to the Netherlands for love so I didn’t have a job lined up when I packed up my gear and headed across the North Sea one grey, cloudy September day. I discovered that it’s not always easy finding a job in a country where you don’t speak the language. At least not without compromising. But I also discovered that living abroad can provide you with the perfect platform to make a career change.
One Day at a Time
I took my job search one day at a time and jumped each hurdle as it arose.
I tried to get myself back into the world of work as quickly as I could after moving to the Netherlands. If for no other reason that we needed an extra income to pay for a place of our own to live in.
Within a few weeks of landing on Dutch soil I was signed up with recruitment agencies, applying for vacancies as they came up and making telephone calls that I thought could help me.
Job Opportunities in the Netherlands for English Speakers
There are lots of international organisations in the Netherlands, which is great news for English speakers. Job opportunities obviously vastly increase once you have mastered Dutch.
My tip is to sign up with recruitment agencies to improve your chances of getting a job when you first get to the Netherlands. And learn Dutch!
Starting Somewhere
Within a month or two I had a job in my field (Human Resources). It was temporary cover for maternity leave and a step down from what I had been doing. But I had a hold on the career ladder once more. The maternity cover period ended and I was made permanent staff.
The first two years or so were enjoyable. It was new. I had sufficient challenge finding my way around a new company. It kept the mortgage payments in check. When the project I was working on finished, I was palmed out to another department. And it was then that I realised, again, that I was a round peg and yet another employer was trying to squeeze me into a square hole.
Jumping in the Deep End
I knew things had to change. I began writing. Just for my own pleasure. My own eyes. And then I started feeding that creativity into my day job. The more I delved into writing, and in particular expat writing, the more I bumped in to the name “Jo Parfitt“.
One writing course later and I was fully committed to getting out of an office cubicle. I was determined to leave behind endless demotivating company reorganisations and be free of meetings about quarterly profits.
I wanted to take a career turn. Others had done it, so I could too. (In fact one of my first published articles was on the topic of making a career change abroad).
Jo Parfitt was an incredible inspiration and motivation in the early days of my writing career. She convinced me that I could write, and furthermore, could make a career out of it. Plus she was a ‘real life example’ that it really was all possible. She was shouting encouragement from the sidelines from day one. And with that kind of support the step out of the rat race was made a whole lot easier.
The Rest is History
I began freelance writing. I then added Dutch to English translations to my tool kit. And in April 2022 I start a HSP Coach course. The journey is a continuing one. And I have no regrets!
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The Challenge of a Career Change Abroad
Living abroad can be complicated. It presents challenges. Careers can be made or broken overseas. But a life abroad can also offer the opportunity to start over, to take time and reflect, to try and work out where your passion lies. And if you have the right support cheering you on from the sidelines? Well, then anything is possible.
Head on over to Expats Blog to read more on this topic: “Letting Go of the Career Ladder“.
*For your convenience, this post includes affiliate links to products and books useful for the Turning Dutch community. They cost you nothing more to buy, but I may get a small commission, which goes towards costs to keep the Turning Dutch site running.*
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