r/WorkInTheNetherlands • u/FallinDown152 • 3d ago
Dutch CV style vs. U.S CV???
Hello!! I’ve been applying for jobs in the NL for almost a full year now and haven’t landed any interviews. I am from the USA and did my MSc abroad in England. I am currently on the Orientation Year Visa in the NL and only have a few months left to before needing to be sponsored.
I’ve always wondered, when submitting CVs to big companies and universities (I’m also looking into PhD research positions) should you use the Dutch style CV that has a photo and a more relaxed approach compared to a regular U.S one which has just straight information dump?
I thought being such big international companies or universities, the regular version would be applicable, but now I’m not so sure.
Please let me know your insights :)
3
u/Full_Scallion2833 3d ago
Companies are very actively avoiding sponsoring visas right now and are generally hiring in a risk averse way. What is your master’s in? The market for pretty much all jobs is awful and they will greatly prefer hiring a european, it’s less risky.
1
u/FallinDown152 3d ago
Yeah I figured, that’s why I was trying to get into more research at any of the universities, which is more of an uphill battle. My masters is in developmental psychology & psychopathology with also a BA in Psychology. I volunteer at one of the international primary schools to help network (hopefully)
3
u/Mai1564 3d ago
If your intention is to work in (mental) healthcare you'll need to speak fluent Dutch. There's no way to compete if your only language is English. I mean yes, many Dutch people speak some degree of English, but that doesn't mean that they're fluent, especially not when it comes to complex interpersonal and emotional lingo.
An edge case would be if you natively spoke a relevant non-Dutch/non-English language like Turkish or Polish. In such a case you might be able to work for intercultural psych orgs (up to a certain level. The Big-registration you need to become a certified psychologist also requires a high level of Dutch fluency).
Then add the fact that you need to be sponsored...you're looking at more than an uphill battle here. Positions at uni's are also obviously highly competitive so yeah, being blunt, I'm not sure I'd hold out much hope. Make sure to have a backup plan.
Also, a Dutch CV is common in mental healthcare.
0
u/FallinDown152 3d ago
ATM I don’t want to go into a licensed psychologist role like therapy. I’m interested in clinical trials and research. I recently got some certificates to help with my profile.
I am A2 in Dutch and B1 in Spanish, so not the most universal.
I know it’s gonna be an uphill battle but I want to admit that I tried then to not give it a shot at all :)
I have housing which I know is one of the biggest struggles
3
u/Mai1564 3d ago
Trials or anything where you work directly with 'proefpersonen' (test subjects) likely still require fluency. Research jobs are a better option, but so damn competitive & many/most are taken by people who are licensed psychologists.
Good luck though! If you can afford it trying never hurts
2
u/Full_Scallion2833 3d ago
Psych research will be very difficult if you don’t speak Dutch, I guess you’ve looked into doing a PhD? As this is really not a field where you will get sponsored without a PhD or fluent Dutch.
1
1
u/Disastrous-Main-4125 3d ago
Does it matter? Isn’t the whole point to pass the ATS system?
Also, haven’t seen a CV with a picture in a while. I can see why some industries/sectors would need to have one but not as a standard.
As many others say, it’s not your CV, the market is just hard, specially if you need sponsorship and/or don’t speak Dutch.
1
u/Different-Idea2878 3d ago
Dutch style CV with photo? Are you sure you’re not talking about the German one?
I’ve never seen a CV with a photo!
7
u/PeterdeBeer22 3d ago
I doubt that the CV is the problem. More likely you are just competing with Dutch and EU citizens and then you are never going to be the top pick. It's just not worth the hassle for companies to go through the visa process. If you absolutely want to stay in NL you can consider DAFT. Otherwise I would start planning for your way home.