How do I get a design job in the Netherlands?

December 19, 2008 11:07 AM

Hello. First Post. Be Gentle. I recently went back to university to learn 'a trade' after many years of employment and will be completing my product design degree ready for the job market in June.

Now I really want to work for a product / industrial / creative design agency out in the Netherlands. I reckon my portfolio is pretty good and I've been getting excellent marks over the last 3 years of this course. I've also spent time in project management which is an added relevant skill. Basically, I reckon the creative / talent bit should be covered.

Trouble is, I have absolutely no networking links with anybody that could help me get a job in Holland. I know very little Dutch, but have been told that the International Language of Design(TM) is English so that should be okay. And I'm signed up to a learn Dutch podcast just in case.

What can I do about this? Where can I go to network with people that could help me (online and offline)? Has anybody done similar and can give advice?

Sorry its a bit vague...

thnx.

posted by gonzo_ID to work & money (7 comments total)

I don't know anything about the Dutch market and whether you could get by with mostly speaking English, but here's my general advice: Do a lot of research. Expand your search to include internships and more schooling in the Netherlands. Maybe there's a specialized program that attracts international students. Take advantage of any support offered by your school. (College? University? Sorry, I always confuse the distinctions in British English.) The easiest people with whom to start networking are your instructors, right now.
posted by hydrophonic at 11:48 AM on December 19, 2008

A vague answer to a vague question, but almost everyone in Holland speaks English with some degree of fluency, so don't be shy about contacting anyone there.
posted by trip and a half at 12:13 PM on December 19, 2008

This thread might be helpful.
posted by juva at 1:37 PM on December 19, 2008

I just graduated from a design school here in the States (Art Center, FTW) and they had a pretty good career development office. While they obviously can't hook you up with actual gigs, they can certainly give you leads. Does your uni not have something similar of which you can avail yourself?
posted by arishaun at 4:53 PM on December 19, 2008

I'm American, only speak English, have no business contacts in the Netherlands, and got a job here after less than six months of searching (in a different field, but also a technical-creative-type profession). It's totally possible. Not necessarily easy, but possible. (And, by the way, totally worth it; I love living here.)

There are definitely Dutch companies where the day-to-day operations are in English, or at least are mixed Dutch/English enough that they're fine with hiring non-Dutch speakers. Philips is a big one (well, maybe not for all positions, but they interviewed me knowing that I don't know Dutch), and of course, they have a whole Design division.

Good on you for starting your Dutch education (believe me, starting every simple conversation with "spreekt u Engels?" gets old), but I imagine you want to move sooner than the time it would take you to become fluent! Plus learning Dutch from real live Dutch people is much more fun, especially when they try to teach you things like the difference between the pronunciation of zout and zuid.

You'd probably fall under the highly skilled migrants program. In it, your employer registers with the IND (immigration office) and has to prove that they can't hire any EU person to do the job, so they need to hire you. Your employer takes care of getting your work and residence permits; you just show up! Obviously not all companies are willing to do that, because they have to pay all of the fees and such, but I think it's pretty common for companies that are seeking educated professionals, especially those with specific skills or experience.

So anything that you can do to set yourself apart will help (your project management experience is a perfect example). However, the company will probably have to be fairly large (or at least fairly wealthy); I had a really promising lead with a company in Amsterdam but, upon meeting in person, they decided that their operation was too small to invest the money and time that's involved in hiring a non-EU person. Understandable.

When I started looking for a job, I just started applying left and right, the same way I would in the U.S. I tried both individual company web sites and employment sites. Some companies that I can think of right now are Philips, Canon, Cisco, TomTom, and Bugaboo. Some employment sites are monsterboard.nl, EURES, Expatica, and, of course, MeFi Jobs (not always super-active but definitely worth watching).

Also, I've sent you a MeFi Mail. :)
posted by transporter accident amy at 5:52 AM on December 22, 2008

I just realized that you're in the UK, so maybe you're an EU citizen. In that case, it should be even easier, as that eliminates at least one barrier to hiring you. So maybe this IND link is more appropriate.

I also realized a point that I didn't make; when applying, I didn't limit myself to companies that had open positions advertised. I did some Googling and found companies that specialized in my area, and just sent a cover letter and resume to their contact e-mail. Several companies told me that they were always interested in qualified employees, even if they don't have a specific open position at the time. There are certain rules about advertising a job for x number of days before you can offer it to a non-EU citizen, but maybe that doesn't apply to you! :)

If you're a native English speaker, you might play that up as an advantage. It's a definite advantage in my field, but even in other professions, I think a lot of Dutch companies recognize native English speakers as advantageous when the working environment is primarily in English (e.g. you have to document stuff in English, communicate with people in other locations using English, etc.). Most Dutch people do speak some English, but in my experience, a lot speak it much better than they write it, which can be rough in the world of e-mail.
posted by transporter accident amy at 9:05 AM on December 22, 2008

thanks all.
posted by gonzo_ID at 1:36 PM on December 26, 2008