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Jobseeking tips & tricks

The Dutch North — which includes the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe — is famous for its innovative SMEs, pleasant work-life balance and international-friendliness.

On this page, we're giving you tips and tricks for how to start your career here, or how to take the next step.

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Especially for you, we've gathered international-friendly jobs, plus international-friendly companies, and information about looking for work in the North, right here.

Whether you're an international student looking for a part-time job or internship, a graduate taking their first step, a medior/senior taking the next career step, a PhD or postdoc, a labor migrant or a permitholder, or even a Dutchie who wants to work in English - everyone is welcome to join our events and make use of our career services.

Applying for jobs with Northern SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises: companies up to 250 people) is a different game from job hunting at multinational corporates. There's more personal attention for who you are and what you could add to the organization. Because of that, we strongly encourage you to take the time to tailor your CV and especially cover letter to the company and job you apply to - sending the same application everywhere is much less likely to yield an interview invitation or even a response!

For all the details, we invite you to have a read through all our resources to get ready to apply for jobs and send open applications to companies in Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe.

The first 3 steps to start your career in the Dutch North

How to
Make it in the North:
Career Roadmap

Get your personal job hunting checklist by making an account on Make it in the North. You get easy access to all of our articles about the Northern Dutch jobmarket: tips and tricks for every step of the way before, during and after your job hunt!

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Do's and dont's during your job hunt

Although you might have to spend time searching for a job in the North, if you get hired the hard work will all be worth it. To summarise the main points, here’s a quick list of job hunting do’s and don’ts for the Netherlands.

đŸ€© Do!

  1. Make good use of social media and LinkedIn with updated profiles
  2. Send open applications – being specific about what you’re looking for and what you can do helps
  3. Leverage your network – good introductions and getting to know about jobs by word of mouth helps
  4. If you feel totally out of depth, contact a recruitment agency
  5. Aim high

 đŸ˜” Don’t

  1. Ignore the tips and advice you get from your network or other locals
  2. Underestimate the time and effort – it's not at all unlikely that it is going to take you weeks or even months to get the job you want
  3. Be unprepared – research the companies you’re applying with, know how to explain how you’ll be adding value
  4. Send the exact same application letter to different companies, even if the job is the same
  5. Give up easily – your next job might be around the corner!
Frequently asked questions
  • EU citizens can work in the Netherlands without a residence or work permit
  • if you’re here on a study visa, you can usually work no more than 16 hours a week, but you’ll also need:
    • a work permit (tewerkstellingsvergunning) – your employer has to apply for this at the UWV
    • Dutch social security number (BSN)
    • Dutch health insurance

By the way, you won’t need this stuff for doing an internship as part of your studies!

Yes! On Make it in the North’s very own internship board, you can browse through a list of internships that companies have posted. You can also create an internship card to announce that you’re looking for an internship — companies can indicate that they’re interested to hear more and then you can reach out to them.

If you’re a company that wants to advertise an internship, simply use the process of posting a new vacancy but make sure you tag it as an internship. Companies can post internships and traineeships through their dashboard.

For toolkits explaining all the above in greater detail, check out our page here.

Internship board

Being the home to more than 120 nationalities, the Northern Netherlands is a great international place to be. Find all international-friendly services and information through International Groningen.

International Groningen

Become part of the local community, get to know what’s happening in town, and familiarize yourself with services useful for students in Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. Find all international-friendly services and information through International Groningen.

International Groningen

That’s what this website is for!

Unfortunately, we don’t yet have the capacity to give you 1-on-1 matching services. 😔 But we want to help you as much as possible, so do check out all the tips and tricks we’ve gathered on this website, and make sure to join events to meet local companies and peers!

Also, and you’ve probably already read it on our website a bunch of times, your network is more important than finding that one great job.

Job hunting tips & tricks

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