DON’T MISS
IamExpat FairIamExpat Job BoardIamExpat Webinars
Newsletters
EXPAT INFO
CAREER
HOUSING
EDUCATION
LIFESTYLE
EXPAT SERVICES
NEWS & ARTICLES
Home
Career
Dutch news & articles
5 out-of-the-box ways to find a job in the Netherlands now!
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy



Related Stories

5 questions to ask yourself when considering a career change5 questions to ask yourself when considering a career change
How to deal with difficult people at workHow to deal with difficult people at work
How ChatGPT can help you get your next jobHow ChatGPT can help you get your next job
How to communicate with unshakeable confidenceHow to communicate with unshakeable confidence
The role of recruitment agencies in your job hunt: Yay or nay?The role of recruitment agencies in your job hunt: Yay or nay?
The secret questions you should ask during a job interviewThe secret questions you should ask during a job interview
A rose in the desert: Navigating your career as an expatA rose in the desert: Navigating your career as an expat
5 things you didn't know about Dutch working culture5 things you didn't know about Dutch working culture
For expats of all colours, shapes and sizes

Explore
Expat infoCareerHousingEducationLifestyleExpat servicesNews & articles
About us
IamExpat MediaAdvertisePost a jobContact usSitemap
More IamExpat
IamExpat Job BoardIamExpat HousingIamExpat FairsWebinarsNewsletters
Privacy
Terms of usePrivacy policyCookiesAvoiding scams

Never miss a thing!Sign up for expat events, news & offers, delivered once a week.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy


© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
Dorota Klop-Sowinska
Official Member of Forbes Coaches Council. I specialize in international career and expat coaching. I am the author of the book Career Jump! How to Successfully Change Your Professional Path (www.careerjump.nl). I am a certified coach/counselor at the Dutch Academy for Psychotherapy. I have been living in the Netherlands for more than 18 years. During the past 18 years, I have experienced and enjoyed an expat life from all possible angles. I was a woman with a busy international career living in the Netherlands with my Dutch husband. I was a mother experiencing the motherhood in the Netherlands when my daughters were born. I was an expat wife enjoying life in Mexico, where I have followed my husband's career. I was an expat woman starting my own business in Brazil. Now I am an entrepreneur who is running her successful coaching business in the Netherlands. Thanks to all those roles I can easily connect and fully understand both women and men who are living abroad for various reasons or going through big changes in their lives. I have been there, I have seen it, I have done it!Read more

5 out-of-the-box ways to find a job in the Netherlands now!

Feb 20, 2020

We all know how daunting searching for a job can be! Especially when you are doing it in a new country, where you don’t know how things work yet. It can be pretty intimidating!

Over the past years, I have written many articles related to the various phases of the job search, such as:

  • Do you know how to answer these 12 tricky job interview questions?
  • What do job hunting and falling in love have in common?
  • Are you brave enough to be a remarkable candidate?
  • 5 tips to avoid your cover letter landing in the trash bin
  • Seven deadly sins you could be doing on LinkedIn

All to help expats and internationals chart the unknown waters.

During times when everything is changing continuously, and standard things get outdated and boring fast, new refreshing ideas can result in success.

Below, I want to share five out of the box ideas with you to give your job hunt an additional push. Remember, great things never happen if you stay in your comfort zone. Here we go:

1. Drink (virtual) coffee with people you do NOT know at least three times per week

You might not expect it from the Netherlands, but when it comes to getting hired, it is one of the most networked countries. Very often, people get jobs and business simply because they know someone from their time as a student, when they were a member of a sorority or a fraternity (student) club. Coming from abroad, you obviously do not have an existing network yet, that’s why it is extremely important to start building one immediately.

If you are reading this article, pause for a moment, go on LinkedIn and send a personalised invitation to someone you would like to meet. Done? Ok, great, keep on reading. Of course, it is best to meet in person, but often, people with full-time jobs will be busy, so offer a virtual coffee instead. You can meet on Skype, WhatsApp or Zoom. Remember to ask for help / advice, but also offer your own help.

2. Present the company where you want to work with a ready solution to their problem

You can do this during the interview, which is the easiest, of course, but also in your cover letter or video message (see point 4). What are the company’s challenges? Maybe you are their client and you see that certain things are going wrong and you have an idea on how to improve them? Sometimes, you’ll need to dig deep to find issues, but I assure you it is worth trying.

More and more often, companies will ask candidates to make a presentation about certain challenges they have. If they haven't asked you to do this, be proactive!

3. Start your own blog on the topic you are passionate about, linking it to the job you want

This is a great way to show your expertise and get visibility. You can also start by publishing your own articles on the topics related to your job on LinkedIn. This way, you demonstrate your thought leadership!

4. Send a video message instead of a standard cover letter explaining why you are the best person for the job

This idea actually comes from an in-house recruiter who works for a big technology multinational. Her company received an impressive amount of applications for a certain position they were hiring for, but there was only one with a video message. Guess what, the person who sent it eventually got the job! The video showcased extra motivation, a daring mentality and out-of-the-box thinking.

5. Make a list of 10 achievements, things you are proud of, top talents, ways you give value to others and read it to yourself every morning

Sometimes, when the job search drags on for too long, you might feel like you are losing self-confidence. In order to do all the other great ideas mentioned above, you need a confidence boost. Such a list will give you that. And please do not stop after having written 10, stretch yourself. Think of all the tiny little things you possibly can. Once you have done that, keep it in a place which is easily reachable and read it to yourself every day!

Which of the ideas have you found most surprising? Feel free to share your own ideas too!

By Dorota Klop-Sowinska