Combined with a CV, a cover letter is a core part of almost every job application in the Netherlands. Unless the job posting clearly states otherwise, you should submit a cover letter as part of your application, as a means of presenting yourself to the prospective employer and explaining what makes you a good fit for the job. This page walks you through creating a good cover letter in the Netherlands.
Although it may be tempting to just fire off your CV, writing a cover letter is an important part of any job application in the Netherlands. Indeed, most hiring managers will expect to receive one and view your application as incomplete without it.
A cover letter is a short document - it should not normally exceed one page of A4 in regular-sized font - that expands on the information you provided in your CV to explain what makes you a good candidate for the role and hopefully pique the hiring manager’s interest.
While your CV deals with facts, your cover letter is a way to reveal experiences and aspects of your personality that you cannot communicate through your CV. It will almost certainly be referred to if you are asked in for an interview.
Your cover letter should demonstrate:
A cover letter should:
The terms "cover letter" and "motivation letter" are used virtually synonymously in the Netherlands to refer to the same thing: a document that you submit alongside your CV to persuade an employer to hire you.
In some parts of the world, there is a difference between the two terms: a motivation letter is typically part of an application for an academic or professional position, for instance a university course or a scholarship, while a cover letter is part of a job application.
The Netherlands, however, doesn't tend to draw such a distinction. If you see the term "motivation letter" in a job vacancy post, you can be pretty confident they are talking about a cover letter.
Using a cover letter template is a good way to ensure that your cover letter is well-formatted. If you used a template for your CV, it’s a good idea to use the same design for your cover letter, to make your application look consistent and professional.
A cover letter in the Netherlands should be simple and to the point, with little exaggeration or overly flowery language. It should also be short, spanning no more than one side of A4 with size 12 font and regular margins. You don’t want it to look like a dense block of text, so break it up into neat paragraphs.
Time-consuming as it is, it’s also really worth your while to write a unique cover letter for each job application. Recruiters don’t like to receive generic letters, and firing one off is likely to get your application passed over. Instead, spend time matching your skills, experience and personality to the key requirements for the job and the company culture, explaining why you want this specific position.
To get started, you can break the cover letter up into six main sections, as follows:
Like any formal letter, the first part of your cover letter should include some basic contact information. Make sure to include:
A good way to get your cover letter off to a good start is to address it to the right person. If you’re lucky, the job posting might list the name of the hiring manager, but otherwise it’s a good idea to spend a little bit of time working out who to address your letter to. You could check the company’s website to see who heads up recruitment or the department you’re applying to. You could also use LinkedIn, or even call up the company to find out.
If you can’t find the right name, you could use the following as a last resort:
Recruiters sift through tens, sometimes hundreds, of CVs and cover letters for each vacancy. You want to make yours stand out by pulling the reader in from the first line. This doesn’t mean trying to do something wacky or over-the-top. Instead, summarise your key USPs that make you stand out from the other candidates in a neat opening paragraph.
In the next paragraph, you can expand on this, with a few sentences outlining your professional skills and experience, and why this qualifies you for the job. Use the job description and match the skills listed to elements from your own skill set and work history, and elaborate on them. You might also want to highlight some key work achievements. You won’t have space to list everything, so focus on the two or three that are most important and relevant.
As well as understanding how your skills and experience match to the requirements of the job, the hiring manager will also want to know whether you will fit in with the company culture. In your next paragraph, therefore, you should spend some time explaining why you want to work for this specific company.
You could list some stuff you know about the company and its products or services, and illustrate how they match up with your own interests or goals. It pays to be super specific about this.
You can then end with a conclusion that wraps up your letter, before thanking the hiring manager for their time and telling them you hope to hear from them soon.
Finally, you end with a formal closing, such as:
If you’re not sure where to start, it can help to see some examples to give you an idea of what is expected. The internet is full of examples of cover letters written in English. Check out popular websites like The Balance, Monster.com, Reed, Indeed, and LiveCareer.