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Netherlands - What work is available and how to find it! by Robyn Lee

As a recruitment consultant in a past life, I know how hard it is to find a job. It truly can be a job in itself – something you don’t want to have to deal with when you’re supposed to be on holiday, but if you’re willing to approach it with an open mind just like the Dutch tolerate the culture of coffee shops and the sex industry, you will easily find many short-term jobs to financially support your holiday activities and make new friends.

Amsterdam – The new London!!

Choosing the Netherlands to experience your working holiday is by far one of the smartest choices! Why? Well firstly, their English is so good and your Dutch does not have to be fluent. However learning the basics will get you brownie points with the locals as it will in any country plus better paid jobs of course.

Some key phrases:

Good morning - Goede Morge (Hooda morga)
Good day - Goede Dag (Hooda Darg)
Good evenings - Goede Avond (Hooda Afond)
How are you? Hoe gaat het? (Hoe hart het)
Please – Astublieft (alshtewbleeft)
Thank you - Dank u well (dank oo vel)
Bye! – Doie! – (Dooeee)
How are you, you hot thing! - Hoe gaat het lekkerdinger! – (Hoe hart het lekkerdinger!)

Secondly, you are positioning yourself in what I consider to be the centre of Europe, so whilst experiencing the culture of daily bike transport where your feet rarely touch the ground, the best golden cheeses in the world, market shopping and the numerous entertainment activities on offer, Belgium, France and Germany are all accessible overland and England is just 40 minutes across the channel so you can easily visit your Aussie and Kiwi mates via various cheap local flights, though they will be just as easy to convince to take a weekender in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is where most of The Netherland’s activities of interest are for the group that fit’s into the working holiday scheme. With over 50% of Amsterdam’s economy based on the hospitality industries, they need staff!!
The Netherlands is also very attractive for international companies to have an off shore office in Holland, so opportunities for native English speakers should be plentiful.

DYI!

In your preparation for coming here do your research via various expatriate websites. The Netherlands has the world’s most active expatriate online community so you will find a comprehensive amount of useful information on all aspects of living as a non-native. There are sections on housing and accommodation, tips and tricks as well as jobs to apply for. This will give you a taste of what the country and the job market are like.

Follow the links! If one of your first stops is a hostel, check their website for an employment section (or just ask!) since they always need staff!! Especially if you find yourself short of cash, some will offer work for a bed and should be used as an emergency – perhaps at the end of your travels when you realized you spent too much Euro on an extended holiday in Spain! If you like it and they like you then let them know you are interested and they may offer you a paid contract. They’re not high level or skilled jobs, but it’s fun and you get to meet a lot of people from all around the world, always handy if you’re thinking of your next destination already!!
Seasonal jobs are always great short-term options too. Check shop windows a couple of months before Christmas. There are a few big English bookstores that offer lots of casual work for this busy period.

You can’t be serious!

Coffee shops, restaurants, bar, clubs and cafes…Holland is the only place in the world where you can get a job legally selling marijuana or seeds. If to experience that only, it’s something to consider since they always need English-speaking staff. Most of the coffee shop customers will not be Dutch. Also as in every international city you will find several Irish pubs and some English-speaking entertainment venues such as Boom Chicago – a comedy club always looking for promoters. Taxi driver! Bike Taxi driver that is…! Amsterdam is approximately the same size as Adelaide and flat as a pancake. I’ve been told you can make up to 250 Euro in a day, but not only that! You will have flexibility with your time, get fit, get to know the city and see the sights through the eyes of a tourist.

Networking

If you’re interested in jobs at festivals, advertising and creative industries, you will find plenty of jobs for volunteers which can lead to meeting like minded people who will introduce you to others and somewhere along the line a paid job might pop up too.

Volunteers are often paid in food and drinks and free tickets to shows, concerts, seminars and events. There are so many film, music, documentary and lifestyle events, parties and festivals on small and large scales on every interest or topic you can think of and some of these organisations are also looking for paid staff, however for those that don’t speak Dutch obviously won’t get the receptionist or information stand job. Clubs offer opportunities for budding photographers in exchange for entry to special events plus a guest of your choice!

If you’re really organized and have a mobile profession such as sales, writing, consulting, coaching, project management or photography you can register to work as a freelancer. It’s costs nothing to set up and gives you flexibility and variety. Amsterdam is home to some of the major international companies such as Nike and Strawberry Frog. There are plenty of networking opportunities in Amsterdam and Europeans love Australians!

Via a recruitment agency.

Besides au pair and bar work, Sarah Harvey, an Australian recruitment consultant at Undutchables – Holland’s premier agency for non-Dutch speakers, says the most common kind of work available to WHS Australians is basic office administration work with international companies. You can expect offers of 6 month full time contract with an average gross salaries of 2000 euros per month including approximately two paid holidays per month which can support you holiday activities and needs quite generously. Undutchables has a lot of practical and useful information on the job market on their website.
www.undutchables.nl

Teaching English

Even though their English is very good, there is still a demand for English language teachers for those that want to improve and the many immigrants from all over the world who have made Holland their new residence, so if you have your teaching qualification, there should be many opportunities

Check out these websites
www.elynx.nl - expat website
www.expatica.com - expat website
www.amsterdamweekly.nl - award winning weekly newspaper in English dedicated to Amsterdam
www.craiglist.com - expat website
www.lecool.com - for parties, events, cool info
www.kamernet.nl - to find a room!
www.marktplatz.nl - to find everything – where I found and bought my second hand bike
www.iamsterdam.nl - everything to do with Amsterdam

Flight companies
http://www.budgetair.nl/
http://www.vliegwinkel.nl/
http://www.ryanair.com
http://www.easyjet.com
http://www.transavia.com/

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