Tag Archives: dutch

Important Dutch Phrases

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If you are planning to use international recruitment services for accountancy jobs and banking jobs and move abroad to the Netherlands, you will probably be working for a business where English is the main language spoken, but it would be handy to know some simple Dutch phrases to help you get by once out of the office. If you are planning to stay for a long time, it will be worth taking lessons and learning it so you become fluent, but these phrase will help you get by in the beginning.

English: Yes – Dutch: Ja

No – Nee

Please – Alstublieft

Thank You – Dank u wel

Thank you very much – Hartelijk Dank

Good Morning – Goedemorgen

Good Afternoon - Goedemiddag

Good Evening – Goedenavond

Hello & Good-bye – Dag

Do you speak English? – Spreekt u Engels?

May I ask you a question? – Mag ik u wat vragen?

Where would you like to go? - Waar wou je naar toe willen gaan?

That would be great! – Dat zou prima zijn!

Where do I have to sign? – Waar moet ik tekenen?

What is today’s date? – Wat is de datum van vandaag?

I need to telephone England. – Ik heb nodig England te bellen.

See you soon - Gauw tot ziens

Please - Alstublieft

Excuse me – Neem me niet kwalijk

I’m sorry, but… – Het spijt me, maar…

I would like to see the menu, please – Ik wou graag de menu zien, alstublieft.

I would like to order now. – Ik wou graag nu bestellen.

Could I have the bill, please – Mag ik afrekenen, alstublieft.

For more Dutch Phrases, click here

Finding a Job in the Netherlands

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Finding a job in any foreign country can be hard as there will be obstacles such as different customs and different languages that may hinder your efforts. Hopefully language won’t be too much of an issue as you will either be able to speak the language or will be targeting English based companies. In the case of the Netherlands around 70% of the population can speak English, so if your Dutch isn’t up to scratch when you make the move, you should find communicating easier.

Here are a few pointers on finding a job in the Netherlands.

Internet

As with most things there days, the Internet is now one of the best resources to use for finding things. This is especially true in the world of recruitment and job hunting. There will be many Dutch based recruitment sites and jobs boards, but most of these will be in Dutch. So if you are looking for an English speaking role then, companies like Martin Ward Anderson Finance Recruitment services can help you find jobs in the Netherlands. The company focuses on jobs in finance such as banking jobs and public sector jobs, but if this is the area you are looking for then they are ideal.

Personal Contacts

Networking with people in your industry is a great way of finding out about job opportunities. How you deal with these contacts is up to you, but is not deemed appropriate to flat out ask people for a job. It is much easier to let your contacts know collectively that you are looking for work. This can be done with social sites like LinkedIn of Facebook.

Media Advertisements

Dutch Newspapers is a great source of finding job opportunities. Most Dutch papers have job sections in their Saturday editions and you can also find the job sections on their websites. Some Dutch papers to check out are the NRC Handelsblad, de Volkskrant, de Telegraaf and Algemeen Dagblad.

Temporary employment agencies

Uitzendbureaus are Dutch temporary employment agencies that are very common in the Netherlands. Most occupations can be found through temporary agencies but these are obviously not the best places to look if you want a permanent position.

How the Dutch view the current Financial Crisis

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While researching the state of financial recruitment and accountant jobs in the Netherlands we came across some interesting information on the views of the Dutch public when it came to the recent recession / financial crisis that we are having.

Due to a recent poll, the majority of people in the Netherlands think that the current financial crisis we are facing will come to an end in one to two years time.

The people in the Netherlands are confident that things will be sorted out sooner rather than later. Nearly half of the people who were asked thought that the current crisis will last between one to two years. A small, fifteen percent of the poll thought the crisis will be over within a year and a fifth are of the opinion that things will stay bad for two to three years.

These results were taken from a poll conducted by the central bank in the Netherlands, De Nederlandsche Bank. The poll was part of the bank’s quarterly report that also announces that 39 billion euros were lost last year by Dutch banks thanks to the current financial problems.

While the opinions of the Dutch people may seem optimistic, they do correspond to predictions from the economic policy unit that were recently released. These predictions from the CPB show that the economy in the Netherlands is expected to fall by 3.5% in 2009 and by 0.25% in 2010, then recovery is expected to start. Consumption levels are expected to stay the same during this period despite problems.

According to the bank’s poll, the Dutch public are planning to cut back on their spending. Half of the people interviewed said that they will reduce their spending as the think their purchasing power to diminish. This statistic is strange as it is generally expected that purchasing power will increase due to wage increases and improved unemployment benefits.

An average of 80 euros is the figure that people will be expecting to cut back on per month and around half of consumers are said to not be making large purchase until things get better.

When it comes to employment and jobs, half of respondents feel safe in their current jobs despite warning of a strong rise in employment. The main group of people who are worried about being laid off are from the low income groups which is understandable. Out of currently employed people around 40% think it will be difficult to find a new job.