More links for Amsterdam Expats

This is a swell updated guide for expats that my Venezuelan friend put together....there is some overlap with my previous list, and some more detail in areas I formerly left out...

Not only are these links for job seekers, there are also social groups, and other general living info. Coming up on my year anniversary of living abroad in Amsterdam, I can say that a lot of my expat friends needed a few years to settle in; and many of them ended up starting their own companies with much success. The global job climate has changed so much in the past decade. Many cultures are leaning more towards a localized workforce and I've had several friends tell me that although they were hired abroad 4-5 years ago, they are not sure they would have the same opportunities now.

Enjoy!

English Language Jobs
Undutchables
Netherlands Jobs 77
Xpats Jobs
Just Landed (Netherlands Jobs Link)
Via Via
Depart Jobs
Intermedriar Jobs
Together Abroad
Pay Scale
Times Jobs
Experteer International jobs
Work from home style jobs
Marketing jobs in English
Freelance Jobs in the Netherlands
More Freelance Jobs in the Netherlands
Bright Connect
Another Freelance Job site for the Netherlands

Common and most used agencies/websites:
Monsterboard
Unique
Undutchables
Jobs in Amsterdam
Expat Jobs
Michael Page (HUGE International Recruitment company...specializes in Financial sector)

List of job recruitment agencies:
I AMsterdam Job Recruitment page

General info (living, business, city, health, family, etc):
Expatica
Expatax
I AMsterdam


Success!

a shmorgus board of company job sites

52 current links to international companies in the Netherlands for the fields of fashion, technology, FCMG, hospitality, retail, advertising, and finance. most of these companies require fluent English, rather than fluent Dutch.

Adidas
AKQA
ABN Amro
Accor
AKZO NOBEL
Alliance Boots
American Express
Amsterdam Worldwide
Avery Dennison
Belkin
Canon Europa
Cisco
Diageo
DSM
Foot Locker
Forrester Research
Golden Tulip Hotels
Google (most require Dutch language skills)
Greenpeace
Heineken
ING
Intercontinental Hotels
Joost
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Kyocera Mita Europe
K-Swiss
Marriott International
MediaCatalyst
Mitsubishi Motors Europe
Mattel
Marktplaats/Ebay Classifieds Group
MEXX
NetApp
Nike
Novo Nordisk
Philips
Reed-Elsevier
Sara Lee
Sid Lee
Sony
Stream
Taxi
TomTom
Tommy Hilfiger
Tribal DDB
Unilever
UPC Europe/Liberty Global
WebEx
Weiden+Kennedy

many of these companies also hire through assigned recruitment agencies. there are *many* recruitment agencies in The Netherlands, and i've found several of them to be underwhelming. so far the ones i'd tag as my favorites and the most professional are:

Adam's Multilingual Recruitment
New People
O'Connell

Good Luck!

timing is many things

this young blog took a two week break as i hosted several friends who came to visit from the homeland. what fun. what sleep deprivation. luckily, even though i wasn't doing much by way of accomplishing the still pending goals, there was still forward progression; much due to work and mailings i did in november and december, that is just now being seen by the formerly vacationing recipient. we're officially two weeks into the new year and it seems people are back at work again; working, responding to emails, etc. definitely more time-out than i'm used to for the holidays, but i'm not complaining.

recently i've been getting more and more attention for my materials and i'm becoming particularly fond of two recruitment firms; New People and O'Connell. both are organized (more so than many of the others), they have big clients, and they were honest about needing explanations regarding my past experience having been with american roles and american companies, that are not immediately understood here in holland. i'm a big fan of honesty in these matters, as finding the proper role/company is very important to me and i'm never fond of false hope.

i recommend checking out both New People and O'Connell if you are in the field of Sales/Marketing, which is their specialty.

Cheers!

oh those things...an introduction to the basics

as an expat in holland, the three most challenging things i've found are finding housing, employment, and learning the language. i find the other cultural differences, navigating everyday life, and basic shopping more enjoyable; rather than points of contention. also, i don't have children; so my basics are very much about me, me, me, me...and my partner :)

in my last post i mentioned how i initially tackled the language. the basics are quirky, but with proper attention i should be conversation ready in about six months. having said that, i know that mastering Dutch is a challenge i will be facing for many years to come. i'm very glad i got started as soon as possible. i didn't mention in my last post, but there was a guy in my beginners class who had been living here for 14 years and was just now taking a basic class (?!). tsk tsk.

i consider language one of the three basics. my other basic necessities are housing and employment. i'm sure i'm not alone here. at first i was tackling all of these in one day. a bit of housing search here, a job board there, rewriting/reviewing language class notes...i was so on edge that the smallest disappointment became a breaking point.

housing in Amsterdam is a funny thing. it's limited. the city council wants to keep it that way, which i like, to be honest. the fact that squatting was only outlawed (sort of) around june 2010 makes for an interesting variety of interiors throughout holland. most vacancies (te huur) seem to be rented quite quickly, even if they are substandard. the phrasing 'furnished' can mean anything from a heel gezellig home to a place filled with things that were definitely discarded by the neighbors.

the process of becoming employed has allowed for many learnings. my wonderful american resume that still attracts offers in san francisco was treated like a digital leper. initially my online applications would be swiftly returned and rejected, i doubt people ever read past the first line. they didn't know how to read it. a dutch cv looks nothing like an american resume. it took me awhile to accept that i'd have to rewrite my american resume, but once i did it there was an amazing weight lifted off my shoulders. i sent the new (expanded) dutch cv out as an re: to all those rejection emails and have had wonderful feedback. really really great. very happy.

beyond becoming employed, dutch work contracts are much different than those in america...and by different, i mean better. vacation days start at five weeks, and there is much more job security. the overall feeling is that the company is investing in you, and you in them. it's a good feeling.

in future posts i will get deeper into the details of these subjects, and will solicit other expats to share their stories.