u/desibidesi0909

Posting on behalf of my wife who is simply too exhausted after 8 months of trying her best to find work.

I understand there is a sudden shift to prioritise Dutch speaking individuals for employment across all sectors, and I understand the rationale.

My wife moved from the UK to live with me after our marriage. She has an EU citizenship, and a good CV, with a degree in fashion design, work experience, and I personally curate her CV and motivation letters that differs in information depending on where she replies. relevant for minimum wage jobs such as retail (she can't do HORECA due to her health issues), to admin work in offices, to fashion companies. It is very strange to me for her to not even get acknowledged, despite following up. The prime focus is of course to apply for any new vacancies in fashion companies, but it might seem that we have broaden our search, but it is getting quite desperate now as she has never been unemployed for this long before in the UK, the savings are running out, and she would very much like to be employed again as soon as possible.

Having lived for 9 years, and employed for more than 4 years, I thought I was adept to understand the way of communication, CV style, motivation letter style, and communication and follow up. Numerous times during my job search, I would get response from contact persons of the places I wanted to work for if Dutch is a hard requirement, for example. I have had quite stable work too. I am not even in IT or other in-demand jobs. So, has something changed in the current job market?

From job boards, retail, hotels night shifts, The Hague International center and LinkedIn. We have knocked on every door only for her to see let down. Then my question is if anyone can tell us what are we doing wrong? And where could she find word where she not being fluent in Dutch can be excused for the time being.

Thank you in advance for any help.
Writing in italics to be noticed that she is enrolled in Taal+ institute and is at the moment at A1 which is not enough, but it is to relax those people who might want to say, "learn dutch, this is the Netherlands". It was the first thing she did. She is learning and already know how the vocabulary at A1 level, it takes time to learn a new language.

Visiting Lisbon in 2 weeks for a 10 year get together with friends and wanted the first evening to have dinner at a special place to celebrate, that the locals approve. Looking for Lisbon's best rooftop restaurants recommendations that are a great fit in terms of atmosphere, great food and drinks.

Hi people,

recently acquired Dutch citizenship and there is no available appointment surrendering Indian passport at the embassy (no intermediary here).

If I were to travel to India for a family emergency in the meantime, I must get an e-visa. Then my questions are:

1: Which e-visa (tourist or family)?

2: Must I carry my Indian passport also? Is there a likelihood of being questioned by the immigration officers at Delhi? I mean they do this day in and day out so they must know, but first time is always nervous.

3: If there is any other obligation I am supposed to do, what are they?

4: What am I supposed to fill in the question Any other valid Passport/Identity Certificate(IC) held given that I still have my Indian passport which is also valid for 8 more years? I want the path of least resistance please.

The Odyssey is in cinema worldwide and naturally the best way to view it is on a giant screen with the crispiest sound and lighting. It is also an objective assessment by cinephiles of Europe that the BFI Imax in London or the Manchester Printworks IMAX is probably the best place to watch movies in IMAX in Europe.

So, cinema lovers Dutch reddit, who may have experienced it themselves or may have heard from others/read online about BFI, any Pathé or Kinepolis that comes close to that kind of quality in the Netherlands??? where are you going to see the Odyssey?

HI people,

I am switching employers for the first time in my life and am genuinely concerned whether I should or should not do the counter offer. With this new offer, I will skip a salary scale and go to the next one, but what is on offer is at step 0. It's a 7% increase gross but barely anyhting in netto increase.

Another risk factor is that if I accept this, I will be leaving a sort-of dead end, indefinite contract to a temporary one for one year (Which I know is fairly common and I don't mind this), this is a place I want to work in my favourite sector. I will also not have commuting allowance, which is sad because at the current workplace I have a NS card too.

I already had the arbeidsvoorwardengesprek with the HR last week, and I promised to respond early this week. I just wondering if I can indicate a salary that aligns with step 2 rather than step 0 citing transition from permanent to temporary as well as the experience and familiarity I bring? And should this will make them pull away from me? I am struggling with how pushy/direct I should be considering it is a completely Dutch organisation.

I don't care if they come back with sorry, no and I will accept the salary that they are offering, but I just want to try.

Thanks in advance.

For any of you living in Europe/The Netherlands, I'd really appreciate a simplified process explanation. Outdated automated voice messages still mentioning VFS, despite the complete stop at outsourcing (or did I read that wrong) and reading earlier posts suggest how evil VFS is, I am so glad I don't have to deal with them. Someone tell the Embassy that this whole process could be very smooth if they tried even 10% harder. Problem is, the top officials never have to go through these processes, as they get everything handed out to them. All it would take in this hierarchal bureaucratic system is an order from someone at the top. But naah, who cares?

• First, after filling up the online application, we are supposed to upload documents. The checklist says, "It is mandatory to upload the Photo, signature and relevant documents on Passport seva portal by the applicant". What do they mean by relevant? Relevant is subjective, and apparently it is too much work to write the name of all the documents clearly. Anyway, do the document that are supposed to be uploaded online should be self-attested also? Or just uploading the scanned copies is sufficient?

I also genuinely hope that the checklist available online is up to date and the photo size is 35mmx45mm and not 2x2 inch.

• I am a bit confused in the next step. The Embassy website suggests taking a printout of the checklist and the complete documentation per the checklist. This means that we also have to send them physical copies of the documents that we uploaded online? I am sure there must be a reason to do double the work, but I cannot figure out any.
• I am assuming every document that is uploaded online, must be self-attested for their physical counterpart as well, is that correct?
• The step v of the process that goes: Book prepaid airway bill with DHL Express courier service in the Netherlands for receiving processed documents. This should be submitted along with an A4 size self-addressed envelope. This guide from the Indian Embassy explains how to book courier via DHL Express Netherlands and asks to write the sender details as Embassy of India. What it forgets is that there is First Name and Last Name required as per this image below. How did you guys deal with it.

If I understand correctly, this above step facilitates a label print that we carry with us along with an A4 envelope that contains our documents at the appointment, they will keep everything then send the documents back to us using that prepaid courier service things. Is that correct?

But then the address in the guide differs from the address where the consular services take place. I am answering my own question at this point, but I am assuming my documents will go to a different premise and send it from there, but my appointment takes place at a different premise.

Screenshot from \"enter details\" page of DHL express courier

Have I understood the process in all its glory as accurate as possible? Can someone from the Netherlands confirm or deny, also about the list of documents needed for the successful upload and physical copies?

Thanks in advance.

Hi all,

I have a job interview scheduled soon at an organisation in the education sector (not teaching). This is also my first interview after a long time as I have enjoyed my work and the current organisation I work for. Most interview preparation guides are very US style with huge emphasis on "selling myself". I don't work in an international company, and my current colleagues are exclusively Dutch. The managers (not HR) who are going to take my interview are also Dutch. This creates a slight nervousness but also doubt on what are the important etiquettes, conversation styles I should keep in mind. I am not Dutch and somewhere in the back of my mind, there is a dichotomy on interview etiquettes.

Naturally, I have asked chat gpt myriads of questions by giving it contexts, etc and I gained a lot of answers. Obviously, it misses the natural, human touch that I want to bring during the interview. Therefore, if anyone could advise me on the following:

What is the typical balance between talking about personal life and professional life during the first part of the interview -- introduce yourself?

How honest is too honest? I am curious about this because I don't want to get carried away on questions like reasoning behind joining us, strength/weaknesses, potential experience gaps, reasoning behind why I want to take this next step.

How to not sound desperate? Working in an education environment is something I have always wanted, and I derive so much more meaning and fulfillment than what I perceive it will be in corporate. So, can I say these things as one of the factors why I want to work there?

I know by now that my answers should be associated with the potential value I can add to the team, without needing to sound perfect. But I am missing the boundaries where I should stop with my answers on the above subjects.

Etiquettes: I have made some points in my notebook about what I would want to say during the interview based on the questions. They are not paragraphs but just keywords to remember. I intend to keep it open during the interview. If I look at them occasionally, does it create a positive or a negative effect on the interviewers?

Lastly, is there anything else I should keep in mind regarding how I come across, body language, conversation style (polished/perfect answers, or sounding more human with occasional "umms" and "aahs"?

Thanks in advance for reading and your thoughts.

Hi people.

So, after having searched for a bigger apartment with at least one bedroom for 6-7 months, I have been finally allocated an apartment in a newly constructed building in Blaak (Post Code: 3011GB) (the construction is in final stages as per their most recent email, however we have received the contract to sign). Few questions:

1. Rotterdam is not new to me, as I have frequented the city plenty of times, but never lived there. I have been living in the Hague for 5 years. In light of this, how good/bad is the blaak area. I know how busy it is considering it is the centre, but with regards to safety? I am 33 and married, not much into nightlife, but I expect nuisance, at least around the entry of the apartment building?

2. This question could be for r/Rotterdam group as well, but I shall keep it broad. As the building is under construction, with expectation to be completed by summer 2026, we are, obviously, not allowed to visit the premises. We have seen the artistic impression, the blueprint (plattegrond), but to sign a contract without even viewing the apartment seems weird. I am asking if anyone has experienced something similar, and if there is a pitfall we should be aware of?

3. The apartment is 51-meter square, one bedroom apartment with a balcony facing North East. The rental cost is 1400 inclusive of service cost. Is that reasonable as per the location?

4: Lastly, anyone who made the move between The Hague to Rotterdam, how was the change? We quite like The Hague for maintaining its traditional Dutch architecture, the dunes, and very beautiful city center, however Rotterdam also has its charm. What's the biggest difference between the two cities?

Thanks in advance.