Welcome to Your Job Search Journey

From my experience:

• It can take around 3-6 months to find a job (even while having a job).
• It can take around 10 interviews to land a job. Don’t despair!
• Send a thank-you email after receiving a rejection—builds good karma.
• Best recruitment times: Jan-April and Sep-Dec. Many jobs start in May and October.
• Recruiters are agile! Some will actually read your portfolio / your whole profile and ask you questions about it.
• More and more jobs require knowledge of the country's language, so learning the language is worthwhile.

• LinkedIn
• Indeed NL
• Wellfound
• Language Matters
• Independent Recruiters
• Progressive Recruitment
• Michael Page
• MJ People
• Page Personnel
• Undutchables
• Unique NL
• Walters People
• Projob House of Careers
• Octagon
• Adams Recruitment
• Abroad Experience
• Randstad NL

• Update your portfolio / website / LinkedIn / socials.
• Create LinkedIn job alerts if using LinkedIn (or job alerts in any other platform).
• Verify LinkedIn profile – boosts your profile, gets more views, and maybe messages from recruiters.
• Reach out to your network / friend recruiters.
• Browse for jobs directly on the company’s website if you see a certain company is actively hiring at the moment (even if not for related jobs).
• Don’t feel scared by the requirements. If you feel it’s a match, just apply.
• It is worth writing a motivation letter for the jobs you really want!
• Recommended for when you get the offer: Use the app KopieID to send personal information with watermarks.

• Customize Your URL: Use a personalized LinkedIn URL (e.g., /yourname) for better branding.
• Use a Professional Profile Photo: A clear, professional headshot is ideal for LinkedIn.
• Turn on Creator Mode: Enable Creator Mode under "Resources" to highlight content and grow your network.
• Feature Key Achievements: Use the "Featured" section to showcase your portfolio, projects, or fresh content. Highlight work that represents your best achievements.
• Add a Portfolio Link: Edit your profile intro to include links to your portfolio or professional email for easy access.
• Expand Your Network: Connect with meaningful industry contacts to gain exposure, insights, and inspiration from others’ profiles and career paths.
• Enhance Experience Descriptions: Include specific results and achievements in your job descriptions (e.g., "Increased Instagram audience reach by 100k"). Use the X-Y-Z formula: "Accomplished X by doing Y measured by Z."
• Leverage Additional Sections: Fill out Education, Certifications, Volunteering, Courses, Projects, Honors and Awards, and Languages to boost your profile's visibility and keyword relevance.
• Request Recommendations: Ask colleagues, friends, or collaborators to provide references on your profile to build credibility.
• Create a Personal Company Page: If you're freelancing or self-employed, create a company page to associate with your roles for a more professional look.
• Engage Actively: Post your own updates and engage with others' posts to increase visibility and connections.
• Localize Your Profile: Add translations (e.g., English and Deutsch) to target diverse audiences and enhance searchability.

• Be yourself.
• Prepare your "tell me about yourself" response with 5 main points: name, where you’re from, education, current role, ambitions. This will give opportunity to recruiters to ask more questions.
• Mention something interesting you've read about the industry.
• If you are interviewing for a specific product, familiarize yourself with it.
• Prepare solid answers as to why you would fit this position. Make sure to name transferable skills from other experiences and positions.
• If you don’t know something, be honest about it.
• Keep pen and paper handy.
• In-Person: Accept water or a drink when offered—it helps relax and keeps you refreshed.
• At home: Create a comfortable interview setup.
• At home: Treat the interview as a face to face interview and prepare the same way.

• So, tell me about yourself. Reply with Past, Present, Future (or Education/past, Current job/present, Ambitions/future, and hobbies).
• Formula: Accomplished X by doing X measured by X.
• Why are you applying to this role?
• Why do you want to work in (country)?
• What do you do in your current role?
• This job will involve traveling, are you comfortable with it?
• What are you looking for in a new job?
• Why do you want to work here? Company mission + goals + intersection.
• What is one lesson you learned?
• What is your greatest weakness? Answer: my greatest challenge is to have a high-level view...
• Why should we hire you? Combine hard skills, soft skills, and a funny thing.
• Why did you leave your job? Not challenging enough / didn’t match expectations – don’t mention that you didn’t like the manager or the environment was toxic (even if true).
• What is a time you failed / showed leadership / achieved a goal?

• Salary (is it including or excluding holiday pay?)
• How many hours per week?
• Expected start date?
• How many people are you hiring for this role?
• Is this a new role?
• Why are you hiring for this role?
• How big is the team?
• What’s a day-to-day like?
• What are the opportunities for growth?
• What does a day look like in this role?
• What are the expectations for this role?
• What tools do you use?
• If I would start today, what would be my first priority?
• If any news, how has that impacted the business?
• What are the next steps in the recruitment process?
• Why is this vacancy open?
• If you have holidays already booked: I have pre-planned holidays, just wanted to let you know as earliest as possible.

• Update your portfolio, website, LinkedIn, and socials regularly.
• Don't be scared by the requirements—apply if you feel it’s a good match.
• It's worth writing a motivation letter for jobs you really want.
• Upload your CV to JobLeads for a free CV review.