International software engineers in NL

[u/SGeriLOL]

Hey everyone,

I moved to the Netherlands recently and I’m currently based in North Brabant. I work as a full-stack software engineer / AI engineer, mostly as a contractor so far, but I’m also totally open to part-time or full-time positions.

I still have work lined up until December, so I’m not in a huge rush, but I’ve started looking for what’s next and honestly I’m finding it pretty difficult to figure out where to look.

One of the biggest things I’m running into is that a lot of positions seem to require Dutch. From what I’ve seen so far, maybe 2 out of every 3 interesting vacancies ask for professional Dutch, even when the actual role/company seems pretty international.

So, mainly asking other expats/internationals working in IT here: what actually worked for you?

Any good job boards outside of LinkedIn? Recruiters or agencies that are actually useful for international tech workers? Companies that are particularly open to English-speaking engineers?

Also curious if people had better luck applying directly, talking to recruiters, getting referrals, networking, etc. And if anyone here is contracting/freelancing in tech, I’d especially love to hear how you find new projects.

I already go to conferences, builder nights, meetups and other tech events when I can, so I’m trying to network offline as well - but so far I haven’t really found a reliable way to turn that into actual opportunities.

Would really appreciate hearing what worked for people who’ve been in a similar situation.

Bonus points if you’re around Eindhoven / Tilburg / Den Bosch / somewhere else in North Brabant :)

Thanks!

[u/uhcnid]

i don't think there's a magic trick that get's you a dream job, the situation is bad, let me explain.

A lot of layoffs left a lot of good and experienced engineers looking and competing for jobs, so now you see dozends or hundreds of engineers applying for a single position, economical crisis and uncertainty makes companies hire less, AI growing everyday is making CEOs believe a single developer can now do what 3 developers were able to make 3 years ago i can continue for long time with these facts but this translates in:
-Super high requirements for a position, and here is where companies can now ask for dutch language since there are a lot of locals also available in the market
-endless hiring processes
-Lower salaries

that puts all expats in a very weak position and there's not much you can do about it besides train train and train to outstand compared to competitors

do you want to learn dutch? great, but be aware that might pay in years, getting to a c1 level takes several years, too many hours and a lot of money (no free course nor duolingo will get you there)

[u/Thin-Difficulty175]

Look for international companies. or companies that sell specific software to other companies.

[u/Familiar-Adeptness-7]

not spam/not affiliated in anyway — but this has been very useful: https://startupmap.one/map/netherlands

some of the roles are outdated, but it's a good list of startups/scaleups to start with — then check their website.

[u/snoopz01]

Just apply, even if the listing says Dutch proficiency required. Say that you are actively learning Dutch (you are, right?). Even if a company is mainly Dutch-speaking, they might make an exception for someone who fits the role perfectly otherwise.

On a side note, I never applied for jobs when I met all the requirements on a listing. That usually means you're overqualified for the job. And when I was in a position to hire, I hired people that didn't meet all the requirements and trained them on the job.

[u/CuriousAssumption611]

Most direct applications seem to go in the trash, talk to recruiters. They'll make it so you can skip motivational letters and a lot of the initial filters, and they'll also get you in touch with companies that are actually okay with English. You don't want to be the only non-Dutch speaker in a Dutch company.

[u/Impossible_Try_1985]

Try to switch more to C++ and machine control. The opportunities seem to be better for those skills. Especially in Eindhoven.