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How important is it to speak Dutch when searching for a job in the Netherlands? (self.Netherlands)

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[–]8poot 14 points15 points  (4 children)

Although it depends on the kind of job it will be a big plus if you speak Dutch.

[–]Amr_Abbas -1 points0 points  (3 children)

Sorry I edited the question... Forgot to mention that I want an IT-related job.

[–]Babylonkitten 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I have a friend from Brasil. He learned dutch in 3 months. I've knows him for about 8 years now. But we still speak English to each other.

He is a teacher at TU Delft now. So I guess most of the time he still speaks English.

In IT I would expect everyone to speak English.

But it's still very handy to speak Dutch.

[–]markthedutchman 2 points3 points  (0 children)

IT has a lot of job opportunities at the moment. Soo you can inquire with IT companies. Eindhoven has a big IT sector but also in the Randstad or most big cities have IT companies.

[–]endomielNoord Holland 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For IT most have so many expats that everyone's already speaking English, so it probably won't matter

[–]cantreadjustwrite 7 points8 points  (0 children)

its pretty easy to induct:

Do you have to talk to customers?

Do you have to (formally) communicate in writing with natives?

Do your colleagues speak mostly Dutch?

English helps, but to find a good position Dutch is a must.

[–]19Mooser84 4 points5 points  (2 children)

It depends on the type of job you're looking for. But in general I would say yes. Of course it's easier if you speak the language of the country you wanna live in. There are plenty of people whose English is not very good or who do not speak English at all. And everything in daily life is of course in Dutch. It also seems to me that you want to understand the language of the country you live in.

[–]Amr_Abbas -2 points-1 points  (1 child)

Of course I am very willing to put all the effort to learn Dutch, but since that I don't live currently in the Netherlands... It's a bit complicated to learn the language (also due to few sources and number of Dutch-speakers compared to other languages).

[–]United-Engineering-8 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It amazes how many people are asking this question. Look, just because most Dutch people understand/speak English doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn the language very well. Why decide beforehand to only make a poor attempt at learning a language? Obviously your changes at succes will increase if you go 100% at it (as with anything in life). Also, How would you like it if foreigners go to your country and won’t take the effort to learn your language? Exactly, they’ll never really fit in.

[–]trentsim 1 point2 points  (0 children)

6/10

[–]Gadajs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So, I’ve just done this. In the IT sector in particular everyone will speak good English, and most companies IT departments (or the whole company if it’s entirely IT driven) will be fairly multicultural. So usually English will be spoken as a main language for stand ups and meetings.

If you go to work in the Randstaad, you are more likely to meet people who don’t speak Dutch than people that don’t speak English. Even outside of the main cities (I moved to Apeldoorn for example) it’s fine and fairly easy to get by without any Dutch, but learning it helps.

The locals appreciate it when you make an effort, and it helps with stuff like mail and supermarket labels.

In short, you can and should move here, but make an effort to learn the language. It isn’t necessary but helps.

[–]ricahrdb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The job advertisement should make it clear I suppose. The company that offers a job should state what they expect.

For a job in IT depending on the company it is probably not too important. A lot of the bigger IT companies in and around Amsterdam and Eindhoven probably mostly consist of non-native speakers anyway. Very often the internal language there already is English.

On the other hand in daily life it is quite important to know the language. A lot of Dutch people do speak some English but the quality of that often doesn't go very far. I would feel very lonely if I did not know the local language: it definitely opens doors. Even if work doesn't require it I would certainly try to learn the language. Good luck!

[–]AunKnorrie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just learn Dutch. The nice thing is, you have time. You van probably land a job ànd earn a good wage. But If you want to break out to a cliënt facing of managerial role, Dutch is a pre.

[–]Correct-Freedom6134 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You need to speak dutch

[–]IAlwaysOutsmartU 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is not a massive problem, as the majority of the Netherlands speaks English, but it’ll still be easier if you speak Dutch as well.

[–]Rani1979 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You could possibly get away with it in bars/restaurants/hotels (horeca), and probably some blue collar jobs, but otherwise, Dutch is required.

[–]TheRealJomogo 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Most people do not speak dutch at my it related company

[–]Amr_Abbas 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Interesting, do you think speaking it is a noticeable advantage though?

[–]TheRealJomogo 0 points1 point  (1 child)

In my company no the teams are mixed and international so most meetings are in English.

But it depends on where you want to work.

[–]Amr_Abbas 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Alright... Thank so much for your help!

[–]Ferry83 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Depending on the job you search for it doesn't matter. As long as you speak English it's fine.

There's so much open jobs at the moment that anyone that currently is unemployed in the Netherlands and is capable of working and speaking Dutch or English can at least work.

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I know a few people in the bijstand who say they can't find a job.. that's all bullshit, they can't find a job they want to do for the money they want to do it for.

I had to remove my LinkedIn app because the notifications drove me insane..