Landing an interview in the Netherlands is challenging, but the good news is that with the right resume, you can do it just all right. So, to get that call you need to bear the expectations of the Dutch employers in mind. That's why we put together all the essential techniques and tips to write a job-winning Netherlands curriculum vitae in this guide.
| Country Specific Format | No Specific Format |
| Commonly used Format | Reverse Chronological |
| Photograph Needed? | Ideally Yes |
| Must Have Elements | Compulsory fields - Name, Contact Number, Email Address, Address of Residence Optional fields - Date of Birth, Marital status, your nationality |
Also, now you can build your Dutch CV, with our FREE resume builder below.
Essential Parts of a Netherland Resume
1. What to include in the Personal Details section?
- Compulsory fields - Name, Contact Number, Email Address, Address of Residence
- Optional fields - Date of Birth, Marital status, your nationality.
Adding a photograph is not compulsory, yet expected by some employers. Therefore to be on the safer side, you can add a professionally taken photograph in the top right or left corner of your Dutch resume.
Check out an example of a good fit of a photo for a Netherlands Curriculum Vitae.
2. What to include in the Summary Statement?
The personal summary of a Dutch CV should be concise and to the point. Also, it should match the job you're applying for highlighting your key competencies, experience, academic suitability, and overall strengths. In other words, do not be overly wordy in the profile summary section.
Check out the example of a good summary statement below.
3. How to write your work experience section?
In the Netherlands CV, you can add the experience in reverse chronological order. This means starting with the most recent record of employment and proceeding. A resume that uses reverse chronological order highlights the work experience the most. Two other approaches can be taken while formatting the resume namely Functional format and Hybrid format as discussed below under Netherlands Resume Formats.
What makes it a good record of work experience is highlighting your achievements rather than blandly stating what you did in the job role. Also, boastful language is not encouraged by the Dutch recruiters. Another plus point is if you can add some quantifiable achievements to your Netherlands resume. Finally, don't use cliches or buzzwords in your CV, as it lowers the overall quality of it.
Once you're done writing your CV, you can scan it with our Buzzword scanner below to determine and replace any buzzwords with better vocabulary.
4. How to Write the Netherlands Resume Education Section?
First and foremost, unless you are a fresh graduate, include academic qualifications that are relevant to the job only. In this case, too, reverse-chronological order is preferred. For your important certifications and qualifications, add the title, awarding institution graduated/ obtained year, and month.
Optionally you can add the duration too. However, you are not expected to add the scope of the study or anything. However, if you're a fresh graduate, to add some weight to the Dutch CV, you can add relevant projects undertaken as well.
5. How to add Skills to the Netherlands resume?
If you use the overall reverse chronological format type, then you can include a brief list of soft skills and technical skills if any. However, if you use the Functional or the Hybrid format, then you can have your skills under multiple subheadings bringing more light to the skills you possess.
6. Should I include hobbies/interests in my Netherlands CV?
If you have hobbies and extracurricular activities that portray you as a good team player, a leader, and so on, it's beneficial to add them to your CV as Netherlands employers prefer outgoing personalities who are active outside of work.
7. What else should I include in a Dutch CV?
Any relevant research publications, voluntary experience, license, and professional qualifications are important to be added. However, in this case, relevancy matters. Also, you can add records of Voluntary experience to highlight that you support a cause that you believe in. Another good consideration is adding memberships that you hold that can portray you as an impressive candidate. However, all these can be done within a maximum length of two pages. Therefore, be mindful about what to include.
Types of Netherlands CV Formats
Reverse chronological format (Most Common)
In this format, the main emphasis is given to the Work Experience section to highlight your career timeline. The latest records come first. A reverse chronological format consists of the section priorities in the following order.
- Top priority - Work Experience
- Secondary - Educational Qualifications and Skills
Check out the Netherlands Resume Template in the reverse chronological format below.
Functional Resume Format (Rarest)
In a functional resume, the top priority is given to the Skills section, hence it comes above the Work Experience section in a more elaborative manner under different subheadings as depicted below. Functional format too is one of the acceptable formats in a Netherlands resume where you need to emphasize your skills over work or education. In a functional resume, generally, work experience records are less comprehensive and not added in chronological or reverse chronological order, but based on the relevancy to the job you're applying for.
However, unless you are very sure that this format is the best fit for your requirements, you shouldn't use it.
Hybrid resume format for Netherlands Curriculum Vitae (Common)
Hybrid format as the term implies is a combination of the reverse chronological and the functional formats. This format is similar to the functional format for skills are emphasized over work. On the other hand, the Hybrid format is similar to the reverse chronological format for the fact that the employment records are given in the reverse chronological order.
You can now explore more CV formats from our International Resume page including the German CV Format, Denmark CV Format, Swiss CV Format, and many more. And if you need more help in resume writing, we have a Career Guide blog that just suits you!
Also, it only takes a second to request a FREE Netherlands resume template from us using the form below. We wish you all the best in hunting for that dream job!