The Dutch CV and application letter: what employers expect, which personal details you can leave out, and how to present a foreign diploma

A Dutch job application (sollicitatie) usually has two documents. The CV lists facts: who you are, what you did, what you can do. The sollicitatiebrief (application letter) explains why you want this job at this organisation. Employers expect both to be adjusted to the one vacancy you answer. This guide follows the official application advice on werk.nl, the vacancy site of benefits agency UWV. It covers the six parts of a Dutch CV, the letter, the personal details you can leave out, and the two problems many newcomers share: a diploma title that says nothing to a Dutch employer, and work history that is hard to check. Where to find the vacancies themselves is a separate guide: finding a job in the Netherlands without fluent Dutch.

werk.nl describes a CV with six fixed parts. Following the same order makes your CV easy to read:

The official advice sets no page limit, so keep the decision simple: two or three short lines per job, and leave out anything that does not help this application. One or two pages is enough for most careers. A concrete work entry looks like this: '2019–2023: Sales assistant, Alfa Market, Damascus. Served customers, managed stock, trained two new colleagues.' Save the CV as a PDF so the layout stays intact, and name the file with your own name, for example cv_Amina_Haddad. If you miss the experience a vacancy asks for, werk.nl suggests a vaardigheden-cv (skills CV): the emphasis moves from your job list to your skills and results, which also works well after a career switch or a gap.

werk.nl's list of personal details is short: name, address, email and phone number. It does not include a photo, a date of birth, a marital status or a nationality. The privacy regulator Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens sets clear limits on what an employer may collect about applicants. An employer may not ask for your BSN during the application; the number is only needed once you start working. An employer may also not ask for a copy or photo of your ID during the application, partly because it would show your photo and nationality. They may check your identity by looking at your original ID, and they must take a copy only once you are actually employed. An employer may not even require you to apply by video: that is only allowed with your free consent, and a written route must stay open.

Discrimination law sets more limits. Employers may not select on age or origin. The rules for vacancies and selection are concrete: asking for a maximum age is banned, and so is indirect age selection through words like 'student', 'school-leaver' or 'starter'. A vacancy may not require a nationality. The College voor de Rechten van de Mens (Netherlands Institute for Human Rights) rules on complaints about discrimination in recruitment, and you can report a discriminating vacancy or rejection there. In practice this means you lose nothing by leaving your birth date, photo and nationality off your CV.

You can also keep your health private. On rights when applying, werk.nl states that you do not have to say anything about your health in your letter, your CV or the interview, and the employer may not ask. There is one exception: if your health stops you from doing tasks that belong to the job, you must say so.

Vacancies use two words for the same letter: sollicitatiebrief and motivatiebrief. The letter goes with your CV, and it is written for one specific employer. The official letter advice gives the letter four parts:

• Opening: a first sentence that makes the reader curious. If you already spoke to the employer on the phone, refer to that call.
• Your motivation: why you want to work at this organisation. Name something real about the company, not a line that fits every employer.
• Why you: why you fit this vacancy, shown with one or two concrete examples from earlier work. Do not repeat your whole CV.
• Closing: end positive and offer to explain your application in an interview. Sign with 'Met vriendelijke groet' and your name.

The form advice is precise: keep the letter preferably shorter than one A4 page, in at most 5 paragraphs, in a clear font such as Verdana or Arial, with white lines between paragraphs. Send it as a PDF, saved under a name like Sollicitatie_Functietitel_Voornaam_Achternaam. For the text: write only what really matters, do not start every sentence with 'Ik' (I), avoid abbreviations, and let someone read the letter before you send it. That last tip matters most when Dutch is not your first language: one round of corrections by a Dutch-speaking friend or your language teacher removes the small errors that distract a reader. werk.nl adds an honest test: if you cannot think of any motivation for the job, ask yourself whether the job really fits you. And everything you claim in the letter must also appear on your CV and your LinkedIn profile.

A Dutch employer usually does not know what a foreign diploma title means. The fix is a diplomawaardering (diploma valuation) from IDW, the national desk for international credential evaluation. Behind IDW, two expertise organisations do the work: Nuffic for secondary and higher education, and SBB for vocational levels. The result is a document that states which Dutch education level your diploma is comparable to, for example 'comparable to a Dutch hbo bachelor'. It is an advice, not a legal decision, and it is usually not mandatory. It tells the employer your education level in Dutch terms. On your CV, put the outcome directly next to the original title: 'Bachelor of Accounting, University of Aleppo (IDW valuation: comparable to Dutch hbo bachelor)'.

The practical numbers, from the official English explanation and IDW itself: a valuation costs €148.83 per diploma and takes up to 4 months after your documents and payment are complete, so start well before you need it. You apply online through a Mijn IDW account with colour copies of your diploma and transcript; nothing goes by post unless IDW asks. Documents that are not in Dutch, English, German or French need a sworn translation. The diploma must come from a programme of more than 1,000 hours at a school recognised by the government of that country. Work experience is not valued, and each application covers one diploma. If you still need to collect diplomas or transcripts from your home country, do it as early as you can; the documents guide explains why that is much easier before you move.

One group needs more than a valuation: regulated professions. For work such as nursing, teaching or law, only a recognised qualification lets you practise, and each profession has its own recognition procedure. A valuation alone does not give you that right, so check the rules for your profession first.

Foreign work experience follows the same rules as Dutch experience: latest job first, short task descriptions. Add one line of context for employers nobody here knows: 'Alfa Market, a supermarket chain with 40 shops in Syria'. When an employer screens you, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens describes what that usually means: checking the information on your CV, for example by calling the references you provided. So choose referees the employer can actually reach: a former manager or colleague who answers email and can speak English or Dutch. Ask them first, and list their name, role and contact details only when an employer requests references.

If a former employer cannot be called, because the company closed or the country is hard to reach, say so in one calm sentence and offer what you do have: an employment contract, payslips, a reference letter, or a LinkedIn recommendation from an ex-colleague. For skills you cannot prove with any paper, there is an official route: the ervaringscertificaat (EVC, experience certificate). An EVC is not a diploma but recognised proof of what you know and can do, built with an approved provider from ervaringscertificaat.nl. It takes on average 3 months; costs differ per provider, and UWV pays for it if you have certain benefits. Explain a gap in one honest line: '2023–2024: moved to the Netherlands, inburgering and Dutch course'. Volunteer work belongs on the CV under side activities, and it can fill a gap with real activity.

A safe choice is to apply in the language of the vacancy: a Dutch text answered in Dutch, an English text in English. If your Dutch is not strong enough yet to write the letter alone, write it with help rather than switching to English, and be honest about your level in the CV itself. Languages belong under skills, and the clearest way to name them is with CEFR levels: 'Nederlands: B1 (in progress), Engels: C1, Arabisch: moedertaal (native)'. A real level says more than vague words like 'basic' or 'good', and it shows you are actively learning. What A2 and B1 actually mean is explained in our exam section.

There are also legal limits on language requirements. An employer may ask for good command of Dutch, spoken and written, when the job genuinely needs it. An employer may not demand 'accentless' Dutch or ABN: that demand can exclude whole population groups, so it is not allowed. You never need to hide that Dutch is your second language. You also do not need to put your residence permit on your CV. Whether you may work follows from your permit, not from your application; the work rights guide explains what each permit allows. If your permit lets you work without extra permission, one plain line in your letter can remove an employer's doubt: 'I am allowed to work in the Netherlands without a work permit.'

A Dutch job interview follows a fixed pattern. It starts at the handshake and the small talk on the way to the room. The interviewers introduce themselves and the organisation first; you only need to listen. Then comes the opener 'Vertel eens iets over uzelf' (tell us something about yourself), so prepare a one-minute answer about what you can do and what you bring. After that you answer questions, and you are expected to ask your own: prepared questions show interest and help you judge the employer. Practical preparation is part of the advice too: choose your clothing, prepare your questions, and check the route in advance. Questions about your health stay off limits in the interview, just as in the letter and CV. If you are hired, an arbeidsvoorwaardengesprek (terms-of-employment talk) about salary and conditions usually follows; read the employment contracts guide before that conversation, so you know the legal minimums.

A long CV usually lists everything from every job, in full sentences, for every year since school. Cut it back to the six parts. Give each job two or three lines of tasks and results, shrink jobs older than ten years to a single line, and move the details that match this vacancy into your profile and skills. Then save it as a PDF and send it with a letter written for this employer. If the problem is that your experience does not match the vacancies you want, rebuild it as a skills CV instead of adding more pages.

A letter that could go to any employer reads as no motivation at all. The fix costs one paragraph: keep your structure, but rewrite the motivation part for each vacancy, naming the organisation and one concrete reason it fits you. Use the same words the vacancy uses for its tasks and requirements. The rest of the letter, your examples and closing, can stay largely the same.

Do not put the original title on your CV without explanation. Request the IDW valuation, free during inburgering, and print the outcome next to the title. While you wait for the result, up to 4 months, describe the diploma in plain words: the field, the years of study, and what the programme trained you to do. For a regulated profession, start the recognition procedure for that profession; a valuation is not enough there.

Screening normally means the employer calls the referees you chose to give, so you control the list. Offer what exists: a reachable ex-colleague instead of a closed company, a contract or payslips instead of a phone call, a Dutch volunteer coordinator or internship supervisor instead of a foreign manager. A recent Dutch reference, even from volunteer work, is easier for an employer to check than a company abroad. If nothing can be verified, an EVC turns your experience into a document an employer can trust.

Your CV does not need your nationality, your permit type or your BSN, and an employer may not ask for a copy of your ID during the application. Once hired, you show your original ID and the employer must copy it then. If your permit allows you to work without extra permission, saying so in one line of your letter prevents a silent rejection by an employer who is unsure. Check what your permit actually allows in the work rights guide before you write that line.

With the CV and letter ready, two guides continue from here. Finding a job without fluent Dutch covers where the vacancies are and how agencies work. And when an offer comes, Dutch employment contracts explained shows what must be in the contract before you sign.