Why Employers Here Ask for a CV, Not a Resume
In the Netherlands, the word “CV” covers the document Americans call a resume, but the expected format is different.
A page built for a US employer usually reads as too thin, and too short on background, to Dutch hiring managers.
Before reworking anything, it helps to see the two formats side by side.
CV vs Resume: What Job Seekers in the Netherlands Need to Know lays out the differences section by section.
Length and Structure
A Dutch CV typically runs one to two pages, sometimes three for a long career, rather than the single page US resumes are trimmed to fit.
Structure it in reverse-chronological order: most recent job or degree first, working backward.
Standard sections, in the order most Dutch recruiters expect them:
- Contact details and a link to a LinkedIn profile
- A short personal summary or objective
- Work experience: employer, job title, dates, and a few bullet points per role
- Education, including secondary school if the reader is early in their career
- Language skills and proficiency level in each
- Relevant skills, certifications, and training
- Hobbies and interests
Break each job description into bullet points rather than paragraphs.
Dutch recruiters read fast and expect the page to be scannable.
The Photo Question
Including a professional headshot near the top is common practice on a Dutch CV, unlike in the US or UK where it is often actively discouraged.
It is not a legal requirement, and leaving it off will not disqualify an application, but its presence is not read as unusual here.
Some Dutch CVs also list date of birth and nationality near the contact details.
Neither is compulsory, and a candidate who prefers to leave them out for privacy reasons can do so without raising a flag.
Hobbies Matter More Than They Do Elsewhere
Dutch employers tend to weigh extracurricular and leisure activities more heavily than US or UK hiring managers do, especially when a hobby signals a relevant trait.
Team sports, for instance, are often read as a signal of someone who works well in a group.
Keep this section short and specific rather than a generic list. “Rows competitively” says more than “enjoys sports.”
Recommendation Letters: What Actually Gets Asked For
The American-style written recommendation letter, attached to an application, is not the Dutch norm.
Instead, employers typically ask for referenties: the names and contact details of one or two former managers who are willing to take a call.
Do not attach these on the first submission unless a job posting explicitly asks for them.
List them as “references available on request” and have the names, roles, and phone numbers ready if an employer asks later in the process, usually after a first interview.
Contact each person before naming them.
A recruiter or hiring manager who reaches an unprepared former colleague reflects worse on the candidate than the timing does.
Where Recruitment Agencies Fit In
A large share of the Amsterdam job market, especially for international and English-speaking roles, runs through recruitment agencies rather than direct applications.
Some specialize in placing English speakers into local and multinational companies, and are worth approaching alongside, not instead of, direct applications.
How to Choose a Recruiter in Amsterdam covers what to look for in an agency, and How Undutchables And Similar Recruiters Work In Amsterdam explains how these agencies actually operate once a candidate signs up: what they take from a placement, and what a candidate should expect from the process.
A recruiter will usually want the same Dutch-format CV described above, not a US resume, since they are pitching it directly to Dutch or Dutch-based employers.
Before Sending Anything
Have someone else read the finished CV before it goes out: a recruiter, a friend already working in the same field, or a former manager.
A second reader catches both language slips and gaps a candidate has stopped noticing.
For the wider sequence of steps before that first application goes out, Finding A Job In Amsterdam: What To Do First covers what to line up before the CV itself.
