May 2024 | Written by – Ariel Slaughter
It‘s been said that numbers are a universal language. One where if you follow the prescribed order and rules, everyone should arrive at the same conclusion. Because of this truth, professions that revolve around strong mathematical analytical skills don’t linger outside the Dutch labour market for long. But life is more unpredictable, as Priya Sharma, a Talent from the Women for Women Edition X Talent from Talent100 Edition III, can attest to.
Career Prospects in the Netherlands
Priya, a business analyst and controller, moved to Eindhoven with her family from northern India when her husband took an opportunity to work on a project with DAF Trucks N.V. It was a “unanimous” family decision. “We decided to come as a family because we had little girls and we wanted to keep the family intact.” Although long before setting foot in the Netherlands, Priya and her partner had already evaluated what her potential career prospects could be:
“I am a banking professional. I thought that moving to the Netherlands would be a good decision because [when] evaluating the possibilities of my career in the Netherlands, I saw that I can have it here in a nice way and shape it the way I would like to. That was one of the factors that we considered while making the decision to move.”
Prospects and reality are two different things, so it took participating in the Women for Women (WfW) Edition X track of the Talent100 Edition III to make her dream a reality.
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
Priya first learned about the Expat Spouses Initiative (ESI) from a friend, before meeting Kavitha Varathan, the CEO and co-founder of ESI, at an event in the Eindhoven Library, De Witte Dame. “ESI was present in the bibliotheek getting in touch with people and I came across Kavitha there. I saw a couple of people signing up. I wasn’t very sure about it but then I thought, ‘why not?’”
Despite her initial hesitance, Priya is glad that she joined the program. “To be very honest, I wasn’t sure how it would help...The first evening together was very, very helpful. It was a very good platform to come across other internationals, who were similar to me having no clue what was happening and how to deal with it. It made me sure that I’m in the right place.”
Achieving Synergy Together
The Talent100 program is the right place for many internationals who struggle to enter the Dutch labour market. It provides them insight into the local labour culture, guides them to discover their unique selling points and position their skills to land interviews and find meaningful employment. “I loved meeting other internationals and seeing that I’m not the only one. It gave me a platform to talk about it and to understand other’s perspectives... And the coaches are very, very insightful and helpful. I realized what mistakes I was making in my previous applications.”
As part of the Women for Women track inside the Talent100 program, Priya’s locally connected mentor or Ambassador, Ilse van Aalst, Talent Manager, at DAF Trucks N.V. was also tremendously helpful. “Ilse was very warm and willing to help. She brought opportunities to help me get interviews. But she always checked if they met my expectations. She was the one who told me that if it’s not your calling, it’s okay to wait. It will come. And what I appreciated was when I asked a couple of things, which she wasn’t very sure about, so she asked her team, and they came back with exact answers.”
A Correlation between Effort and Results
Priya leveraged the knowledge she gained from the program’s workshops along with the insights from her Ambassador Ilse to find a job in her field. Even if it would require a lot of follow-up.
“I came across an opportunity in ABN AMRO Bank. I approached the HR directly. And asked if she can help me with getting an interview, and she said yes.” The interview process ending up taking quite a long time, but Priya was determined and continued to follow up with her contact in HR.“I went back to her and then she arranged my interview. And then the second round happened and then the final round.”
Priya’s Tips for Success
If you’re an international job seeker who wants to convert their challenges into success the way Priya did, here are a few tips.
Be Clear
“Try to understand what you are looking for and be flexible to shape yourself around it.”
It’s Okay to Wait
“You don’t have to jump into something that you don’t like just for the sake of it…Be patient, but you have to keep making the effort. It’s not like it will come on its own. You have to work hard towards it.”
Stay in Contact with Your Network
“I was in touch with someone in HR, so it made me open to contact them about an opportunity, so they could push my profile. Over time, it converted into the something.”
Don’t Be Afraid to Follow Up
“It’s okay to follow up [for job applications and interview statuses]. People don’t mind if you do that.”
Priya began her mission with a clear goal to continue her career in the banking industry where her analytical skills and experience would best used. But the Talent100 program and her Ambassador proved to be essential stepping stones to achieving that goal. The Expat Spouses Initiative and our partners are glad to have part of Priya’s journey.
Talent100 Edition III and Women for Women Eindhoven Edition X was a collaboration between the Expat Spouses Initiative, the Living In program of the Holland Expat Center South and Huis Naar Werk to accelerate internationals towards meaningful work in the Dutch labour market.
Author Profile
A natural storyteller and aficionado of the written word, Ariel Slaughter works as a freelance writer and editor. She has a dual Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Rhetoric and Japanese Literature and Language from the University of Pittsburgh as well as a Master’s of Arts in International Relations from the International University of Japan.