Career > Recruitment agencies in the Netherlands

Recruitment agencies in the Netherlands

A recruitment agency is an agency that is hired by companies and organisations to find suitable employees for them. Most employers outsource their recruitment because they don't have the resources and expertise to find and recruit the best talent for themselves.

Recruitment agencies in the Netherlands
Career: Recruitment agencies in the Netherlands

We explore in this section

What are recruitment agencies

What recruiting agencies do?

Consultants at recruitment agencies try to match candidates to job vacancies. These employees manage the job seeking process by sourcing new opportunities, speaking to potential candidates, providing advice on CVs and sometimes helping candidates prepare for interviews.

How much do Recruitment Agencies charge?

The Placement Fee is the fee paid by an employer to a recruitment agency in case of a successful referral. Fees are usually paid as percentages of the employee's annual pay. Standard recruitment costs tend to range between 15% and 20% on a candidate's first annual salary. In some cases this is higher when the positions are hard to fill. 

How do recruitment agencies work?

Recruitment agencies work for companies to find qualified candidates to fill their job vacancies. Recruitment agenciesuse databases to search for individuals who meet specific criteria and post job opportunities online to source applicants with the right skills. Databases like LinkedIn and similar websites. Finding qualified applicants, having job interviews with the applicants and negotiating salaries can save companies money and time.

Further a recruitment agency is responsible for most of the hiring process. This includes writing job descriptions, reviewing and sorting through applications and posting job listings on the most relevant websites. The company gets more involved in the final stages of the hiring process as they make the final decisions about who gets the job.

How do recruitment agencies work?

How to conduct a job interview in the Netherlands according to Recruitment agencies

In the section we focus purely on typical customs for conducting a job interview in the Netherlands. We checked below with the top recruitment agencies in the Netherlands.

What to wear
, compared to other countries the Dutch are more casual and practical. For most interviews, don’t wear a suit but go business casual, something that makes you comfortable.

Be on time, make sure you will arrive 10 minutes before. Let them know you are there. Are you running late? Tell the company.

Learn about the company, this is probably valid everywhere in the world but make sure you read about the history of the company and the people interviewing you. Ask things about the company if they are unclear, Important is that you care about the company and want to be a real asset.

Avoid too much self-confidence, in the Dutch culture it is very important to be a little bit modest, to much self-confidence is considered arrogant. So try to listen to the interviewers and answer their questions. Ask relevant questions only.

Past-interview, writing a thank you letter after your interview is not often done. It’s better not to do this. 

What is the work culture in Netherlands according to Recruiment agencies?

Some expats are a little shocked with the way Dutch people interact with each other at work. In the section we explain the Dutch corporate culture.

Communication, the Dutch culture is considered to be a low context culture, which means that they have a direct way of communicating. Beating around the bush is not always appreciated.

Hierachy, everyone in the Netherlands can and will be ridiculed, from the King, Prime-minister to the famous actor, but also your boss. You will notice that colleagues will make fun of the boss even when he or she is present in the room. Equality and openness of the Dutch people is reflected in the corporate culture. The hierarchy is often horizontal, meaning that individual employees and executives are considered part of the team. Addressing your colleagues by their first names is normal.

Punctuality is key for the Dutch. Make sure you are on time or be clear you will be late.

Meetings, can take longer then you used to. This is mainly because everyone is allowed to contribute and will normally not be interrupted. Because of the low context culture cutting someone off is rude.  

Recommended agencies

Dutch Circle

Looking for a Tech job in the Netherlands? Dutch Circle does things a little different, we are founded by developers, we build websites and apps but also let companies hire our talent. Interested? Send us your CV.

Adams Multilingual Recruitment

Adams Multilingual Recruitment is your trusted partner for talent acquisition and human resources solutions in the Netherlands. With over 26 years of experience in the Dutch labor market, we offer a complete approach to both recruitment and HR support.

 

Undutchables

Undutchables Recruitment Agency is the pioneer in recruitment of international business sector personnel in the Netherlands.

SCM Recruitment

Using our global network, we are able to identify the perfect match for International board, director and senior management positions within Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Manufacturing and Operations.Our main driver is to find the optimal fit by getting to the absolute core of all parties involved. 

Orange Quarter

We’re Orange Quarter, leaders in tech and digital recruitment with a large numbers of jobs available.

Blue Lynx

Our mission is to enhance growth, value & opportunities for continued individual, client and company success. We do this whilst providing a safe, professional, fun and rewarding place to work and grow. By investing in people, we invest in the future.

Page Personnel

Page Personnel is a leading professional recruitment consultancy specialising in the recruitment of temporary, temporary-to-permanent, and permanent positions for SMEs and multinationals in diverse sectors.

This page was last updated: 03/21/2024.