My last post was about working on your CV and motivation letter for the job. This post will focus on the types of questions you can expect in a job interview or a sollicitatiegesprek. 

Vacature in the Netherlands (photograph by Esther Westerveld found in Flickr.com)

We all know that a good first impression goes a long way. Regardless of your personal hardships with the Dutch language and culture, you can prepare yourself for an interview for the language and the overall performance.

It would be impossible to cover all the questions that you could be asked but there are always some general questions that are universal regardless of the profession. Here are a few:

Vertel eens wat over jezelf – Tell us something about yourself.

Wat zijn je sterke punten? – What are your strong points?

Wat zijn je zwakke punten? – What are your weak points?

Waarom wil je deze baan? – Why do you want this job?

Waar zie je jezelf over vijf jaar? – Where do you see yourself in five years?

Wat voor salaris heb je in gedachten? – What (amount) salary have you thought about?

Wat kreeg je bij je vorige werkgevers betaald? – What do you earn in your current job?

Wat wil je bereiken met deze functie? – What do you want to achieve with this job?

Wat weet je over deze organisatie? – What do you know about this organization?

Wat denk je dat deze functie inhoudt? – What do you think this position entails?

Wat maakt jou geschikt voor deze functie? – What makes you suitable for this position?

The following video gives you some tips for a job interview. What useful phrases and vocabulary can you spot in the video?

https://youtu.be/mYk5bMExZtE

What advice would you give someone who is looking for a job in the Netherlands or Belgium?

Useful Vocabulary
functie- position
geschikt- suitable
salaris- salary
inhouden- to entail
baan- job
taken- tasks
weten- to know
willen- to want
denken- to think
positief- positive
negatief- negative
arbeidsvoorwaarden- working conditions (literal translation), employee benefits
pensioen- pension
werkrooster- work schedule