Jamie relocated to the Netherlands for a stable and interesting job as Product Owner

Looking for a new job in the Netherlands

As Product Owner, Jamie had built an impressive resume. Yet he felt something was missing. “I wanted to upgrade my career, by finding a better job at a more international company with hybrid work options,” Jamie explains. “I was specifically looking for opportunities in the Netherlands. My sister’s been living here for some years now, so I’ve traveled here multiple times before and heard many good things about the country.”

Jamie was already in touch with some recruiters and had done quite a few interviews for job opportunities as a Product Owner in the Netherlands. “What stood out to me was that these agencies were very formal, too formal for me actually. It made me feel as if I was talking to a company instead of a person. You’re not building rapport and therefore you end up not asking certain questions about the job or process,” Jamie illustrates.

Approached on LinkedIn by Personnel Search IT Recruitment

When Jamie received a message from one of the recruiters at Personnel Search IT Recruitment, he was quite surprised at first. “Especially with how they found me and how well the job description matched my skills”, he clarifies. “In that sense the selection was very accurate and that was a pleasant surprise. They also gave me a good description of the company, Toolstation, and the job itself.”

Stable & reliable company

What Jamie was looking for in a new employer, besides being more internationally oriented, was stability and a clear long-term strategy. “Of course I did my own research as well. What captured my attention was that it was a very stable company with long-term expansion plans. This gave me the confidence to go through with the process. I recently got married and therefore stability was very important to me.” Other than this, Jamie really liked that the company offers a hybrid work pattern, so he can work both from the office and home. This way he can commute to work and see his coworkers in office, as opposed to working fully remote and relying on videocalls.

Well prepared for the interviews

“While preparing for the videocalls with the company, the recruiters from Personnel Search provided me with essential information about Toolstation's expectations of him in terms of character, skills, and the interview process,” Jamie describes. “This helped me a lot to present myself well during the interviews.” As a result, Jamie got an offer from Toolstation and signed the contract.

Moving to the Netherlands

The relocation process from South Africa to the Netherlands started shortly after. Unfortunately, there were some delays in the process that caused some stress. Toolstation provided Jamie with professional assistance and helped him and his wife find a suitable home in time. “I also reached out to Dion and Cristian from Personnel Search a few times for some clarifications. They were as helpful as they could be and reassured me everything was going to work out. It’s been a while now since relocating, and my wife and I are very happy here. The country is beautiful and we like how disciplined the people are.”

Informal approach from Personnel Search was much appreciated

As mentioned earlier, Jamie’s previous experience with recruitment agencies was that they were very formal in their communication. “The biggest difference with Dion and Cristian from Personnel Search, was that they have a very informal approach, also when it comes to sharing information about the job, process and expectations. I felt comfortable sharing any problems or challenges I had with them,” he states. “So the experience with them and with Personnel Search was good, they were very helpful, professional and especially friendly. Even to the point where I thought, once I’ve moved to the Netherlands, we should get a beer sometime.”