The Dutch CV: direct, and experience first
Updated 19 August 2026
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The Netherlands sits between the German and Anglo-Saxon conventions: shorter than a Lebenslauf, less stripped-down than a US resume, and written in a notably plain register.
The shape of it
| Dutch CV | |
|---|---|
| Length | 1-2 pages, rarely more |
| Photo | still standard: a friendly, professional headshot near the top |
| Date of birth | common, though increasingly dropped |
| First section | work experience, before education |
| Order | reverse-chronological |
| Dates | 03-2020 - heden |
Experience before education
This is the ordering difference that catches people out. Dutch recruiters weight professional experience above qualifications, and the CV reflects that: Werkervaring comes first, Opleiding after.
The exception is a recent graduate with little to show in the first section: then education leads, and moves down as experience accumulates.
The photo
Where the US and UK have moved firmly away from CV photos, the Netherlands has not. A professional headshot near the top of the page remains standard and is read as normal rather than presumptuous.
Keep it what it is: a plain, approachable portrait. Dutch professional culture is informal but not casual.
Personal details
Name, address, phone and email are expected. Date of birth still appears on many Dutch CVs, though it is being dropped more often as awareness of age discrimination grows, including it is safe, and omitting it is equally safe.
Tone: say the thing
Dutch professional communication is famously direct, and the CV follows. Write plainly about what you did and what came of it. Elaborate self-description reads as evasive rather than impressive.
Herstructureerde het onboardingproces; nieuwe klanten waren binnen 3 dagen actief in plaats van 3 weken.
The same instinct applies to gaps and career changes: name them in a line and move on. Explaining at length draws more attention than the fact itself.
Languages
Worth its own section, and worth being accurate about. Use CEFR levels. Many roles in the Netherlands operate in English, but stating a genuine Dutch level, even A2, signals intent to settle, which matters to employers weighing a relocation.