CV format in Netherlands (2026)

The Dutch CV at a glance

• PhotoOptional; increasingly omitted
• Length1–2 pages, sober and factual
• Personal dataMinimal; date of birth still appears but is fading
• LanguageDutch for Dutch-facing roles; English standard in international companies
• ToneDirect, unembellished — Dutch bluntness applies to CVs too

Tone: the nuchter CV

Dutch professional culture prizes being nuchter — sober, level-headed — and CVs are read through that lens. Grand adjectives ('visionary', 'world-class') actively hurt; Dutch recruiters respond to plain statements of what you did and what it produced. This is not an instruction to undersell: numbers and concrete outcomes are welcome. It's the packaging that should be dry, not the content thin.

The same directness applies in interviews and salary discussions, which happen earlier and more plainly than in neighbouring countries. A Dutch CV that reads like an American one — dense with superlatives — creates a cultural mismatch before anyone meets you.

Format and personal details

One to two pages, reverse chronological, with a short personal profile at the top. A photo is genuinely optional: it was long customary and still appears on many Dutch CVs, but larger employers and the public sector have moved away from it amid anonymised-recruitment experiments aimed at reducing name and appearance discrimination. Omitting it is never penalised; including a professional one is still normal.

Date of birth remains more common on Dutch CVs than in the UK — a legacy convention that's fading with GDPR awareness — and nationality appears mainly when work authorisation needs clarifying. Hobbies and volunteer work (vrijwilligerswerk) get more genuine attention than elsewhere; Dutch employers read them as signals of the person, and community involvement carries real weight.

Language: when Dutch, when English

For international companies, universities, and virtually the entire tech sector, English CVs are standard and expected — the Netherlands consistently tops English-proficiency rankings, and thousands of Dutch-based roles operate entirely in English. Apply in the language of the job posting. For healthcare, government, education, and most customer-facing roles, Dutch is essential, and B1/B2 Dutch is often a formal requirement.

If you're learning Dutch, list the level honestly in CEFR terms — 'Dutch (A2, actively learning)' is a genuine positive signal to Dutch employers, who don't expect fluency from internationals but notice effort. The 30% ruling (the expat tax break) and registration practicalities aren't CV material, but work-authorisation status for non-EU candidates is: state it near your contact details.

Applying from abroad

The Dutch market is unusually open to international candidates — English-first hiring is real, and the 'kennismigrant' (highly skilled migrant) visa route through recognised sponsor employers is well-trodden. Practical advice: keep the CV in the sober Dutch register even in English, state EU/non-EU status plainly, and expect the motivatiebrief (cover letter) to still matter at traditional Dutch organisations, where it's read for cultural fit and writing quality.