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Job placement

While searching for your (first) job, you've probably encountered it before: various employment agencies or recruitment agencies that want to help you find work through temporary employment, secondment, or recruitment & selection.

While searching for your (first) job, you've probably encountered it before: various employment agencies or recruitment agencies that want to help you find work through temporary employment, secondment, or recruitment & selection.

How does that actually work? We'll explain it further below. An advantage of all three options discussed below, is that an employment agency or recruitment agency can introduce you to multiple organisations simultaneously for vacancies, and/or that the agency's recruiters can network on your behalf and submit an open application.

There may also be specific agencies that recruit for sectors, organizations or positions that interest you.

Working through a temporary employment or recruitment agency is almost always temporary. You'll receive a temporary employment contract. Furthermore, a temporary worker's availability is often flexible in terms of hours and duration. This can range from a few hours per day and from a few days to a few months.

As a temporary worker, you have a temporary employment contract with the agency, not with the organisation where you perform your work. This agency essentially loans you out to the company where you'll be working, also known as the hiring company. This means you have different rights than if you were directly employed by the company (the hiring company). For example, you're subject to the collective labour agreement for temporary workers, even if you work in education, which has its own collective labour agreement.

  • Both an advantage and a disadvantage is that a temporary employment contract can be terminated immediately. This means you can quit at any time, but also that the organisation you work for can terminate the contract at any time.
  • Incidentally, the agency is not required to continue paying you if there is no work. No work means no pay. This means that the end of an assignment or the work you do with a client also ends the temporary employment contract.
  • Finally, you usually receive a contract in phases. After working for a temporary employment agency at a company (the client) for a period, you can still be employed there later and receive a contract with that company. Read more about temporary employment on the website of the CNV trade union.

Secondment involves someone working for a company (the hiring company) for a specific period. Are you being seconded? Then, just like with a temporary employment agency, the secondment organisation is your employer. You therefore have a secondment agreement with them.

The key difference between a temporary employment contract and a secondment contract is the difference in security. The contract is often longer-term. Sometimes, for example, you'll receive a one-year contract right away, with a notice period as well.

Even if the assignment or work you'll be doing at the hiring company doesn't last a full year, a permanent contract is also an option. This means that as a seconded employee, you often have the same security as with a permanent position, and often also attractive secondary employment benefits

Source: Brunel.nl

Recruitment and selection, involves an employment agency recruiting and selecting personnel for another organisation, their client.

The client then selects a number of candidates who appear interesting to meet. As an applicant, you will have interviews with both the recruiter at the agency and the organisation you are applying to.

Recruitment and selection offers two key advantages for you as an applicant: first, you'll be screened and guided throughout the entire application process by the agency's recruiter, and second, you'll be directly employed by the organisation you're applying to.

Source: Recruitment.nl

Information above is general information, read more about specific information as an international student or employee via 'Working in the Netherlands'.

Check the vacancy websites per vacancy type and sector. 

Vacancy websites