Thought Picnic: Thank you, Holland

Success!

Just over an hour ago I receive three telephone calls, one to determine if I am in still interested in the offer with a last ditch effort to still negotiate the expected salary – I was not going to budge any more, though for a permanent job it looks like a good deal having been self-employed for 13 of the last 15 years; it is a radical pay-cut – the times determine certain circumstances.

Other candidates were going for about 12% lower but there comes a time when knowing that you are good value for money is where you stick to your guns and let them decide.

Soon after, I received the second telephone call that a bit of juggling had been done and what had been agreed had been accepted, I have the offer.

The third telephone call came from the agency handling the recruitment process congratulating me on successfully securing the job that was a great booster for my morale and confidence, my track record, experience and expertise had secured me a job despite the swirling turmoil that I was in, I am still capable of going for it and getting it.

Strangely Dutch

With that decision comes a whole range of things to be done, I have two weeks to prepare and after 11 years and 2 months in the Netherlands, I will be returning to work in the United Kingdom because basically that is where the work is now.

Most of the open opportunities I have seen in the last six months in the Netherlands have included the language filter, the requirement to speak Dutch – I do have a good grasp of Dutch but have rarely used it for business, the convenience of being European has meant there was no compelling reason to be proficient and even when I worked for distinctively Dutch companies the systems, documentation and communications have mostly been in English.

It then became interesting that suddenly these companies adopted an ultra-nationalistic slant but I guess it was to weed down market eligibility and crowd out the presumably non-natives.

Thanks

So, a chapter is closing and a new one is about to be opened though unexpected in that I honestly would have preferred to stay in the Netherlands or move east to Berlin than return to England, but those are decisions we now need to make.

There is so much to do culminating in my medical and therapy sessions here before I resume duties in just two weeks.

I suppose this is the beginning of the many thanks I will giving to the Netherlands for 11 amazing, tumultuous, beautiful, crazy, happy and wonderful years.