She has seen countless hesitant smiles, watched countless shop or cafe employees shake their heads apologetically, or shrug their shoulders helplessly.

It happens every time 21-year old Vicki walks into a venue to leave her CV. Because even though the global responsibility and leadership student knows some Dutch, as soon as she tells them she’s from Spain, they’re out. Her CV will end up in the trash. 

The same goes for Beibhinne, a biology student from Ireland. She still sends out job applications online, but she has stopped hoping for a response a long time ago. Because even when she gets a response, it is a rejection. ‘I’ve applied to about 130 jobs. I’m extremely demotivated by now and I am almost ready to give up entirely.’

Even though there are job ads everywhere and Groningen is an international city, finding a job as an international – whether it is to support yourself, or just for some pocket money – is hard. And it’s not for the students’ lack of  trying – it’s the employers that shy away from hiring them.

No Dutch

One of the more obvious reasons is that internationals mostly don’t speak Dutch. ‘We’re just scared of making our customers uncomfortable’, says Jinko Wijbenga, the owner of Bistro Bommen Berend at Kwinkenplein. ‘Especially because we have a lot of elderly customers that are not used to speaking English.’

‘We just don’t want to give our customers the hurdle of having to speak English’, says a team member of the Time Out café in the Poelestraat, who doesn’t want her name mentioned. ‘Especially because we have some older customers.’

Older guests come here to have a chat, it’s part of the reason they visit us

Manager Rodey Krebs, of the Levi’s shop in the Herestraat also has the policy that everyone in the team should understand basic Dutch. ‘A lot of customers don’t feel comfortable speaking English. People come from a 10 kilometre radius or farther. They’re from smaller places and many already forgot the English they learned in school’, he says. 

The same goes for Holland & Barret, which also wants Dutch-speaking staff. ‘A lot of customers don’t speak English. We’re afraid they’d be annoyed, if they can’t be advised properly because they don’t understand’, says assistant manager Stefanie. 

Even at Doppio at the Brugstraat the management feels the same, even though the public there is younger and will – for the most part – definitely speak English. ‘We have a huge client base, internationals but also older people. But we want to be able to offer service to Dutch people in their language’, says manager Oscar Kamstra. 

‘Older guests come here to have a chat’, says Joris Meyer, who manages Café de Sigaar at Hoge der A. ‘They appreciate a conversation with the staff, it’s part of the reason they visit us.’

While he’s not against hiring internationals, ‘at the end of the day, we care most about our guests.’

Language

That goes for Krebs too. He does have internationals in the team. ‘Internally we speak whatever language we feel like, lots of English too’, he says. ‘I feel sorry for those students who really struggle finding a job but when you go to another country you should have to at least understand the language to understand where you live.’

For Stefanie it’s even essential. ‘Our training is in Dutch. And because we sell healthcare products and give health advice we need customers and staff to perfectly understand each other. It could be risky otherwise.’

When you go to another country you should have to understand the language

It’s not just the fear of scaring away customers that stands in the way of international students finding a job, though. Communication with other employees is a factor as well, says Martien Volkers of the Concerthuis at the Poelestraat, who does hire internationals. ‘Some teams that only consist of Dutch speakers definitely perceive an internal disruption by having to accommodate an English speaker.’

Wijbenga thinks that someone who doesn’t speak Dutch would make his team run less smoothly. ‘We all speak Dutch and in the kitchen they really don’t speak English’, he says. ‘An international would make communication really hard and make things more difficult for everyone.’

Kamstra is more concerned that an international staff member would miss out on important instructions and conversations. ‘They might not understand what we tell each other, in the WhatsApp group for example.’

Frustrating

It’s deeply frustrating to hear for Vicki, who even knows some Dutch. It’s a skill she picked up when she worked for the university as an online marketing assistant. She’s perfectly able to ask someone in Dutch what drink they would like, or wish them ‘smakelijk eten’. And yet she keeps getting declined. ‘Nobody would hire me even with sufficient knowledge of the language.’

And she may have a point there, says Volkers, because some employers also worry about things like cultural differences. Hiring internationals means employing people with different cultural understandings of responsibility, time management and work ethics, they think.

‘They worry about these things potentially becoming a hurdle, especially when contrasted with the typical Dutch efficiency and productivity. And some just prefer to stay away from what’s unknown’, she says. 

‘Owners want things to be done the way they always have been done’, agrees TK Le, owner of Konbu in the Oosterstraat. ‘They assume Dutch people just know how things work and everyone else doesn’t. It’s a take it or leave it mentality. Nobody wants to have the fuss of teaching internationals how things work.’

Wijbenga admits to being one of those owners. ‘It’s easier to hire a Dutch person than a Dutch-speaking international. The basics are there. With internationals, you’d need to invest more time and energy to teach them.’

I’d waste my time to hire and train them

‘We prefer working with someone who’s committed to staying for a while and interested in adjusting to the culture here, instead of making a few quick bucks for one year’, says Kamstra. ‘I’d waste my time to hire and train them.’

Enriching

Volkers thinks these employers are missing out and get too hung up on generalisations. Hiring internationals, she thinks, is an enriching factor, not a hindrance. But even though she herself is trying to make up for those prejudices, she can only offer so many jobs. Out of fifty applicants for one vacancy, forty-nine will have to be rejected. 

Stefanie feels for the struggle of the internationals, even if she can’t do much about it. ‘It’s not necessary for places that are not so “high in risk” to not hire internationals. Like in clothing stores, only basic advice is needed, it’s unfair if they don’t hire internationals.’

But as almost all businesses are overrun with applications from students, Dutch and internationals alike, businesses can afford to not hire internationals and opt for Dutch students instead. 

Neither Meyer nor Kamstra publish vacancies for open positions anymore; they simply don’t need to. ‘I’m not against hiring internationals if they bring a lot of energy and commitment’, Kamstra says. ‘But there are enough Dutch people with lots of energy that apply, and that’s something we always prefer.’

Qualities

Vicki does understand that. ‘I get that in a city like Groningen where the ratio of students is higher, it’s harder to find a job’, she says. ‘But it’s still frustrating.’ 

Both Vicki and Beibhinne bring qualities to the table they’ve acquired at previous jobs. Vicki worked as a waitress before and Beibhinne has taken on part-time jobs since she was fifteen years old. She feels that this should make it at least a little bit easier for her. ‘I’ve done all sorts of jobs, from bartending to gardening. That must be worth something, right?’

She’s come up with so many strategies already, Beibhinne says. ‘And it’s not like I don’t have work experience. What else do they want from me?’ 

At this point, Vicki is over it. She’s too exhausted to keep putting her energy into something so unpromising. ‘I cannot keep looking for jobs and send in even more applications. So I will stop for now.’

Beibhinne can’t really afford to do that. She needs a job to financially support herself and being jobless means living off of her savings until she runs out of money. ‘Then I’ll have no choice  but to go back home.’

Dutch