When my company said goodbye to me, I took it positively. This was my chance to look for a truck driving job in the Netherlands. Really, I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity because one of my life mottos is:
Everything happens as it should, and everything happens for the right reason.
From the very beginning, my plan was to gain at least one year of truck driving experience with Slovak companies and then head out into the world. Not because of money or because I have nobody close to me in my home country. That’s not the case at all. I simply want a better quality of life, so I decided to look for a truck driving job in the Netherlands. Yes, trading mountainous Slovakia for Europe’s flat pancake covered with tulips, windmills, and cycling paths.
Why the Netherlands?
I didn’t choose the Netherlands randomly. I’ve travelled all around the country, and since I also spent some time studying at a university in Rotterdam, I already had a chance to experience life here. I feel close to this country, and I like its atmosphere and lifestyle. Besides, there is a demand for truck drivers, so I thought, why not give it a try? Another big advantage is that English is enough to get started here.
I already explained why my trucking chapter in Slovakia came to an end in my 50th anniversary article. Now it was the right time to start something new, and most importantly, I didn’t want to go through a recruitment agency. I decided to contact transport companies directly and started searching for job vacancies online. My requirements were clear: domestic transport, a CE driving licence, daytime shifts, returning home every day, and English accepted as a working language. Preferably no ADR either. I didn’t want to send CVs randomly, so I carefully checked every company and read their job offers. Exactly my style, systematic and analytical.
The Journey Without Big Expectations 🌱
I spent the entire Saturday and Sunday searching for jobs. In the end, I sent fifteen CVs and cover letters to companies where I could genuinely imagine myself working. The first replies came surprisingly quickly. During the following week, around 70 % of the companies responded, and four were happy to meet me in person. However, several asked whether I already lived in the Netherlands and had a BSN number. I had neither because I still didn’t know where I would be working.
So I decided to go there myself. After all, there’s nothing better than meeting people face to face. 😎 I set up my base camp for these Dutch job interview expeditions at my cousin Maťa’s place near Brussels. We get along really well, so I could combine something pleasant with something useful. And from Belgium, the Netherlands was just a stone’s throw away.
If you don’t shoot, you can’t score. And this was my shot.
I planned the almost 1,400-kilometre journey through Poland to avoid traffic jams around Brno and Prague. I booked a room close to German/Poland border for only €25 and rated 9.5 out of 10. But around midnight, I woke up because the room was absolutely freezing. After about only four hours of sleep, I packed my things and continued driving through Germany at night. After three CNG refuelling stops and no major traffic jams, I arrived at Maťa’s place around ten in the morning. A shower, lunch together, some well-deserved rest, and a lovely evening followed.
BSN, Czechoslovakia, and My First Impressions of Tilburg
On Thursday morning, I drove to Eindhoven for my appointment. One thing I really like about Dutch public offices is that you can book an appointment for an exact time in advance. I registered as a non-resident through the RNI, and the whole process took about five minutes. I left with my own BSN number, which will remain the same even after I later register as a resident. The funniest moment came when the lady asked me to check my personal details on her screen. I noticed that my country of birth was listed as “Czechoslovakia” and told her I was from Slovakia. She calmly explained that they knew that, but I was born when Czechoslovakia still existed. That was the moment I realized I’m not exactly getting any younger!
Since I had the rest of the day free, I decided to visit Tilburg. I found free parking about a 25-minute walk from the city centre and enjoyed the beautiful sunny autumn weather, with temperatures around 22°C. Tilburg felt like a pleasant, compact city with its own atmosphere. It doesn’t have a historic centre like Prague or Vienna, but I really liked the cycling infrastructure and the relaxed feeling of the place.
Friday in a National Park and a Job Offer
On Friday, September 25, I had a scheduled appointment at a Dutch transport company in Tilburg at three in the afternoon. Since the weather was beautiful, I decided to visit a national park before the meeting. Friday traffic made the journey from Belgium take two and a half hours, but I didn’t mind at all.
I really liked the park. The landscape was full of beautiful sandy dunes, something I had never experienced back in Slovakia. What I especially appreciated were the clearly marked paths for walkers and cyclists. Everyone had their own space, and people actually respected the rules. This is one of the things I really like about the Netherlands. From my experience, people here seem to respect rules more than back home in Slovakia. And there was even a hill around 24 metres above sea level! For someone from mountainous Slovakia, that’s pretty funny, but it definitely has its own charm.
At three o’clock, I was already at the company, talking to the head of HR. We discussed the working conditions, and the result was fantastic. They offered me a job with daytime shifts and I would start and finish my working days in Tilburg, which was exactly what I had been looking for. I was really excited. In an extremely short time, I had managed to find a job that matched everything I wanted. I had a weekend ahead of me with my cousin and her friends, and from Monday, I planned to start looking for accommodation in Tilburg.
At that moment, I had absolutely no idea that finding a job in the Netherlands would be much easier than finding a place to live.