I have always liked to work in an international environment, but when I got the opportunity to travel for a year, I decided this was the right time to go,” Jeremy begins. “I went to Australia, where I worked, traveled and improved my language skills. When I came back, I moved to the UK. But the job opportunity I accepted, was not challenging enough for me. A couple of weeks later, a colleague introduced me to an employee at DAF Trucks. From the moment we got in touch, things went quickly and after a couple of interviews and presentations, I received the exciting news that I could start my new job.”

A very open and international culture
“In the last three years I have been working at DAF, I’ve really grown. Both in a personal and professional way. What I really like is the flexibility and freedom, that both me and the rest of my – international – team receives. The management is not closed off and we know when things are going wrong, but also when things are moving in the right direction. They want to see that we continuously improve ourselves, our products and services. That is why people share their opinion and ideas and discuss things extensively. Compared to the companies I’ve worked for in the past, I experience less barriers between all the management layers. People are very open.”

“The fact that most of the people speak English very well, makes it way easier to integrate. Not only within DAF, but the Dutch in general. I think the real difference is that people are a little bit less spontaneous, you need to make appointments for everything. Everyone is quite busy.”

A new home
According to Jeremy, Eindhoven is a good choice if you want to move to the Netherlands. “It is a very open minded city, with a lot of international people. The atmosphere is really nice. And the location of Eindhoven is actually quite central. You can take the train to different cities. For example, if you take the train to Amsterdam, you will be there in less than two hours. Further, I like the fact that you can walk through Eindhoven, it still is a compact city.”

“Of course my family misses me, but France is not far away and they visit me often. They see that I am happy here. I met my girlfriend a couple of months after I moved to Eindhoven. Recently, we even bought a house together. Things are going well and I believe I am fully integrated in the Netherlands. Well, there are still things to improve, for example my Dutch language skills. And maybe the fact that I need to cycle more in order to be completely Dutch,” Jeremy adds smiling.