My wife and I are moving to the Netherlands in a couple of months for my work. My wife is a corporate-finance attorney and she recently left her job at a large law firm so that we could take an intensive Dutch-language class together. She's having a difficult time finding a firm in the Netherlands or Brussels that's willing to hire an American lawyer. Where should she look for employment opportunities?
It seems as if it should be easy for your wife to just move her credentials across the ocean, but it doesn't work that way. She'll need to contact the Embassy of the Netherlands at 4200 Linnean Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008, Tel: (202) 244-5300, to learn about entry requirements and what kind of visa she'll need.
Your wife may also want to contact the Americans in Holland Association, which is a networking organization for Americans residing, or who anticipate residing, in the Netherlands. She can talk to others there who've already made the move to learn about their experiences.
In addition, your wife should review the resources listed at http://expatica.com. The expatriate community may be able to provide a wealth of information and offer assistance in establishing a network of contacts.
Finally, your wife may want to take advantage of your network of contacts as well, since you'll be better connected when you first move.
When you're settled in, it might be easier for your wife to undertake her job-hunting efforts. A resource she may want to contact is the Association Européenne Des Juristes d'Entreprises (European Company Lawyers Association) in Brussels. The international nonprofit is comprised of national associations of company lawyers within Europe. While this organization may not yield a job lead per se, it may open doors for your wife to meet with other lawyers and thus find some opportunities that would fit her qualifications.
It's when we undertake something that's difficult, that we need to get creative. Your wife may find that regular job-hunting strategies won't be as effective right now, so she'll need to figure out how to put her skills to use in a nontraditional way. She may want to do some volunteer work for a nonprofit, subcontract her services or accept small contracts with the goal of working them over time into larger ones or a full-time job. The money won't be what she's used to making, but it will allow her to get moving and eventually she should be able to find the right job if she persists.