Lotus Flower Programme Workshop #5: Navigating the Netherlands as an Expat & How to Use Video Job Applications

She Matters and the women of the Lotus Flower Programme were joined this morning by Gulce Onganer, founder of Architect Accelerate, to learn how to navigate the Netherlands as an expat, while also exploring how to stand out among other job applicants through the use of video!

Originally from Turkey, Gulce shared her firsthand experience as an expat and how she navigated a new country when searching for employment. Citing her own experience of arriving to the Netherlands, Onaganer shared how she aimed to resettle somewhere so different at a young age by looking to the future. Continuously forward looking she was able to set goals for her future so to better assimilate to a new culture.

In addition to sharing her personal experience as an expat, Onaganer instructed the women of the programme on the advantageous use of videography when applying for jobs as a means to stand out among other job applicants. Onaganer began this discussion by sharing her affirmation when beginning the job hunt. She affirms to herself that she is ‘not just someone looking for a job, I am a business selling my services’ so to acknowledge her own power throughout the process. Next, she aims to make herself unique to the employer by using video! Onaganer notes three pillars of successful video applications – surprise, delight and over deliverance – to be crucial for positive self-representation. Positively surprising and delighting the employer ensures you to be memorable throughout the application process. By sparking an emotional connection between yourself and the employer, you are able to project a personable manner that paints a vivid image of yourself. Furthermore, Onaganer highlights the need for over deliverance on promises made throughout the application process to ensure that you prove to be the right person for the job.

To further stress the importance of successful video, Onaganer led the women of the programme in an activity where they created their own video job application. Throughout this activity Onaganer reiterated the need for planning, stating ‘if you are failing to plan, you are planning to fail’. By jotting down notes of their background and previous experiences they are better able to project themselves into the position they are applying for throughout the video.

Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to our partner CIC Rotterdam for providing an excellent space in which we can gather to hear Onaganer speak on how she navigated the Netherlands as an expat and how to best create a video to go alongside job applications.