Big Moves – From Turkey to the Netherlands

We are excited to share the second story in our new series called Big Moves, where we interview tech experts who have recently made an international move for their work. We talk about their motivations, the hardships and advantages of moving abroad, and share their insights and tips.

European Recruitment operate globally focusing on niche tech industries which allows us to hire globally and help people relocate if necessary to work for leading tech companies. In this episode, we speak with Sultan Altan, who moved from Turkey to the Netherlands for a quality engineer opportunity at a leading semiconductor company that develops cutting-edge environmental sensor technology.

How did the opportunity for you to move abroad for your career begin?

“For me, a career abroad was something I wanted since university, but my real adventure started when I went to Ireland for language school and decided that the life standard and way of life I wanted was in Europe. Afterwards, I returned to my country and continued by taking steps towards my career goal, taking trainings and making job applications on LinkedIn every day.”

What were the main factors that motivated you to accept the role and relocate?

“Besides wanting to settle in Europe, I was very excited to take part in a different technology and innovation, I thought that semiconductor technology is a fresher, forward-looking sector besides the sectors I had experienced before, and especially the fact that there is a country like the Netherlands motivated me.”

What have been the biggest challenges in relocating? 

“Of course, it is difficult for people to stay away from the people they are used to and establish a new order new life. You need to manage your psychlogy. If you ask what is a specific difficulty, I can say finding a house in the Netherlands is a serious problem, so I think, I can say finding a house :).”

How did your consultant and company help you with the move?

“I am very lucky that I applied for the post Nathan published, I applied after I felt close to the content of the job posting, I added it to my LinkedIn network and sent a message and replied directly. He understood me and trusted my loyalty, made me feel that he was with me at every interview step, he was with me whenever I had any issues. I was able to communicate easily and he followed the process after the job interview.”

What advice would you give someone looking to make a move abroad?

“In order to keep your passion and motivation to live abroad, always remind yourself why you want this and do not hesitate to talk about your desire and what you can do in job interviews.”

Sultan also pointed out how lucky she feels she was to get 100% support from her new employer who provided her with all relocation services, and how grateful she was to Nathan Hampson, Senior Consultant at European Recruitment who was there for her at all stages.

If you’re interested in exploring opportunities to make a move overseas for your career, contact us here.