01
No preamble
Skip 'Naar aanleiding van uw advertentie…' unless the advert's reference number needs quoting. Open with the role and one concrete reason you fit.
NL · sollicitatiebriefFree · no sign-up · no watermark
Dutch cover letter generator — sollicitatiebrief in direct, plain style
Write a sollicitatiebrief the Dutch way: A4, place-and-date line, 'Geachte heer/mevrouw,' to open, 'Met vriendelijke groet,' to close, and 200–320 words with no preamble. Free, with no sign-up.
- Paper
- A4
- Date
- 16 September 2026
- Length
- 200–320 words
- Sign-off
- Met vriendelijke groet
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Letterhead contact detailsprinted at the top of the letter, never in the body
Sets the paper size, date format, layout and length recruiters in United States expect.
- Document
- cover letter
- Paper
- US Letter
- Date
- September 16, 2026
- Length
- 250–400 words
Use United States conventions
Writes the local greeting, sign-off for a cover letter.
Off: an international English letter on United States paper. Turning it on writes the local greeting and sign-off below.
Preview — cover letter
Dear Hiring Manager,
Sincerely,
Add the hiring manager's name to personalise the greeting.
Tone
Measured and businesslike. The safe default for corporate, finance, legal and public-sector roles.
Career level
2–7 years. Leads with ownership and delivered results.
Letter length
240–320 words. The length most recruiters expect. In this market letters usually run 250–400 words.
Layout
Meridian · US & EU
Technology, product, marketing and most corporate roles.
Single column, plain text, no tables or images.
Paste the job description to begin.
Vocabulary
What a sollicitatiebrief is called in Netherlands
Using the wrong word for the document is the first small signal that an application was not written for Netherlands. These are the terms you will see in job adverts.
sollicitatiebrief
Dutch
The application letter — the standard Dutch name.
motivatiebrief
Dutch
Used interchangeably, more common for public sector and education.
CV
Dutch
The accompanying document; Dutch CVs often include a photo and date of birth.
The conventions
How Netherlands reads an application letter
Dutch application letters are shorter and plainer than almost anywhere else in Europe. Two hundred to three hundred and twenty words on one A4 page, three paragraphs, no rhetorical opening and no superlatives. The first sentence says what you do and why you are writing about this role; a Dutch recruiter reads the preamble as padding.
Directness here is a professional norm rather than rudeness. Stating a result bluntly — 'Ik heb de doorlooptijd met 30% verkort' — is more persuasive than framing it modestly, and claiming more than you can show is punished harder than in most markets because the follow-up questions in the interview will be equally direct.
Language choice follows the advert. In the Randstad, and in tech, logistics, finance and higher education generally, English-language adverts expect English applications and Dutch recruiters read them without difficulty. A Dutch-language advert, especially outside the big four cities and in the public sector, healthcare or the MKB (small and medium business), expects Dutch.
At a glance
Netherlands sollicitatiebrief: the quick facts
- Called
- Sollicitatiebrief / motivatiebrief
- Paper
- A4
- Date style
- Amsterdam, 16 september 2026 (top right)
- Length
- 200–320 words, one page
- Paragraphs
- 3
- Named recipient
- Geachte heer Jansen, / Geachte mevrouw Alvarez,
- No name found
- Geachte heer/mevrouw,
- Sign-off
- Met vriendelijke groet,
- Register
- Direct, plain, factual
- Language
- Match the advert; English is normal in the Randstad
What recruiters expect
Six rules that make a letter look like it belongs in Netherlands
02
Place and date, top right
'Amsterdam, 16 september 2026'. Dutch letters keep the place name; the generator's European templates render it in the right position when you choose the Netherlands.
03
Gendered greetings, correctly spelled
'Geachte heer Jansen,' for a man, 'Geachte mevrouw Alvarez,' for a woman, 'Geachte heer/mevrouw,' when unknown. 'Geachte' is the formal form; 'Beste' is used only where the advert itself is informal.
04
Claim only what you can defend
Dutch interviewers test claims directly. A number you cannot explain in detail is worse than no number, and the letter is read as a promise about the interview.
05
Availability and salary
A start date or notice period ('per 1 november beschikbaar') is welcome. A salary indication is given only when the advert asks for one, and then as a gross monthly or annual figure in euro.
06
The CV may carry a photo
Dutch CVs often include a photo and a date of birth, which surprises applicants from the UK and US. The letter itself stays text only.
Paragraph by paragraph
The Netherlands paragraph plan
The generator follows this order. You can see it in the preview before you export anything.
- Header
Addresses, place and date
Your details, the company's details with the contact's name, then 'Amsterdam, 16 september 2026' at the right.
- 1
Aanleiding
The role, where you found it, and one sentence on why you are a fit. Two sentences maximum.
- 2
Jouw bewijs
One or two paragraphs of results and skills tied to the advert, with figures. Plain verbs, no adjectives doing the work.
- 3
Afsluiting
Availability, the request for a gesprek, then 'Met vriendelijke groet,' and your name.
The shape on the page
What the finished sollicitatiebrief looks like
Layout only — the generator fills this with your own facts, never with placeholder text you have to remember to delete.
Jane Doe
Keizersgracht 123 · 1015 CJ Amsterdam
jane.doe@email.com · +31 6 1234 5678
Acme B.V.
t.a.v. mevrouw Alvarez
Zuidasplein 8
1082 CD Amsterdam
Amsterdam, 16 september 2026
Geachte mevrouw Alvarez,
[Aanleiding: the role, the employer, and one concrete result — two sentences.]
[Bewijs: one or two paragraphs of results and skills tied to the advert, with figures.]
[Afsluiting: availability, and the request for a gesprek.]
Met vriendelijke groet,
Jane DoeReady to use
Phrases that read as native in Netherlands
Copy one straight into the letter — the generator already uses the greeting and sign-off for this market when conventions are on.
Named man
Geachte heer Jansen,
The advert names a man.
Named woman
Geachte mevrouw Alvarez,
The advert names a woman.
No name found
Geachte heer/mevrouw,
The conventional neutral greeting.
Informal employer
Beste team,
Start-ups and employers whose advert uses je/jij.
Opening
Voor de vacature frontend engineer bij Bol.com breng ik zes jaar React-ervaring en een recente migratie die de laadtijd met 42% verlaagde.
Role, employer, one result — the Dutch pattern in one sentence.
Availability
Ik ben per 1 november beschikbaar.
One clause in the close.
Request
Ik licht mijn motivatie graag toe in een gesprek.
Direct and conventional; no hedging.
Sign-off
Met vriendelijke groet,
Standard. 'Met vriendelijke groeten,' (plural) is equally accepted.
Before you send
The final check
Do include
- One A4 page, 200–320 words, three paragraphs.
- Place and date top right: Amsterdam, 16 september 2026.
- The greeting uses the correct gendered form, or 'Geachte heer/mevrouw,'.
- The opening sentence names the role and one result — no preamble.
- Every claim in the letter is one you can defend in detail in the interview.
- Availability or notice period is stated.
- Salary only where the advert asks.
- The language matches the advert.
Never do this
- Do not open with a long 'Naar aanleiding van' sentence.
- Do not use superlatives to compensate for missing numbers.
- Do not write in Dutch if your Dutch is weak — an English letter is normal and safe at international employers.
- Do not use 'Beste' where the advert is formal.
- Do not exceed one page.
Finding the posting
Where Netherlands advertises the roles worth writing for
LinkedIn
The dominant channel for professional roles in the Randstad.
Indeed.nl
High volume across all sectors and regions.
Nationale Vacaturebank
Long-established Dutch board, strong outside the big cities.
Company sites (Bol, ASML, Philips, ING)
Large employers recruit through their own ATS; the letter is uploaded as a PDF.
Questions
Netherlands sollicitatiebrief FAQ
Is a sollicitatiebrief still required in the Netherlands?
It depends on the advert. Many Dutch employers now say 'motivatiebrief niet nodig' and hire from the CV plus a screening call, while public sector, healthcare, education and traditional family businesses still expect one. Where the portal offers a field, use it.
Can I apply in English?
Yes at international employers, in the Randstad and in tech, logistics, finance and research. For a Dutch-language advert in the public sector, healthcare or the MKB, Dutch is expected.
How direct should I be?
Very. Dutch business culture treats plain statements of results as professional and modest hedging as unclear. Claim precisely what you can prove.
What is the difference between sollicitatiebrief and motivatiebrief?
In practice none. 'Sollicitatiebrief' is the everyday term for a job application letter; 'motivatiebrief' is used more often in the public sector and for education or volunteer roles.
Do Dutch CVs include a photo?
Commonly, along with date of birth and sometimes nationality — a habit that surprises UK and US applicants. The letter itself never carries a photo.
Applying elsewhere
Cover letter conventions for other countries
Each guide sets the generator up for that market: paper size, date format, layout, length and the local greeting.