His sister convinced him to leave Turkey for Germany, but it never happened. Instead, Volkan ended up in the Netherlands. Since April 19, 2022, he has been working as a lead mechanical engineer at Improvia in Best. “I think we were very lucky.”
His sister’s plan sounded so good: they would emigrate to Germany together. A beautiful dream of a life in a “better” country. And so, one day, Volkan changed his LinkedIn status to “open to work” for recruiters. At the time, he had a good job in the Turkish capital, Ankara. Volkan worked for a company that designs and builds custom machines. But yes, that dream of the future, you know. And then there was his six-year-old daughter, for whom he wanted a good future in a good country. “It didn’t take long before a recruiter found my LinkedIn profile,” says Volkan (42) at the Improvia office in Best. “His company wanted to hire me and find me a job.” That recruiter worked for a Dutch company. He asked if that was why he wanted to move to the Netherlands soon. “That wasn’t my first choice. I wanted to go to Germany.”
Turkish Community
After all, there was a large Turkish community in Germany, he knew. Germany was good for Turks. He didn’t know much about the Netherlands, although he had already been there twice. And now, suddenly, he had an opportunity to move to Europe, as some friends had done before. “So I accepted the offer. From that moment on, things moved very quickly with the recruitment agency.” He said goodbye to his wife and daughter, and on February 1, 2022, Volkan flew to the Netherlands. The agreement was that he would try it for six months and in the meantime discuss with his wife whether emigrating to the Netherlands was a good idea for their family. “I had no expectations when I moved to the Netherlands, because I was hired by the recruitment agency without a project. I didn’t have to do anything but sit around and wait until they had a job for me.” But Volkan didn’t sit still. He got to know the area, tried to understand Dutch culture, and was surprised by the large Turkish community in the Netherlands. “I had no idea,” he says with a laugh, as he often does during the conversation. “I’m happy here.”
Waiting
The wait lasted two months. Then the recruitment agency found him a job at Improvia. “I wanted to work at Improvia because it’s a machine builder. So it suited my experience. And in the two months I hadn’t found a job, I developed an interest in high-tech. That was because of the region here. Improvia told me they wanted to collaborate more with ASML and needed more staff for that. I was interested. Thanks to Improvia, I could suddenly work in high-tech.” It did require a different kind of knowledge than regular machine design, which Volkan had done in Turkey. “I was excited to learn about this. I always enjoy learning new things. It was a great opportunity to grow in my work.” With a job and a positive impression of his new home, the decision became inevitable: his wife and daughter would also come to the Netherlands. “That was in mid-July,” Volkan recalls. It was a risk, though. Just because he had a positive experience in the Netherlands didn’t mean it would be the same for his wife and daughter, he realized. “There’s always a risk. That’s why I initially came alone. It was a gradual decision. We made it largely based on my experiences, although we had both previously visited Amsterdam and Rotterdam. And in the first two months, my wife and daughter were here for a week.”
Very friendly
The main reason for choosing the Netherlands together was that the Dutch are “very friendly,” says Volkan. “They’re willing to communicate in English, which makes the transition easier. Employees at government agencies are also willing to speak English.” He continues: “They’re not only friendly, but they also help you. And I saw government officials of a different ethnicity. I was impressed by that. It made it all easier to do everyday things. And it made it easier to make a decision about our future.” His wife is also happy in the Netherlands now, says Volkan, laughing. “She’s had her own business for three months. She already had contacts before she came here. She works as a freelance food engineer and lead auditor for food quality management systems. I’m happy about that. It’s great when she feels independent and self-reliant. And our daughter goes to an international school in Eindhoven. She feels at home there and wants to go to school. That’s a good sign. She now has friends from China, India, Turkey, and the Netherlands.” Although they are happy with their new life, his family isn’t where it wants to be yet, says Volkan. “But we’re on the right track. We have our goals. We want to be in
