Jobboard Finder’s opinion
Summary: Created in 2000, The Nationale Vacature Bank is one of the largest job sites in the Netherlands. It belongs to De Persgroep Employment Solutions (which used to be called VNU Vacature Media). According to the site, it is the most popular employment site in the country for the seventh year running. The figures seem to confirm this: 1.5 million visits a month and more than 1 million candidates in the database (according to the site). On social media, there are 54 236 followers on Facebook, 16 100 on Twitter, 2 489 on LinkedIn and 80 on YouTube.
Design: The colour scheme is a pleasant mix of light blue and orange. The homepage has a large backdrop of a woman smiling and making a search sign with her hand. The search engine (keywords, location, radius) is the focus of the homepage for the job search. The rest of the page promotes other services and tools, like the courses and the salary guide. You can also choose from different categories in the bottom half of the page. Once in the job listing, the filters (sector, branch, experience, education, type of contract, hours, type of recruiter, publication date) appear on the left-hand side (including the number of offers per category) and the offers can be displayed as a list or grid. They are sorted by the date. In the job listing, you can choose between different panels: offers, favourites and saved offers. Furthermore, you can see if the employer has included a video, the number of hours, the required education, the publication date and logos. Useful information is on the right-hand side of open job offers.
The job board objective: Nationale Vacature Bank (which means “the national employment bank”) strives to offer clear employment information and to remain at the top of the list of the best job sites in the Nertherlands.
Recruiter observations: You can find detailed information about prices and services on the site. It is actually easier to create an account as a recruiter than a jobseeker. The dashboard allows recruiters to look back over past offers and their traffic, but it’s best to order your job offers through the pricing page. The new homepage allows you to browse candidate profiles (only useful information is visible but you can filter the profiles).
Jobseeker observations: To use the salary guide, you must include your education (here are the rough equivalences: MBO is the end of school exam, HBO is a Bachelor’s and WO is a Master’s degree). You can see a full report of your salary (including how you rank compared to other men and women, career evolution, the number of extra hours people do on average, where they work, the best industries and more). For a number of offers, you don’t need an account (you are redirected to a different site). If you do decide to create an account, you will need a Dutch postcode and you must fill out a number of required fields.
The job offers: There are 64 389 offers on the site. Most of them are in Tech, Production, Healthcare, Sales or Transport/Logistics. About 20 000 of the offers are over a month old and there are almost twice as many posted by employers (compared to recruitment agencies).
Reactivity: You can contact the team on Facebook or through chat support. They answer quickly.
Special features: Salary gross/net calculator; the YouTube videos; the mentor section; the courses; the blog (in different section but with no publication dates – there is also one for recruiters); the salary guide; the newsletter; links to partner websites in the footer; the press and reports section; the particularly clear FAQ section; feedback options; the CV visibility options; chat support.
Verdict: This site is particularly user-friendly for employers, who can access the CV database before purchasing anything. For jobseekers, the information is insightful and helpful.
