The month when things turned upside down
I started working in the Netherlands in March 2024. My plan was to stay there till August but well, plans change.
This was the 3rd time I worked in the Netherlands. I worked through different agencies. In my opinion working for an agency is very easy and has many pluses but also many minuses. This year was the first time I went to work there on my own without any friends or a partner. I was scared but it turned out to be an amazing experience.
I worked through one agency that I’m not gonna name. The thing about the agencies is they will scam you if you don’t scam them first. Now it doesn’t have to be the case everywhere, it’s just my experience.
What I like about working for an agency is that you have mostly everything provided, work, paperwork, legal stuff and in many cases also accommodation and transport. I had provided everything. Another positive thing for me is that you can leave anytime. The contract is weak, it can be a positive and a negative at the same time. You are not protected but they are neither. You can leave anytime but they can also fire you anytime. The agency is bound to find a job for you and if they work with many companies they should help you switch or find another one if the one where you are working fires you or is not suitable for you. Keep in mind every agency might have different rules, this is what I worked with.
When I arrived in the Netherlands I was lucky, I got a great job, quite good accommodation and okay coworkers (that could be a chapter itself). For months everything was going well.
I was working in a really nice company with great people and leaders. I was determined to make it till the end of August. I’m a travel girlie, I don’t like to stay in one place for a long time. I wanted to save some money and travel.
One day we had personal meetings with the bosses. My coworker, a really sweet girl, advised me to tell them that I’m leaving in a month, so they can prepare for that and be on good terms with me for letting them know and not just disappearing. I followed her advice and did it. They were all nice and understanding, supporting my choice to grow and learn more as I’m still young. I was happy, everything went according to the plan.
2 days went by and they came to tell me that there is no work at the moment and I have to stay home for a few days. I was not really happy about this situation but with the belief that soon it’s gonna come back to normal I went on to enjoy my free day. It didn’t last long tho.
Exactly on my free day, when I told myself to not worry I got a message that I’m fired from my job due to no work. I was sad, disappointed and uncomfortable by the thought of getting used to another place with new people just for a month. Well, I didn’t have another option than just to go with it.
The next day they took me to a new job with my new roommate. Yes, from living by myself peacefully I went to living with a new roommate.
The new job was not so terrible but by far not as good as the old one. There were okay people and really mean people but I forced myself to go with it, I just had a few weeks to go through. I spent 2 weeks there and at this point the second week was exactly a month from my departure. The boss from my agency told me to send my resignation 4 weeks before I leave by an email. I’m a good person so I did what he told me in order to not mess up any relationships and maybe in the future come back.
Tuesday I sent my resignation, Wednesday they told me I’m fired. Not only I got a message that they have no work for me from Friday anymore but also that I have to move out till Sunday. Was it on purpose? Make your own opinion.
I had my tickets booked for August, everything fixed and it all crashed. They didn’t have any interest in helping me. Looking for a way home for the last moment was almost impossible, the prices of the plane tickets in the high season skyrocketed. Going home with a car would take me 16 hours. I got stuck, I had 2 options, go home or go to my boyfriend. After balancing out the prices, times and airport locations I decided to go to my boyfriend. I had to change my plane ticket and pay an extra 130€ but I fixed it. I thought the most difficult part was behind me but oh boy I was wrong.
A friend agreed to take me to the airport. The flight was really early in the morning so we had to leave at night. Everything was going according to plan until I arrived at the airport and realized I’m at the wrong airport.
Just a little note, Dusseldorf has 2 airports and they are an hour away from one another.
The information guy told me I have to go to the other airport, there is no public transport and a taxi is gonna cost me 150€. Luckily my friend helped me out and I got to the airport one hour before my flight departed. If you would see me the moment I saw the line to the control, my heart dropped. In my mind I knew I’m not gonna make this flight.
Shout out to the lady who had the line under control and helped me move to the front, she saved me.
Fast forward to the control, they took my bag just for a random check. Moving to my gate, I figured out my other bag and half of the stuff in it was dirty from strawberries I got as a gift. When I got on the plane I was thirsty without any water and in need of a toilet. At this point after everything that happened I just gave up and I was hoping that my flight was gonna be safe. Thankfully I got to my destination, even tho I missed my bus to the train station I managed to catch my train on time and get to my boyfriend safely.
July was a month of hell for me but I keep this as a reminder that even tho everything that could go wrong went wrong, I didn’t give up and made it with a calm mind.
