How to “recalibrate” your professional value in the Netherlands 

Imposter syndrome is a gap between your internal sense of self and your external proof of competence. Back home, you had years of proof: successful projects, promotions, and positive feedback. 

Here in the Netherlands, that external proof is missing. Dutch culture is famously sparing with compliments (“geen nieuws is goed nieuws,” or “no news is good news”). You feel your foreign experience is undervalued, so you’re left with a “confidence deficit.” 

To cure imposter syndrome, you must rebuild your self-efficacy. You need to actively recalibrate your professional value in this new context. Your goal is to gather new, local proof that you are as good as you know you are. 

1. Translate Your Value. Don’t assume managers will connect the dots. Take your CV and actively translate your past achievements. 
2. Instead of: “Led a sales team in the UK.” 
3. Use: “I have 5 years of experience managing a multicultural team in a highly competitive market, just like the one you’re entering.” 
4. Actively Solicit Feedback. Don’t wait for the compliment that will never come. Be direct. Ask your manager, “I am working on my personal effectiveness. What is one thing I am doing well, and one thing I could improve in my communication with the team?” This gives you concrete data to work with. 
5. Find a “Cultural Translator.” Find a trusted colleague (Dutch or a long-term expat) and ask them to help you “decode” situations. “In the meeting today, when Jan said X, what did he really mean?” This helps you separate blunt feedback from personal criticism. 
6. Log Your New Wins. Start a “brag file” for your eyes only. Every time you successfully navigate a tough meeting, solve a problem, or get a small piece of positive feedback, write it down. This is your new proof. It is the raw data that rebuilds your self-efficacy. 

A Great Career Isn’t Built on Luck. It’s Built on Confidence. 

You’ve seen how to recalibrate your value and gather new proof of your skills. But this strategy requires you to be vulnerable, to ask for feedback, and to challenge your own negative self-talk. 

• Do you feel uncomfortable asking a manager for direct feedback? 
• Are you worried your “brag file” will feel empty? 
• Is it hard to feel like an expert when you’re still learning the cultural rules? 

This is the final piece of the puzzle. You are a highly skilled professional with value to offer. You just need a sparring partner to help you see it and articulate it. 

A Gort coach for expats is your mirror. We help you identify your value, find your authentic voice, and build the internal proof you need to defeat imposter syndrome for good. 

Stop being a visitor. Become the expert in the room again. 

This is a skill, and we can teach you. Plan your free, no-obligation orientation call today to build the career—and the confidence—you deserve.