Entry-Level Finance Jobs in the Netherlands: How to Get Hired in 2026

You're hunting for your first finance job in the Netherlands, and every listing you open asks for two years of experience before it even mentions the work. That's not bad luck. That's the market.

On 14 October 2026 the JobRise live feed showed 10 open finance roles in the Netherlands, and exactly zero of them carried an entry-level label.

Zero. Out of ten. Not one.

Intern, graduate, junior, trainee: none of those words appeared. The recruiter skims for six seconds and moves on, and so do you, because there's nothing to click.

This is one feed on one day, not the whole Dutch market. But it lines up with what juniors hear back constantly: the visible openings want experience, and the beginner-friendly ones get filled through internships and referrals before they ever hit a board.

What the snapshot actually shows#

The 10 listings break down like this: 9 full-time, 1 contract, 9 posted in the last 30 days, and 5 of those landed in the last 7 days alone. Fresh roles are arriving every week, just not labelled for beginners.

By company: Bunq (4), CPM Benelux (3), Red Bull (1), Reddit (1), Destinus (1). By city: Amsterdam (5), Rotterdam (1), Breda (1), 's-Hertogenbosch (1), Valkenburg (1). The wider JobRise feed held 191 open listings across all categories in the Netherlands on that same date.

Two things jump out immediately. Half the finance slice sits in Amsterdam, so if you're based in Groningen or Maastricht you're mostly applying to roles that expect relocation or a hybrid commute.

And two of the five top companies aren't banks at all. CPM Benelux is a field sales and outsourcing outfit, Red Bull is FMCG, and both are hiring finance-capable people right now.

Look at the titles too. "AR Accountant" at Red Bull, "Internal Auditor - Regulatory Compliance" and "Technology Risk Officer" at Bunq, "Trade Compliance Legal Counsel" at Destinus. Also "Field Accountmanager Mondzorg Breda" at CPM Benelux, and "Trust and Safety Policy, Ads Policy, Lead (Europe)" at Reddit.

Finance here is wide open. Accounting, audit, risk, legal, compliance, even commercial roles where a finance head is the entry ticket. Don't box yourself into "accountant" only.

Where juniors actually get in#

The roles that never get posted are traineeships, graduate programmes, and backfill positions at the company where you already interned. Dutch employers fill those through their own talent pools, university career services, and warm referrals, which means your search has two tracks running at once: the posted one, and the invisible one.

For the posted track, go straight to company career pages. Bunq, with 4 open finance-adjacent roles in this snapshot, runs its own careers site and tends to post there first. Set alerts on the big boards and the niche finance ones. Keep a saved search open on finance roles in the Netherlands so you catch new listings the day they land.

For the invisible track, think internships, thesis projects, and part-time finance work at a scale-up. A six-month AR role at a 30-person startup teaches you more about Dutch bookkeeping than another certificate ever will.

That's the catch. Apply anyway.

The skills Dutch employers here expect#

Scan what those 10 listings actually ask for and the pattern is clear. Compliance and risk show up twice at Bunq alone, trade compliance at Destinus, audit at Red Bull. Dutch employers in 2026 are buying people who understand regulation, controls, and documentation, not just spreadsheet tricks.

For a first job, build this stack:

• Excel or Google Sheets at real level: pivot tables, lookups, reconciliations, not just "proficient"
• Bookkeeping basics: debits and credits, VAT (BTW) in the Netherlands, monthly close, annual accounts
• One ERP or accounting tool hands-on: Exact, AFAS, SAP, NetSuite, or Xero
• English at working level, plus Dutch if you're aiming at AR, AP, or client-facing roles
• Data skills: Power BI or SQL, because finance teams now want someone who can pull their own numbers
• Regulatory awareness: GDPR, SOX-style controls, or anti-money laundering basics, depending on the sector
• Written communication: the ability to write a clear memo about why a number moved

Certifications help, but they don't replace proof. A short controlling course, or a SQL cert, gets your CV past the first filter. What gets you the offer is showing you've done the actual work.

How to prove it without a job#

Most juniors skip this part entirely, and it's the one that changes outcomes. You don't need employment to show you can do finance work. You need artifacts.

Build a small portfolio. Reconcile a public company's reported segment numbers between two annual reports and write a one-page note on what shifted. Take a messy open dataset of Dutch municipal spending, clean it in Excel, and build a variance dashboard. Model a simple three-statement forecast for a business you know, a coffee shop, a bike brand, and document every assumption.

Then link those projects from your CV header. Here's the difference, rewritten for someone with no finance job yet.

Before:

"Responsible for various financial tasks and reporting activities."

After:

"Built a three-statement forecast for a local retail business in Excel, tracking 14 cost lines against monthly revenue, and flagged a 9% margin drop caused by supplier price rises, which the owner used to renegotiate terms."

The second version is verifiable, specific, and shows real analysis. Do that three times and your CV stops looking empty.

The 7-step plan#

1. Pick a lane: accounting, audit, risk, or controlling. A focused CV beats an "anything finance" one every single time.
2. Close two skill gaps in 30 days: one tool (Excel or SQL), one domain (BTW, controls, or AML).
3. Build two portfolio pieces and put them in a simple Notion or PDF portfolio. Link it from your CV header.
4. Rewrite your CV around outcomes and numbers, not duties. Use the free resume builder to nail the structure in one sitting, then edit hard.
5. Apply in batches of 10 per week, tailored each time. Two-thirds to posted roles, one-third to cold applications at companies you'd want to work for.
6. Get into the invisible track: message two alumni or ex-colleagues per week working in Dutch finance, and ask for 15 minutes of their time, not a job.
7. Track everything in a spreadsheet: company, date, contact, next step. Review every Friday and cut whatever isn't working.

Run this for 8 weeks and you'll have sent 80 applications, built a portfolio, and had 16 real conversations. That's a pipeline, not hope.

What to say when they ask about experience#

Expect the question, because it's coming. Here's a script that works.

"I don't have a finance title yet, so I built the experience myself. I reconciled and modelled on my own projects, I know the close process and Dutch BTW from coursework and self-study, and I'm comfortable in Excel and [tool]. What I lack is the pace of a real finance team, and that's exactly what I want to learn in this role."

Short. Honest. Ends on what you'll give them.

FAQ#

How many entry-level finance jobs are open in the Netherlands right now?

On 14 October 2026 the JobRise live feed showed 0 entry-level labelled finance listings out of 10 open finance listings in the Netherlands. That's a snapshot of one feed, not the full market, but it signals that entry-level roles rarely get advertised openly.

Which cities have the most finance openings?

In that snapshot: Amsterdam (5), Rotterdam (1), Breda (1), 's-Hertogenbosch (1), Valkenburg (1). Amsterdam dominates, so plan for relocation or hybrid commutes if you live elsewhere.

Do I need Dutch to get a finance job in the Netherlands?

Not always. English-only roles exist, especially in international teams like Destinus or Reddit. But AR, AP, and client-facing roles often want Dutch, so read each listing instead of assuming.

Are certifications worth it without experience?

They help you pass the CV filter, but they won't get you hired alone. Pair one cert with a portfolio project that shows you actually used the skill, because that combination is what convinces a hiring manager.

Why do no listings show salary?

None of the 10 finance listings in the 14 October 2026 snapshot showed a salary. Dutch employers often omit it, so ask the recruiter for the range early and check official UWV or CBS sources for typical pay bands before you negotiate.