Job application support after outplacement: where can you go?

Job application support after a completed outplacement programme is available in more places than you might think. You can go to your former employer if there is budget left, to the UWV or your municipality if you receive a benefit, to your trade union, or to a career coach or job search programme. Which route fits depends on your benefit, your budget and the kind of help you still need.

Isn’t job application support part of outplacement?

Usually it is. Help with your CV, letters and job interviews is a standard part of most outplacement programmes. Still, a programme can end before you have a new job. The budget has run out, the agreed duration has passed, or you mainly worked on direction and coming to terms with the dismissal and are only now really getting to applying.

In those situations you still need help with applying, but not a full new programme. You already know which direction you want to take; what matters now is the last step towards a new job.

Where can you get job application support after outplacement?

Your former employer: budget left or an extension

If there is outplacement budget left, you can ask your former employer to continue or extend the programme. The budget and duration are usually stated in your settlement agreement or in the social plan, often in a separate article on outplacement or career guidance. There you can read how much is available, for what period and whether the money goes directly to the agency.

First ask your outplacement agency how much of the budget has already been spent. With that answer you can ask your former employer specifically whether the remainder may still be used, whether the duration can be extended and whether you may also use the remainder at another agency.

UWV or municipality if you receive a benefit

With unemployment benefit (WW) you can go to the UWV for online training and webinars, for example on your CV and job interviews. If your position on the labour market is weaker, you can also get personal guidance from a work coach. If you receive social assistance or no benefit, your municipality is the point of contact for a reintegration or participation programme.

If you receive Sickness Benefit (Ziektewet) or WIA benefit, the UWV can arrange a reintegration programme for you, such as the Naar Werk programme.

Trade union and Leerwerkloket

If you are a trade union member, you can often get a CV check or career advice there, for free or at a discount. If you want to know whether a course would improve your chances, the Leerwerkloket in your region gives free advice on learning and working.

A career coach or job search programme

If you pay yourself or have your own budget, you can go to a career coach or a job search programme. Job search can be part of an outplacement programme, but you can also use it on its own. It focuses on the application phase: a coach searches with you for suitable vacancies, helps with your CV and letters and prepares you for interviews. So you do not have to follow a full outplacement programme again.

Which help suits your situation?

What should you look for when choosing job application support?

• No new full programme. You have already done the orientation. Choose help that fits where you are now.
• Help with your CV and letter. A CV that shows what you want to do in the coming years, not only what you have done. Also read how to write your CV after dismissal.
• Practising interviews. Good support practises the questions you can actually expect. See also preparing for a job interview.
• Actively searching for vacancies. Someone who searches with you, including for vacancies you would not easily find yourself.
• Knowledge of the regional labour market. A coach who knows which employers in your region are looking for people.

What does job application support after outplacement cost?

Help through the UWV, your municipality or the Leerwerkloket is free. At a trade union it is free or discounted for members. If you pay yourself, a job search programme at Care4Careers costs between €1,000 and €2,500, depending on the duration and intensity. You only pay for what is used. How that price is built up is explained at what job search costs.

Job application support in your region

Help with applying works best with a coach who knows the labour market in your region. Care4Careers has coaches at more than 55 locations in the Netherlands. In the overview of our locations you will find a coach near you.