Not every opportunity is in Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam or Utrecht. Brainport Eindhoven is the most international tech hub in the country, the North has a tight labour market where employers actively welcome English-speaking candidates, and university cities like Enschede, Nijmegen, Wageningen and Maastricht run large career events of their own. Below you’ll find expat-focused events and employer meet-ups, regional job fairs, and open company days (open bedrijvendagen) in the North, East and South of the Netherlands — plus a few nationwide open days worth tracking wherever you live. Based in or around one of the big cities in the west? See our companion guide to job fairs and career events in Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht.
Note on dates: many of these run on a rolling schedule or are annual events whose exact new date is published closer to the day. Where a date shows “to be confirmed”, check the organiser’s website (linked) before you go.
Expat-focused events & employer meet-ups
- IamExpat Fair — Eindhoven (Klokgebouw) — 3 Oct 2026
Career zone + relocation services under one roof — ideal for switching roles smoothly.
Who it’s for: internationals living in or moving to the Netherlands (and their partners) — job seekers of all levels plus anyone who needs housing, tax, banking or relocation services. - Expat Spouses Initiative (ESI) — Talent100 & employer sessions — ongoing (next: 13 Aug 2026, online)
ESI connects international talent with employers through its Talent100 programme, information sessions and company introductions.
Who it’s for: accompanying partners and spouses of relocated internationals who want to (re)enter the Dutch job market. - Holland Expat Center South — networking & “find a job” events — ongoing (year-round)
Regular networking evenings, employer meet-ups, start-up walk-in hours and “work / find a job” sessions in the Brainport Eindhoven region.
Who it’s for: internationals living or arriving in the Brainport Eindhoven / South-Netherlands region — job seekers, partners and entrepreneurs. - Make it in the North — career events & job-hunt advice — ongoing (e.g. 27 Aug & 2 Sep 2026, Groningen; EURES Career Workshop Sep 2026)
The jobs platform for the three northern provinces, with recurring walk-in job-hunt advice, career workshops and employer connections.
Who it’s for: English-speaking internationals looking for work in Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe — all levels.
Regional job & career fairs
East (Twente & Gelderland)
- Business Days Twente — Career Fair — February 2027 (to be confirmed)
One of the largest student career fairs in the east, with 160+ companies, held annually in February at the University of Twente in Enschede.
Who it’s for: students and graduates — especially in technology, engineering and business; English-friendly through UT’s international programmes. - Nijmegen Career Event (NCE) — Nijmegen — 24–25 Nov 2026
Annual career event connecting students and companies in the Nijmegen region (Radboud University).
Who it’s for: students and recent graduates (starters) across disciplines; companies recruiting early-career talent. - WUR Career Day — Wageningen — biennial (to be confirmed)
Wageningen University’s biennial recruitment day connecting students with employers.
Who it’s for: students and graduates in food, agri, environment and life sciences. Check the WUR site for the next edition.
South (Brainport Eindhoven & Limburg)
- TU/e Career Expo (Wervingsdagen) — Eindhoven — 2–4 Mar 2027
High-density engineering roles; talk directly to hiring teams.
Who it’s for: students and recent graduates in engineering, technology and high-tech (starters and interns) looking for their first roles in the Brainport region. - MedTech Career Event (Brainport) — Eindhoven — autumn 2026 (to be confirmed)
Medtech employers; hardware/QA/RA/clinical engineering talks.
Who it’s for: medtech job seekers and professionals — hardware, embedded, QA/RA and clinical engineering, from students to experienced engineers. - FSE STEM Career Day (Maastricht University) — April 2027 (to be confirmed)
Annual career day (the 2026 edition was 16 April) where STEM students and industry meet, network and recruit.
Who it’s for: STEM students and graduates; Maastricht University is one of the most international, English-taught universities in the country.
Open company days (open bedrijvendagen)
Open company days are a very Dutch phenomenon: once a year, companies open their doors to everyone — no invitation, no CV required. They’re aimed at the general public, but for a job-seeking expat they’re a low-pressure way to walk into a workplace, see the culture, and talk to actual employees instead of recruiters. Most are free and don’t require registration.
- Open Bedrijvendag Emmen — Emmen (Drenthe) — 7 Nov 2026
Companies across Emmen open their doors on the first Saturday of November, from manufacturing to services, 10:00–16:00.
Why interesting for expats: the North has a tight labour market and employers here are increasingly open to English-speaking candidates — a walk-in chance to meet them directly. - High Tech Ontdekkingsroute (Dutch Technology Week) — Brainport Eindhoven region — June 2027 (to be confirmed; 2026 edition was 13 June)
Companies and campuses across the Brainport region open their doors on one Saturday, including the High Tech Campus Open Day where Philips, NXP, Signify and others show their work.
Why interesting for expats: Brainport is one of the most international tech hubs in the country — this is the one day a year you can walk into its major employers without an appointment. - Open Bedrijven Dag — Kempen & Peel region (Noord-Brabant) — spring 2027 (to be confirmed; 2026 edition was 28 March)
Around 60 companies in the region south of Eindhoven open their doors, explicitly welcoming career changers as well as the curious.
Why interesting for expats: many participants are manufacturing and supply-chain firms in the Brainport ecosystem — useful for technical profiles looking beyond the big names. - Open Bedrijvendag Doetinchem — Achterhoek (Gelderland) — March 2027 (to be confirmed; 2026 edition was 25–28 March)
A multi-day open house of companies in the Doetinchem area, from industry to services.
Why interesting for expats: the Achterhoek has a strong manufacturing base with persistent technical vacancies — employers here compete hard for talent. - Dag van de Logistiek — Oss (Noord-Brabant) — October 2027 (biennial; skips 2026)
Logistics companies in the Oss region open their warehouses and operations to visitors.
Why interesting for expats: logistics is one of the sectors where internationals find work fastest, and this event shows the range of roles beyond the warehouse floor — planning, IT, data and management.
Nationwide open days worth tracking
- Dag van de Bouw — June 2027 (to be confirmed; 2026 edition was 20 June)
Construction and infrastructure sites across the whole country — over 130 projects in 2026 — open to the public for one Saturday.
Why interesting for expats: construction and infra face major shortages, from site engineering to project management, and this is the easiest way to see Dutch projects and employers up close. - Ontdekdezorg Week — 8–13 Feb 2027
A national week in which healthcare and welfare organisations across the country host open days, walk-in sessions and taster activities for anyone considering a career in care.
Why interesting for expats: healthcare is actively recruiting career switchers; the week is designed for orientation, so it’s a natural entry point even if you’re still exploring whether the sector fits.
Two tips for internationals: at an open company day nobody expects you to be job hunting — which is exactly what makes it work. Ask employees what they do all day, take a business card, and follow up on LinkedIn afterwards. And outside the big cities, the biggest hiring events are often organised by universities and regional expat centres rather than commercial fair organisers — so following your regional expat centre (Groningen, Twente, Brainport Eindhoven, Maastricht Region) is the most reliable way to catch open company days and job fairs as they’re announced.
Looking for personalised career coaching? Orange Expats helps international professionals navigate their career paths in the Netherlands.