<aside> 🎉 Including values and principles in a job application can effectively showcase your professional identity. My work experience in France, Spain, and the USA has shown that this approach helps employers assess how well you fit their company culture and mission.

However, be aware that this strategy can have both positive and negative outcomes. While it can create opportunities, misaligned values can lead to rejected applications. This is especially relevant for international relocations, such as those I manage to the Netherlands through NLIST.

My career transition from trade to recruitment has taught me to balance honesty and strategy when presenting values and principles. Focus on authenticity and relevance. I advise candidates to emphasize values that genuinely represent them and align with the company's values. This method has helped strong candidates stand out, particularly in competitive fields like tech and engineering.

As the creator of The Netherlands Roadmap, I suggest including a values and principles section on your webpage or as a separate PDF. This allows employers to gain deeper insight into your professional character, adding depth to your application beyond skills and experience.

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As a former millwright now working in international recruitment, I've found that clearly stating your values and principles in job applications can be effective. Here are key values that often resonate in the industries I work with:

1. Integrity: Consistently honest and transparent in all actions and decisions. Essential in trades and recruitment.
2. Adaptability: Flexible and quick to adjust to new situations. Crucial in today's rapidly changing work environments.
3. Innovation: Embracing new ideas and creative problem-solving. Particularly important in tech industries, a focus area for NLIST.
4. Cultural Awareness: Recognizing and respecting diverse cultures. Critical for international relocations, such as moves to the Netherlands.
5. Professionalism: Maintaining respectful, ethical, and appropriate workplace conduct. Universally valued across all countries I've worked in.

Note that value emphasis varies between companies and industries. When assisting candidates with The Netherlands Roadmap, I recommend researching the company to align values accordingly.

Growth mindset: Committed to continuous learning and self-improvement to achieve goals.

Principles serve as guiding rules for behavior and decision-making. Throughout my career transition from trades to recruitment, I've observed that clear principles can distinguish candidates. Effective principles include:

1. Quality Focus: Consistently delivering excellence with attention to detail. Vital in both millwright work and recruitment.
2. Continuous Improvement: Actively seeking feedback and enhancing skills. Key to my successful career transition.
3. Global Mindset: Addressing challenges with an international perspective.
4. Ethical Standards: Upholding high ethical conduct. Non-negotiable in recruitment.

Ensure your principles authentically represent your professional identity while aligning with the company's values. In my experience with Netherlands relocations, candidates who effectively convey their principles tend to stand out during the application process.