From Hundreds of Applications to a New Career in the Netherlands

After hundreds of job applications and only a handful of interviews, Mohamed Mudawi began to question whether his experience would ever be recognized in the Netherlands.

He had the qualifications. He had years of professional experience. He had progressed from planning engineer to head of planning and follow-up in the paint manufacturing industry. Yet every application seemed to end in silence or rejection.

Then, during the final weeks of the UP Collective program, something changed. Mohamed secured a position as a Manufacturing Associate in the pharmaceutical industry. This opportunity brought him back to the kind of technical and production environment where he had always felt most at home.

For Mohamed, the achievement was about more than finding a job. It was proof that his knowledge still had value and that learning how to communicate that value could open a new path forward.

A Career Built on Curiosity and Impact

Before coming to the Netherlands, Mohamed completed a master’s degree in chemical engineering and built a diverse career across several sectors.

He worked in paint manufacturing, gained experience in the pharmaceutical industry, supported humanitarian supply-chain operations, and collaborated with a national energy research Centre as an assistant researcher. Of these experiences, manufacturing remained closest to his heart.

He began as a planning engineer, coordinating production across different departments. Over time, he took on more responsibility, contributed to developing new products and formulas, and eventually became head of the planning and follow-up section.

“It gave me room to develop, to create and to leave a real impact,” he explains. “That is why I feel more connected to that role.”

His interest in environmental sustainability also shaped his ambitions. Long before arriving in the Netherlands, Mohamed followed research into bio-based materials, biofuels and greener alternatives to petrochemicals. He saw the Netherlands as a place where scientific research, innovation and climate action were taken seriously.

But building a new professional life in the country proved far more difficult than he expected.

When Experience Is Not Enough

Mohamed knew that adapting to a new country would not be easy. What surprised him was how differently the Dutch labour market worked.

In previous international job searches, he had relied on employment websites and cold applications to reach interviews. In the Netherlands, he discovered that professional networks and personal connections often played a much greater role.

Despite applying for hundreds of positions, he received very few interviews in his field. At times, the repeated rejections left him feeling too discouraged to continue.

“Sometimes you have the right skills, the right experience and the right scientific background,” he says. “But if the presentation is not as good as the other aspects, you fail to present yourself.”

Language was one obstacle, but it was not the only one. Mohamed also encountered employers who were hesitant to understand or navigate the work-permit process for someone still in the asylum procedure. Even when the process was possible, some employers were reluctant to take the additional step.

He also explored returning to university. He received conditional admissions to further study in biotechnology and chemical engineering, but the international tuition fees far higher than those paid by residents, made this route inaccessible.

With employment opportunities narrowing, Mohamed began considering another possibility: creating his own business.

Discovering a Different Route Through Delitelabs

Mohamed discovered Delitelabs through a local platform that shares opportunities to help newcomers connect with Dutch society.

Initially, it was the entrepreneurship side of UP Collective that caught his attention. Finding a job had become so difficult that starting a business seemed like a way to create his own opportunity.

“I started to lose hope in finding a job and building a career,” he recalls. “So why not start a business and become an entrepreneur?”

His first idea was a painting and wall-services company for homeowners renovating their properties. Drawing on his background in paint manufacturing, he began identifying potential customers, interviewing people and researching competitors.

As the research progressed, however, he recognised that entering this market would require strong local networks and a detailed understanding of Dutch customers. He decided to change direction and develop a more technically focused idea: modular safety footwear.

The new concept connected more naturally with his scientific background and could also serve as the capstone project for an online academic program he was completing. His mentor encouraged the change.

“My mentor said, ‘Go for it. I believe this idea is more mature than the other one,’”

The mentorship became one of the most valuable parts of his experience. His mentor brought practical knowledge of working in the Netherlands and was willing to share lessons that Mohamed could not easily find in books.

“There are things you cannot find in books or, if you find them, you cannot fully understand them until you see them in practice.”

Learning to Make His Value Visible

Although Mohamed entered UP Collective with an entrepreneurial idea, the program’s employment tools also helped him reconsider how he approached the job market.

Exercises focused on self-awareness including personality and strengths assessments, gave him a clearer understanding of what he could offer an employer. Employer-research tools helped him learn how to adapt his message to a specific organization rather than presenting the same general profile in every application.

He began to see a strong connection between understanding himself, understanding the employer and communicating the right message to the right audience.

The program also pushed him to practise something he did not naturally enjoy: public speaking.

For Mohamed, presenting a technical subject to specialists had always felt manageable. Explaining an idea to a mixed audience in only three minutes was different. The regular check-ins, testing activities and final pitch challenged him to become more concise, accessible and confident. He remained committed despite the long journey from ’s-Hertogenbosch to Amsterdam for the in-person sessions.

“I could see the value of overcoming the challenge,” he says. “My skills deserve to be presented, and my idea deserves to see the light.”

The final showcase became his most memorable moment. It represented the result of 14 weeks of learning, testing and refining not only for Mohamed, but for the entire group.

“You could see how each idea started, where it was now and the development that happened through the program,” he says. “It was inspiring for the future.”

A New Opportunity in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

By the end of the program, Mohamed had achieved an important breakthrough: he was offered a one-year position as a Manufacturing Associate with a pharmaceutical company. The role involves working in highly controlled production processes that require strict quality standards, sterilisation techniques and compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice guidelines.

For Mohamed, it is both a return to a familiar professional environment and the beginning of a promising new career path.

“I am very satisfied,” he says. “It is a respected job, and I can see a clear career path. It is an entry position, but it has a lot of potential for me.”

The opportunity came through a referral from a friend confirming what Mohamed had learned about the importance of networks in the Netherlands. The company was also willing to support the required work-permit process, overcoming one of the barriers he had repeatedly faced.

Mohamed believes the skills strengthened through UP Collective helped him prepare for the opportunity. Researching employers allowed him to tailor his message, while pitching his business idea increased his confidence in interviews.

Public speaking, he realized, was not only about standing in front of a large audience. The same skill could help him communicate clearly in a one-to-one interview or before a hiring panel.

Building a Career Without Leaving the Idea Behind

Mohamed’s immediate priority is to establish himself in his new position and grow within pharmaceutical manufacturing. At the same time, he intends to continue researching and developing his modular safety-footwear concept.

What began as an academic capstone project became more meaningful when it entered the Delitelabs program.

His journey reflects a reality faced by many newcomers: professional experience does not automatically translate across borders. Skills may remain invisible when people lack local networks, confidence, knowledge of the labour market or the language to present their value. UP Collective did not replace Mohamed’s experience. It helped him make that experience visible. His advice to future participants is simple:

“Don’t hesitate. Apply immediately. The skills you gain or strengthen during this journey are priceless, and the program deserves the effort it takes to complete it.”

Mohamed’s story reminds us that rebuilding a career is rarely a straight path. Sometimes entrepreneurship leads to employment. Sometimes a business pitch strengthens a job interview. And sometimes the most important transformation is learning to recognize and confidently communicate the value that was there all along.

At Delitelabs, we create spaces where newcomers can explore ideas, build meaningful connections and turn existing strengths into new possibilities. Mohamed’s journey shows what can happen when experience meets opportunity and when someone is given the tools to make their potential seen.