C&EN Talks With... ROYAL NETHERLANDS CHEMICAL SOCIETY'S Greult Dijkstra
DERMOT A. O'SULLIVAN · Chemical & Engineering News · 1976
Like most industrialized countries, the Netherlands has experienced a drop in demand for chemical graduates due to the economic slowdown of the past couple of years. Predictably, competition among those seeking work is intense. A problem developing out of this situation is that many who may be well suited for a particular post can be passed over in the initial screening because of the large number of responses to advertisements. To minimize this likelihood, the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society and sister organizations in engineering sponsor a course to provide guidance to their members who are seeking employment. They get pointers on how to frame letters of applications, for instance, and tips on how to make best use of job interviews. "This isn't meant to promote incompetent people to get jobs," explains Dr. Greult Dijkstra, the society's president and an ardent backer of the scheme. "We set it up so that competent applicants won't be eliminated ...