My career path

Perfect Tense with al/sinds for Career Experience

When talking about your career, you often describe experiences using the perfect tense (present perfect) combined with time markers like al (already) and sinds (since).

Perfect Tense Recap

• hebben + past participle for most verbs: Ik heb gesolliciteerd. (I applied.)
• zijn + past participle for movement/change verbs: Ik ben verhuisd voor mijn werk. (I moved for my work.)

Using al (already)

Al emphasizes that something has already happened. It goes between the subject and the past participle:

• Ik heb al drie jaar ervaring. (I already have three years of experience.)
• Zij heeft al twee keer promotie gekregen. (She has already been promoted twice.)
• We hebben al veel vaardigheden ontwikkeld. (We have already developed many skills.)

Using sinds (since)

Sinds indicates when something started and is often used with the present tense (ongoing) or perfect tense (completed):

• Ik werk hier sinds 2020. (I have been working here since 2020.) — present tense for ongoing
• Ik heb sinds vorig jaar een nieuwe baan. (I have had a new job since last year.)

Combining both

• Ik heb al sinds mijn opleiding in dit vakgebied gewerkt. (I have been working in this field since my studies.)