How to Discover a Job In Berlin
Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.
This guide helps you discover a task in Berlin, from finding job listings to your very first day at work.
On this page
1. Before your task search Can you operate in Germany?
Do you need to speak German?
The length of time does it take to get worked with?
Salaries in Germany
General job search
English-speaking tasks
Tech tasks
Creative jobs: media, communications, style
Startup jobs
Internships, temp work and minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant jobs
German resumes
Cover letters
The phone screen
The technical interview
Meet the group
Salary settlement
The task contract
Things your employer needs
Things you need to understand
Career training
Before your task search
Can you work in Germany?
If you are not a resident of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a house authorization to work in Germany. You can get a work visa or a Blue Card, for instance. There may be a minimum wage or education requirement.
Do you need to speak German?
No, but it helps. You can discover English-speaking jobs, but a lot of business want German speakers.
If you don’t speak German, you can still find jobs in …
Tech business
– Companies with English-speaking offices
– Delivery services like Lieferando, Wolt and Flink
– Client service and call centres
– Restaurants and bars
Do you need to speak German in Berlin?
The length of time does it take to get hired?
A few months. Even if you discover a task quickly, the employing process is extremely sluggish.
Know how much you must earn, and how much taxes you ought to pay. This helps you work out a better wage.
Calculate your earnings tax
1. Search for jobs
General job search
Indeed.com – Job online search engine. You can filter by language and set signals.
LinkedIn – Networking site with a huge tasks area. Preferred.
Jobsuche der Bundesagentur (in German) – Run by the Agentur für Arbeit
Talent Berlin – Run by the state of Berlin. You can’t filter by .
HeyJobs – Job noting site. Made in Berlin.
ArbeitNow – Job listing site. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing – Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor – Company reviews, income reports and job listings. You require an account.
English-speaking tasks
These websites just have English-speaking tasks, or let you filter by language:
Berlin Startup Jobs – Most jobs remain in English-speaking offices
Englishjobs.de – Only English-speaking jobs
JobsInBerlin.eu – You can filter jobs by language
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter tasks by language and income
The Local tasks – Run by a popular English-speaking newspaper
Jobted
English-speaking tasks in Berlin – Facebook group, 89,000+ members
English jobs in Berlin – Facebook group, 43,000+ members
Tech tasks
GermanTechJobs – You can filter by language and innovation.
Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in start-ups and tech companies
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech tasks
Imagine Foundation – They help software application developers from developing countries discover a task and employment get employed
Creative tasks: media, communications, style
dasauge (in German) – Media-related tasks
Mediengestalter Jobs (in German) – Creative jobs
Startup tasks
Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in startups and tech companies
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * task board (in German) – tbd * is a website for entrepreneurs. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International start-up job website.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and salary.
Berlin Startup Jobs – Facebook group, 56,000+ members.
Berlin Startup Jobs, Internships & Co-founders – Facebook group, 14,000+ members
Internships, temp work and minijobs
Zenjobs.
BSIG – Berlin Startup Internships – Facebook group, 10,000+ members.
Foreign Young Professionals in Berlin – Facebook group, 8,000+ members.
Jobsuche der Bundesagentur (in German) – Run by the Agentur für Arbeit. Has a filter for internships.
Adecco (in German) – Large temp work agency.
Manpower (in German) – Large temperature work agency.
Randstad (in German) – Large temp work company.
Craigslist – Most job listings are for dining establishments and cafés
Freelance work
Berlin Freelancers – Facebook group, 25,000+ members
Restaurant jobs
Berlin Food Stories – Restaurant jobs in Berlin.
Huntler – English-speaking dining establishment tasks in Berlin
2. Look for tasks
German resumes
German CVs are longer than American resumes. They include your date of birth, your citizenship and employment an image of you.1 You should go to an image studio and get a professional portrait for your resume. A career coach can assist you write a much better resume.
Useful links:
How to write a German resume – HalloGermany.
German resume examples – Imagine foundation.
Resume checklist – Imagine foundation.
Lingoking – Translate your resume to German
Cover letters
Include a brief cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s an individual introduction. It explains who you are, what you do, why you request this job, and why they need to hire you.
Don’t send out the same cover letter to everyone. Do your research, and personalise the letter for each task deal. Keep it short and easy to check out. Get feedback from other people before you send it. A career coach can help you compose much better cover letters.
How to compose a German cover letter – HalloGermany.
Advice for cover letters with examples – Hacker News
3. The task interview
In Germany, the interview process is long. It can take a couple of weeks, and even a couple of months. You might have several interviews with different individuals. It depends on the business and the job. You require a great deal of time for this.
The phone screen
The interview process starts with a short call. A recruiter or employing supervisor will ask you a few questions. They will attempt to understand who you are, what you want, and how you fit the job offer. It’s a simple check before they welcome you for an interview.
How to prepare – Imagine Foundation
The technical interview
Most tech business have technical interviews or coding obstacles. They confirm that you understand how to do your job.
Technical interviews are different at every business. They might ask you technical questions, ask you to fix an issue throughout the interview, or complete a technical challenge at home. Some companies don’t have technical interviews.
Meet the team
Most companies have a team interview. You meet your future group to see if you work well together. This interview is more unwinded. You might simply talk with the group, or have lunch together.
4. The task deal
After your interview, the company can make a job offer.
Salary settlement
After you get the task offer, you can negotiate a much better income. You can also request for things like a relocation reward or more trip days.
Salaries in Germany
The task agreement
Read your task contract carefully. If your company promised something to you during the interview, confirm that it’s in your contract. Only sign the contract if you agree with everything. Send the signed contract by email or by post.
If you are unsure about your agreement, ask for help or speak with a lawyer.
5. Get a house authorization
If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a house license to reside in Germany. Sometimes, you should wait on your residence license to begin working. It can take a couple of months.
How to get a home permit
If you currently have a house authorization, you might need the Ausländerbehörde’s permission to change jobs. Sometimes, you can start your new task instantly. Sometimes, employment you need to await your new home authorization. This can take a couple of weeks.
How to change tasks
6. Start working
Things your employer needs
During your very first month at a new company, your company requires a few things:
A savings account.
Your company will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you need a checking account that supports SEPA transfers. Any European bank account will work.
Your tax ID (Steueridentifikationsnummer).
You get a tax ID when you register your address for the very first time. If you can’t register your address, you can still get a tax ID. If you can’t get a tax ID, you can still begin working. – More information.
Your health insurance coverage number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you choose health insurance. Your company requires this number to take medical insurance payments from your wage. Your employer can select medical insurance for you, but it’s a bad idea. Ask a broker to help you pick, it’s complimentary.
Your social insurance coverage number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance, you get this number automatically in the mail. If you have personal medical insurance, you need to get it. Your employer can often help you with this. – How to get a social insurance coverage number
Your employer can’t require an address registration certificate.5
Things you should know
In Germany, many people are paid once per month, generally on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your first income after 30 or 45 days after you start working. You normally get paid by bank transfer.
Most employees in Germany are paid by bank transfer as soon as per month, on the very first day of the month.4 Your company takes salary tax, medical insurance, pension insurance and unemployment insurance coverage from your income.
Income tax calculator
How taxes work
During your very first 6 months at a brand-new business, you are in your probation period (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s simpler to get fired. It’s also harder to discover an apartment or condo, since you do not have a steady task.
How does the probation period work?
All workers in Germany make money holiday days, and paid authorized leave. You do not deal with public vacations, however you still get paid.
How to take getaways
What to do when you are ill
7. Make a tax declaration
Much of your task search expenses are tax-deductible:3
Relocation expenses
If you move closer to your brand-new task, you can subtract your moving costs
Job search costs
Coaching, resume composing, professional photos, translations, printing costs, job search services …
Travel expenses.
Fuel, train tickets, hotels, meals and parking fees to go to task interviews.
If you began operating in the middle of the year, you most likely paid too much salary tax. Make a tax declaration to reduce your income tax, and get some cash back.
Need aid?
Where to get help about work
Career training
These individuals can assist you get worked with. For example, they can evaluate your resume and cover letter. Their fee is tax-deductible.
