A Guide to Work in Germany
Besides traveling and studying, Germany is also a great country for building a career. The German economy is known as one of the strongest in the world, and one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe.
Germany offers various job opportunities, numerous advantages to develop your skills and experience, good salaries and other benefits. Here is a guide to work in Germany.
How to Work in Germany?
You can read information how you can start to work in Germany by following these 3 steps: Get a job, receive the resident permit and a working visa.
1. Jobs in Germany
One of the requirements to work in Germany is a working VISA. To get it, you must have a signed contract from your future employer in Germany. It means you need to get a job in the first place.
Germany is Europe's most industrialized country. These are the most important sectors in Germany: automotive, mechanical engineering, chemical, and electrical industries.
Hence, the highest-demand jobs in Germany are related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). Germany actively welcomes foreigners to work in these fields.
To get a job in Germany you can look in one of the following German job portals:
The popular platforms LinkedIn, StepStone, Indeed and Glasdoor are also in Germany often used.
Meinestadt is also a good website to find job opportunities in Germany. Of course you can also look directly on the website of the company for which you like to work. There are also English jobs in Germany, especially in Berlin and Munich you can find many international companies in which the company language is English.
If you are looking for a job in English, then the best platforms to search for a job are LinkedIn and StepStone. The best cities to apply for a job are Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Hamburg.
Application in Germany
In the following you can read how to write a good application and which parts should be an application like the cover letter, a CV and Certificates.
The German Cover Letter
The German cover letter is normally written in a formal language and it should follow a clear structure. In the form of address you should write down the name of the HR manager to who you would like to send your application.
In case that you do not know the name of the HR manager, then it is best to call the company to figure out the name. In the past it was fine to use the general form of address "Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren" (Dear Sir or Madam). Nowadays companies often see the applicant as lazy for not putting down the name of the HR manager.
The German cover letter should inform about your motivation and your hard and soft skills. These are typical questions that you can answer in a cover letter: Why would you like to work for this company? What is your job related work experience? What is your motivation? Why are you the best candidate for the job?
The German CV
The German CV Shows very detailed information about these topics:
- Personal information: In here you can write your contact details like your address and mobile phone number. In the past it was common to name about your parents and their profession and your marital status. Nowadays this is not requested anymore.
- Education: In this topic you can list your highest school degree and your university degrees. It should also be clear when and where you got your degree.
- Work experience: You write down all related work experience starting with your current job. You add details like time period, name of the company and your position. Nowadays many people give short information what they did in each job. This takes of course a lot of space that is why it is nowadays fine to have two and sometimes even three pages for the German CV.
- Skills: In this topic you can explain important skills that you have. You should also place your language skills in here.
- Qualifications: In case that you gained additional qualifications then you can place it under this topic.
The German CV contained in the past only one page, but nowadays many applicants have two or even three pages for the German CV. Does this mean that you also need to have at least two pages for your CV?
I would always recommend you to have a CV with only one page and maybe a optional second where the HR manager can read more details about what you did in each job or your references.
HR managers do not have unlimited time to check each application. It is better to have a well structured good designed CV with only one page and an optional second page which the HR manager can read if he likes your CV.
Certificates, Qualifications and References
You can add all related documents to your application like certificates, qualifications and references. All the documents are included in one PDF file and the first page should be your CV.
Some people also place their cover letter in this file, but it is better to write the cover letter in the e-mail so that the HR manager directly can decide if he wants to check out your application our not.
Aptitude test and Assessment Center
Some companies check your needed knowledge for a job through an aptitude test which can often be similar to an IQ test.
An Assessment Center tries to figure out your soft skills through a team task. An Assessment Center could be for example that each team should build with a few tools like papers the highest tower within a time frame. During the task you are observed and your soft skills are evaluated. An Assessment Center can be a challenge and it is easy to fail it when you are in a bad team.
The German Job Interview
After passing successfully the Aptitude test and Assessment Center then you finally have the job interview. In many companies, especially smaller ones you are directly invited to an interview without the test and assessment center.
On the other hand you even have to run through two job interviews in a few big companies: one group job interview and one private interview.
In the job interview the HR manager wants to figure out your interest of the job, your hard and soft skills and how you fit to the company and the team. Karrierebibel is a very good website to see often asked questions in a German job interview. You can find the link of Karrierebibel here.
2. Obtain Resident Permit
Every foreigner who wants to work in Germany must obtain a resident permit. The duration of your residence permit depends on the duration of your employment contract.
If your country of origin is not a part of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA), you need approval from the Federal Employment Agency.
The approval can be granted from the German Embassy in your country or the local immigration authorities in Germany. Once you are approved, you will get a temporary residence permit for employment purposes.
Besides the temporary residence permit, there is also an EU blue card. It is available for foreigners from non-EU countries who have high skills and a minimum yearly income of €44,304. With an EU blue card, you can get a permanent residence permit after 33 months of employment, or after 21 months if you also prove proficiency in the German language.
Without the EU blue card, you also can get a permanent residence permit by proving that you have worked for at least 5 years in a job approved by the Federal Employment Agency and proving proficiency in the German language.
3. Get Work VISA
If you are from the EU or EEA, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein - you don't need a work VISA. You just have to register your residence using a passport or valid ID when you arrive in Germany.
If you are from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Israel, Japan, or South Korea - you don't need a work VISA or a job offer. You just have to apply for a residence permit at the Federal Foreign Office when you arrive in Germany.
If you are not a resident of any of those countries, you have to apply for a work VISA. Besides the standard required documents for a VISA application, you also have to provide:
An employment contract
Health insurance
Curriculum Vitae
Proof of qualification
Personal covering letter explaining the exact purpose and duration of stay
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