How to Discover a Job In Berlin

Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.

This guide assists you find a task in Berlin, from finding job listings to your first day at work.

On this page

1. Before your job search Can you operate in Germany?
Do you require to speak German?
For how long does it take to get employed?
Salaries in Germany
General task search
English-speaking tasks
Tech jobs
Creative jobs: somalibidders.com media, communications, style
Startup jobs
Internships, temperature work and minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant jobs
German resumes
Cover letters
The phone screen
The technical interview
Meet the group
Salary settlement
The job agreement
Things your employer needs
Things you need to know
Career coaching
Before your job search

Can you operate in Germany?

If you are not a resident of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a home permit to work in Germany. You can get a work visa or a Blue Card, for instance. There might be a minimum income or education requirement.

Do you need to speak German?

No, however 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 workplaces
– Delivery services like Lieferando, Wolt and Flink
– Customer support and call centres
– Restaurants and bars

Do you need to speak German in Berlin?

For how long does it take to get hired?

A few months. Even if you discover a job rapidly, the employing procedure is really sluggish.

Know how much you ought to make, and just how much taxes you ought to pay. This assists you negotiate a better income.

Calculate your earnings tax

1. Look for jobs

General task search

Indeed.com – Job online search engine. You can filter by language and set informs.
LinkedIn – Networking website with a big tasks section. 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 language.
HeyJobs – Job listing website. 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 jobs

These websites just have English-speaking tasks, or let you filter by language:

Berlin Startup Jobs – Most tasks are in English-speaking workplaces
Englishjobs.de – Only English-speaking tasks
JobsInBerlin.eu – You can filter jobs by language
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and income
The Local jobs – 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 jobs

GermanTechJobs – You can filter by language and innovation.
Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking tasks in startups and tech companies
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech tasks
Imagine Foundation – They assist software application developers from developing nations find a job and get worked with

Creative jobs: media, communications, style

dasauge (in German) – Media-related tasks
Mediengestalter Jobs (in German) – Creative jobs

Startup jobs

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in start-ups and tech companies
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * job board (in German) – tbd * is a website for entrepreneurs. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International startup task website.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter tasks by language and salary.
Berlin Startup Jobs – Facebook group, 56,000+ members.
Berlin Startup Jobs, Internships & Co-founders – Facebook group, 14,000+ members

Internships, temperature 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 firm.
Manpower (in German) – Large temp work agency.
Randstad (in German) – Large temperature work company.
Craigslist – Most task listings are for restaurants and cafés

Freelance work

Berlin Freelancers – Facebook group, referall.us 25,000+ members

Restaurant tasks

Berlin Food Stories – Restaurant tasks in Berlin.
Huntler – English-speaking restaurant tasks in Berlin

2. Apply for tasks

German resumes

German CVs are longer than American resumes. They include your date of birth, your citizenship and a picture of you.1 You should go to a picture studio and get an expert picture for your resume. A profession coach can help you write a much better resume.

Useful links:

How to compose a German resume – HalloGermany.
German resume examples – Imagine foundation.
Resume list – Imagine foundation.
Lingoking – Translate your resume to German

Cover letters

Include a short cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s a personal introduction. It discusses who you are, what you do, why you request this job, and why they need to hire you.

Don’t send the very same cover letter to everybody. Do your research, and personalise the letter for each job deal. Keep it short and simple to read. Get feedback from other individuals before you send it. A career coach can help you write better cover letters.

How to write a German cover letter – HalloGermany.
Advice for cover letters with examples – Hacker News

3. The task interview

In Germany, the interview procedure is long. It can take a few weeks, and even a couple of months. You might have multiple interviews with various people. It depends upon 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. An employer or hiring supervisor will ask you a few questions. They will try to comprehend who you are, what you want, and how you fit the job offer. It’s an easy check before they welcome you for an interview.

How to prepare – Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

Most tech companies have technical interviews or coding challenges. They verify that you know how to do your job.

Technical interviews are various at every business. They might ask you technical questions, ask you to fix a problem during the interview, or finish a technical obstacle at home. Some companies don’t have technical interviews.

Meet the team

Most companies have a group interview. You meet your future team to see if you work well together. This interview is more unwinded. You may simply talk with the team, or have lunch together.

4. The task offer

After your interview, the business can make a job offer.

Salary settlement

After you get the task offer, you can work out a much better income. You can likewise request for things like a relocation perk or more holiday days.

Salaries in Germany

The job contract

Read your task agreement carefully. If your company promised something to you throughout the interview, confirm that it’s in your contract. Only sign the contract if you concur with everything. Send the signed contract by e-mail or by post.

If you are not exactly sure about your contract, request for help or talk to an attorney.

5. Get a house permit

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a residence authorization to reside in Germany. Sometimes, you should await your residence license to begin working. It can take a few months.

How to get a house permit

If you currently have a home permit, you may need the Ausländerbehörde’s approval to alter jobs. Sometimes, you can begin your brand-new job right away. Sometimes, you must wait on your brand-new home permit. This can take a couple of weeks.

How to change jobs

6. Start working

Things your company needs

During your first month at a new company, your company needs a couple of things:

A checking account.
Your employer will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you need a checking account that supports SEPA transfers. Any European savings 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 start working. – More information.
Your medical insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you select health insurance coverage. Your company needs this number to take medical insurance payments from your salary. Your company can choose health insurance for you, however it’s a bad idea. Ask a broker to assist you select, it’s free.
Your social insurance coverage number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance coverage, you get this number instantly in the mail. If you have personal health insurance, you must get it. Your employer can in some cases assist you with this. – How to get a social insurance number

Your employer can’t require an address registration certificate.5

Things you need to understand

In Germany, many people are paid once each month, normally on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your very first income after 30 or 45 days after you begin working. You usually get paid by bank transfer.

Most employees in Germany are paid by bank transfer when monthly, on the very first day of the month.4 Your employer takes wage tax, medical insurance, pension insurance coverage and unemployment insurance coverage from your income.

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your first 6 months at a new business, you are in your probation duration (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s much easier to get fired. It’s likewise more difficult to discover an apartment, due to the fact that you do not have a steady job.

How does the probation duration work?

All staff members in Germany make money vacation days, and paid authorized leave. You do not work on public holidays, however you still earn money.

How to take getaways

What to do when you are ill

7. Make a tax declaration

Much of your job search expenses are tax-deductible:3

Relocation costs
If you move closer to your brand-new job, you can deduct your moving expenses
Job search costs
Coaching, resume writing, expert photos, translations, printing costs, job search services …
.
Fuel, train tickets, hotels, meals and parking charges to go to task interviews.

If you began operating in the middle of the year, you probably paid excessive income tax. Make a tax declaration to reduce your income tax, and get some refund.

Need assistance?

Where to get assist about work

Career coaching

These individuals can assist you get employed. For instance, they can evaluate your resume and cover letter. Their cost is tax-deductible.