How to Discover a Job In Berlin

Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.

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

On this page

1. Before your task search Can you work in Germany?
Do you need to speak German?
The length of time does it take to get hired?
Salaries in Germany
General task search
English-speaking tasks
Tech jobs
Creative tasks: media, referall.us communications, design
Startup jobs
Internships, temp work and minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant jobs
German resumes
Cover letters
The phone screen
The technical interview
Meet the team
Salary negotiation
The job contract
Things your company requires
Things you need to understand
Career training
Before your job search

Can you work in Germany?

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

Do you require to speak German?

No, however it helps. You can discover English-speaking tasks, but a lot of companies want German speakers.

If you don’t speak German, you can still discover jobs in …

Tech companies
– Companies with English-speaking offices
– Delivery services like Lieferando, Wolt and Flink
– Customer care and call centres
– Restaurants and bars

Do you need to speak German in Berlin?

The length of time does it take to get worked with?

A few months. Even if you find a job quickly, the hiring procedure is really slow.

Know how much you should make, and just how much taxes you ought to pay. This helps you negotiate a much better salary.

Calculate your income tax

1. Search for jobs

General task search

Indeed.com – Job online search engine. You can filter by language and set alerts.
LinkedIn – Networking site with a huge jobs area. Popular.
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 site. Made in Berlin.
ArbeitNow – Job noting website. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing – Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor – Company evaluations, wage reports and task listings. You need 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 tasks
JobsInBerlin.eu – You can filter tasks by language
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and income
The Local tasks – Run by a popular English-speaking paper
Jobted
English-speaking tasks in Berlin – Facebook group, 89,000+ members
English tasks in Berlin – Facebook group, 43,000+ members

Tech jobs

GermanTechJobs – You can filter by language and innovation.
Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in start-ups and tech business
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech tasks
Imagine Foundation – They help software application designers from developing countries find a job and get employed

Creative tasks: media, interactions, 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 business
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * task board (in German) – tbd * is a website for business owners. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International start-up job 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, 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 temperature work firm.
Manpower (in German) – Large temperature work firm.
Randstad (in German) – Large temp work agency.
Craigslist – Most task listings are for dining establishments and cafés

Freelance work

Berlin Freelancers – Facebook group, 25,000+ members

Restaurant tasks

Berlin Food Stories – Restaurant jobs in Berlin.
Huntler – English-speaking in Berlin

2. Look 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 ought to go to a picture studio and get an expert picture for your resume. A career coach can help you write a better resume.

Useful links:

How to compose a German resume – HalloGermany.
German resume examples – Imagine structure.
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 intro. It explains who you are, what you do, why you obtain this task, and why they should employ you.

Don’t send out the exact same cover letter to everyone. Do your research, and personalise the letter for each task deal. Keep it short and easy to read. Get feedback from other individuals before you send it. A career coach can help you compose 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 few months. You might have numerous interviews with different people. It depends upon the company and the job. You need a lot of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview process starts with a short call. An employer or working with supervisor will ask you a couple of concerns. They will try to understand who you are, what you want, and how you fit the task offer. It’s an easy check before they invite you for an interview.

How to prepare – Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

Most tech companies have technical interviews or coding difficulties. They validate that you understand how to do your job.

Technical interviews are different at every company. They might ask you technical concerns, ask you to fix a problem during the interview, or finish a technical obstacle in your home. Some companies don’t have technical interviews.

Meet the team

Most business have a group interview. You satisfy your future team to see if you work well together. This interview is more relaxed. You may just talk with the group, somalibidders.com or have lunch together.

4. The task offer

After your interview, the business can make a task deal.

Salary negotiation

After you get the job deal, you can negotiate a better salary. You can also ask for things like a moving bonus or more vacation days.

Salaries in Germany

The job contract

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

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

5. Get a residence authorization

If you are not a resident of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a house authorization to live in Germany. Sometimes, you must await your residence authorization to begin working. It can take a couple of months.

How to get a house permit

If you currently have a residence license, you may need the Ausländerbehörde’s permission to change jobs. Sometimes, you can start your new task immediately. Sometimes, you need to await your new home license. This can take a few weeks.

How to alter jobs

6. Start working

Things your employer requires

During your very first month at a brand-new company, your employer requires a few things:

A checking account.
Your company will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you require a bank account that supports SEPA transfers. Any European checking 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 info.
Your medical insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you choose health insurance. Your company needs this number to take health insurance coverage payments from your income. Your company can choose medical insurance for you, however it’s a bad concept. Ask a broker to help you pick, it’s free.
Your social insurance coverage number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance, you get this number automatically in the mail. If you have private health insurance coverage, you should look for it. Your company can sometimes assist you with this. – How to get a social insurance coverage number

Your company can’t need an address registration certificate.5

Things you must understand

In Germany, the majority of people are paid when monthly, normally on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your first income after 30 or 45 days after you begin working. You typically earn money by bank transfer.

Most staff members in Germany are paid by bank transfer when monthly, on the very first day of the month.4 Your company takes salary tax, health insurance coverage, pension insurance coverage and joblessness insurance coverage from your paycheck.

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your very first 6 months at a new company, you are in your probation period (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s easier to get fired. It’s also harder to find a home, because you don’t have a steady task.

How does the probation period work?

All employees in Germany earn money vacation days, and paid sick leave. You don’t deal with public holidays, but you still make money.

How to take getaways

What to do when you are sick

7. Make a tax statement

A number of your task search costs are tax-deductible:3

Relocation expenses
If you move more detailed to your new job, you can deduct your moving expenses
Job search costs
Coaching, resume composing, expert images, translations, printing costs, task search services …
Travel costs.
Fuel, train tickets, hotels, meals and parking fees to go to task interviews.

If you started operating in the middle of the year, you probably paid excessive wage tax. Make a tax statement to lower your earnings tax, and get some refund.

Need assistance?

Where to get assist about work

Career coaching

These individuals can assist you get worked with. For example, they can evaluate your resume and cover letter. Their charge is tax-deductible.