How to Discover a Task 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 very first day at work.

On this page

1. Before your job search Can you work in Germany?
Do you require to speak German?
For how long does it require to get hired?
Salaries in Germany
General task search
English-speaking jobs
Tech jobs
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 team
Salary settlement
The task agreement
Things your employer needs
Things you should know
Career training
Before your job search

Can you operate in Germany?

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

Do you require to speak German?

No, but it assists. You can find English-speaking jobs, but the majority of business want German speakers.

If you do not speak German, you can still find jobs in …

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

Do you require to speak German in Berlin?

For how long does it take to get employed?

A few months. Even if you find a job rapidly, the employing process is really slow.

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

Calculate your earnings tax

1. Look for tasks

General job search

Indeed.com – Job online search engine. You can filter by language and set informs.
LinkedIn – Networking site with a big tasks 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 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, wage reports and employment task listings. You require an account.

English-speaking jobs

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

Berlin Startup Jobs – Most tasks are in English-speaking offices
Englishjobs.de – Only English-speaking tasks
JobsInBerlin.eu – You can filter jobs by language
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and wage
The Local tasks – Run by a popular English-speaking paper
Jobted
English-speaking jobs in Berlin – Facebook group, 89,000+ members
English tasks 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 jobs
Imagine Foundation – They assist software application designers from developing nations find a job and get employed

Creative jobs: media, communications, style

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

Startup tasks

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking tasks in startups and tech business
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * task board (in German) – tbd * is a website for entrepreneurs. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International startup job website.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and income.
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 agency.
Manpower (in German) – Large temp work agency.
Randstad (in German) – Large temperature work agency.
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 tasks in Berlin.
Huntler – English-speaking dining establishment 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 photo of you.1 You need to go to a picture studio and get an expert picture for your resume. A profession coach can help you write a better resume.

Useful links:

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

Cover letters

Include a short cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s a personal intro. It describes who you are, what you do, why you request this task, and why they must hire you.

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

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

3. The job interview

In Germany, the interview procedure is long. It can take a couple of weeks, and even a couple of months. You might have multiple interviews with various people. It depends on the company and the job. You need a lot of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview procedure starts with a brief call. An employer or employing manager will ask you a few concerns. They will attempt to understand who you are, what you want, and how you fit the task deal. It’s a simple check before they invite you for an interview.

How to prepare – Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

Most tech business have technical interviews or coding obstacles. They validate that you understand employment how to do your job.

Technical interviews are different at every business. They might ask you technical questions, ask you to resolve an issue throughout the interview, or finish a technical challenge in the house. Some companies do not have technical interviews.

Meet the group

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, or have lunch together.

4. The task deal

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

Salary negotiation

After you get the task offer, you can work out a better wage. You can also request things like a relocation bonus or more days.

Salaries in Germany

The task contract

Read your task contract thoroughly. If your company assured something to you throughout the interview, confirm that it remains in your contract. Only sign the contract if you concur with everything. Send the signed contract by email or by post.

If you are unsure about your contract, request for help or speak to a lawyer.

5. Get a residence authorization

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a residence permit to reside in Germany. Sometimes, you should wait on your house permit to start working. It can take a couple of months.

How to get a house authorization

If you already have a home license, you might need the Ausländerbehörde’s permission to alter tasks. Sometimes, you can start your brand-new task immediately. Sometimes, you need to await your brand-new house permit. This can take a few weeks.

How to alter jobs

6. Start working

Things your company requires

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

A savings account.
Your employer 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, employment you can still start working. – More details.
Your medical insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you select health insurance coverage. Your company requires this number to take health insurance coverage payments from your wage. Your company can select medical insurance for you, but it’s a bad idea. Ask a broker to assist you pick, it’s totally free.
Your social insurance 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 apply for it. Your employer can in some cases assist you with this. – How to get a social insurance number

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

Things you must understand

In Germany, the majority of people are paid once monthly, normally on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your first paycheck after 30 or 45 days after you start working. You generally make money by bank transfer.

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

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your very first 6 months at a brand-new company, you remain in your probation period (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s simpler to get fired. It’s likewise more difficult to discover an apartment or condo, due to the fact that you don’t have a stable job.

How does the probation duration work?

All employees in Germany make money getaway days, and paid ill leave. You don’t deal with public vacations, but you still get paid.

How to take getaways

What to do when you are sick

7. Make a tax declaration

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

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

If you started working in the middle of the year, you most likely paid too much salary tax. Make a tax statement to decrease your earnings tax, and get some cash back.

Need help?

Where to get help about work

Career coaching

These individuals can help you get employed. For example, they can review your resume and cover letter. Their fee is tax-deductible.