How to Discover a Job In Berlin

Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.

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

On this page

1. Before your job search Can you work in Germany?
Do you need to speak German?
How long does it take to get worked with?
Salaries in Germany
General job search
English-speaking tasks
Tech tasks
Creative jobs: media, communications, design
Startup tasks
Internships, temp work and minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant tasks
German resumes
Cover letters
The phone screen
The technical interview
Meet the team
Salary settlement
The job contract
Things your employer needs
Things you should understand
Career training
Before your job search

Can you operate in Germany?

If you are not a resident of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a house permit to operate 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 assists. You can find English-speaking tasks, but a lot of companies desire 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 care and call centres
– Restaurants and bars

Do you need to speak German in Berlin?

How long does it require to get worked with?

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

Know how much you must make, employment and how much taxes you should pay. This assists you negotiate a much better salary.

Calculate your earnings tax

1. Look for tasks

General job search

Indeed.com – Job search engine. You can filter by language and set informs.
LinkedIn – Networking website with a big tasks section. Very 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 website. Made in Berlin.
ArbeitNow – Job listing website. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing – Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor – Company reviews, salary reports and employment task listings. You require an account.

English-speaking jobs

These sites just have English-speaking jobs, or let you filter by language:

Berlin Startup Jobs – Most jobs are in English-speaking workplaces
Englishjobs.de – Only English-speaking jobs
JobsInBerlin.eu – You can filter tasks 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 jobs

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

Creative tasks: media, communications, employment style

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

Startup tasks

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking tasks in startups and tech companies
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * task board (in German) – tbd * is a site for entrepreneurs. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International startup job portal.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and wage.
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, employment 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 temp work company.
Randstad (in German) – Large temperature work agency.
Craigslist – Most task listings are for restaurants and cafés

Freelance work

Berlin Freelancers – Facebook group, 25,000+ members

Restaurant jobs

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

2. Request jobs

German resumes

German CVs are longer than American resumes. They include your date of birth, your citizenship and a picture of you.1 You need to go to an image 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 – HalloGermany.
German resume examples – Imagine foundation.
Resume checklist – 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 discusses who you are, what you do, why you request this job, and why they must employ you.

Don’t send out the very same cover letter to everyone. Do your research study, and personalise the letter for each task offer. Keep it short and easy to read. Get feedback from other individuals before you send it. A career coach can assist 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 process is long. It can take a couple of weeks, and even a couple of months. You may have numerous interviews with different people. It depends on the business and the job. You need a lot of time for employment this.

The phone screen

The interview process begins with a brief call. A recruiter or working with supervisor will ask you a couple of concerns. They will attempt to understand who you are, employment what you want, and how you fit the task deal. It’s a basic check before they welcome you for an interview.

How to prepare – Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

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

Technical interviews are various at every company. They might ask you technical concerns, ask you to solve a problem throughout the interview, or finish a technical obstacle at home. Some business do not 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 unwinded. You might just talk with the group, or have lunch together.

4. The job offer

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

Salary settlement

After you get the task deal, you can negotiate a much better wage. You can likewise ask for things like a moving bonus or more holiday days.

Salaries in Germany

The task contract

Read your job agreement carefully. If your company guaranteed something to you during the interview, confirm that it’s in your contract. Only sign the agreement if you concur with whatever. Send the signed contract by email or by post.

If you are uncertain about your contract, ask for help or talk to an attorney.

5. Get a home license

If you are not a resident of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you require a house permit to live in Germany. Sometimes, you should wait for your home authorization to start working. It can take a couple of months.

How to get a home authorization

If you currently have a house authorization, you may require the Ausländerbehörde’s consent to change jobs. Sometimes, employment you can start your brand-new job right away. Sometimes, you need to wait for your new residence permit. This can take a couple of weeks.

How to alter tasks

6. Start working

Things your employer requires

During your very first month at a new business, your company needs a couple of 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 savings account will work.
Your tax ID (Steueridentifikationsnummer).
You get a tax ID when you register your address for the 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 health insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you pick health insurance coverage. Your company needs this number to take medical insurance payments from your salary. Your employer can select health insurance for you, but it’s a bad idea. Ask a broker to assist you choose, it’s free.
Your social insurance number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance, you get this number immediately in the mail. If you have private medical insurance, you should get 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 need to understand

In Germany, many people are paid as soon as per month, generally on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your first paycheck after 30 or 45 days after you start working. You usually make money by bank transfer.

Most employees in Germany are paid by bank transfer as soon as each month, on the first day of the month.4 Your employer takes income tax, health 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 are in your probation period (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s much easier to get fired. It’s also harder to discover an apartment, since you do not have a steady task.

How does the probation duration work?

All workers in Germany earn money getaway days, and paid ill leave. You do not work on public vacations, but you still get paid.

How to take holidays

What to do when you are ill

7. Make a tax statement

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

Relocation costs
If you move better to your brand-new job, you can deduct your moving costs
Job search expenses
Coaching, resume composing, expert pictures, translations, printing expenses, task search services …
Travel costs.
Fuel, train tickets, hotels, meals and parking costs 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 declaration to lower your income tax, and get some refund.

Need aid?

Where to get help about work

Career coaching

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