How to Discover a Job In Berlin

Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.

This guide helps you discover a task 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 require to get worked with?
Salaries in Germany
General task search
English-speaking tasks
Tech jobs
Creative jobs: media, communications, style
Startup tasks
Internships, temperature 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 need to know
Career coaching
Before your task search

Can you work in Germany?

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

Do you need to speak German?

No, however it assists. You can find English-speaking tasks, however a lot of business desire German speakers.

If you do not speak German, you can still discover tasks 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?

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

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

Know just how much you should earn, and just how much taxes you ought to pay. This assists you negotiate a much better wage.

Calculate your earnings tax

1. Try to find jobs

General task search

Indeed.com – Job search engine. You can filter by language and set informs.
LinkedIn – site with a big jobs section. Incredibly 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 noting site. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing – Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor – Company reviews, salary reports and job listings. You need an account.

English-speaking tasks

These websites only have English-speaking jobs, 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 salary
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 technology.
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 developers from establishing nations find a task and get worked with

Creative jobs: media, communications, design

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 business owners. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International startup job portal.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter tasks by language and wage.
Berlin Startup Jobs – Facebook group, 56,000+ members.
Berlin Startup Jobs, Internships & Co-founders – Facebook group, job 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 temperature work agency.
Manpower (in German) – Large temp work agency.
Randstad (in German) – Large temperature work company.
Craigslist – Most job listings are for restaurants and cafés

Freelance work

Berlin Freelancers – Facebook group, 25,000+ members

Restaurant tasks

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

2. Get jobs

German resumes

German CVs are longer than American resumes. They include your date of birth, your citizenship and a photo of you.1 You must go to a picture studio and get a professional picture for your resume. A profession coach can help you compose a better resume.

Useful links:

How to write 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 an individual introduction. It explains who you are, what you do, why you look for this job, and why they should hire you.

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

How to compose 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 few weeks, and even a couple of months. You may have several interviews with various individuals. It depends on the company and the task. You require a lot of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview process starts with a brief call. An employer or job hiring manager will ask you a few concerns. They will try to comprehend who you are, what you want, and how you fit the task deal. It’s a simple 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 validate that you know how to do your job.

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

Meet the group

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

4. The job offer

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

Salary negotiation

After you get the task offer, you can negotiate a much better salary. You can likewise request things like a moving bonus offer or more vacation days.

Salaries in Germany

The job contract

Read your job agreement carefully. If your employer assured something to you throughout the interview, verify that it’s in your contract. Only sign the contract if you agree with whatever. Send the signed agreement by e-mail or by post.

If you are unsure about your contract, request for aid or talk to a lawyer.

5. Get a house license

If you are not a person of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a home authorization to live in Germany. Sometimes, you should wait on your home license to start working. It can take a couple of months.

How to get a home license

If you already have a home authorization, you might need the Ausländerbehörde’s permission to alter tasks. Sometimes, you can begin your brand-new job right away. Sometimes, job you need to wait on your brand-new home authorization. This can take a few weeks.

How to alter jobs

6. Start working

Things your employer needs

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

A checking account.
Your employer will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you require a savings 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 begin working. – More info.
Your health insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you choose medical insurance. Your employer needs this number to take health insurance coverage payments from your salary. Your company can choose health insurance for job you, but it’s a bad concept. Ask a broker to help you select, it’s complimentary.
Your social insurance coverage number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance, you get this number automatically in the mail. If you have personal medical insurance, you must get it. Your employer can sometimes help you with this. – How to get a social insurance coverage number

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

Things you need to understand

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

Most workers in Germany are paid by bank transfer as soon as each month, on the very first day of the month.4 Your company takes wage tax, health insurance, pension insurance coverage and joblessness insurance coverage from your income.

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your first 6 months at a 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, due to the fact that you do not have a steady task.

How does the probation duration work?

All employees in Germany earn money getaway days, and paid authorized leave. You don’t work on public holidays, job however you still earn money.

How to take vacations

What to do when you are ill

7. Make a tax statement

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

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

If you started working in the middle of the year, you probably paid too much income tax. Make a tax declaration to reduce your income tax, job and get some refund.

Need aid?

Where to get assist about work

Career coaching

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