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 first day at work.

On this page

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

Can you work in Germany?

If you are not a person of the EU, EEA or referall.us Switzerland, you need a residence 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 helps. You can find English-speaking jobs, however most companies 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 support and call centres
– Restaurants and bars

Do you need to speak German in Berlin?

For how long does it take to get worked with?

A couple of months. Even if you find a job quickly, the working with procedure is really sluggish.

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

Calculate your earnings tax

1. Look for tasks

General task search

Indeed.com – Job online search engine. You can filter by language and set notifies.
LinkedIn – Networking website with a huge jobs section. 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 website. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing – Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor – Company reviews, wage 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 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 income
The Local tasks – Run by a popular English-speaking paper
Jobted
English-speaking jobs 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 companies
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech jobs
Imagine Foundation – They assist software application developers from establishing nations find a task and get employed

Creative jobs: media, interactions, style

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

Startup jobs

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in startups and tech business
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * job board (in German) – tbd * is a website for business owners. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International start-up task portal.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs 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 temperature work firm.
Manpower (in German) – Large work agency.
Randstad (in German) – Large temperature work agency.
Craigslist – Most job listings are for restaurants and cafés

Freelance work

Berlin Freelancers – Facebook group, 25,000+ members

Restaurant jobs

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

2. Make an application 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 need to go to a photo studio and get a professional picture for your resume. A profession coach can help you compose a much better resume.

Useful links:

How to compose a German resume – HalloGermany.
German resume examples – Imagine foundation.
Resume checklist – 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 describes who you are, what you do, why you look for this job, and why they ought to employ you.

Don’t send the very same cover letter to everybody. Do your research study, and personalise the letter for each job deal. Keep it brief and simple to check out. Get feedback from other individuals before you send it. A profession 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 job interview

In Germany, the interview procedure is extremely long. It can take a few weeks, and even a couple of months. You might have numerous interviews with different people. It depends upon the business and the job. You need a lot of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview process starts with a brief call. An employer or hiring supervisor will ask you a couple of concerns. They will try to understand who you are, what you want, and how you fit the job deal. It’s a basic 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 verify that you know how to do your job.

Technical interviews are different at every business. They may ask you technical concerns, ask you to fix a problem throughout the interview, or finish a technical obstacle in the house. Some companies don’t have technical interviews.

Meet the team

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

4. The job deal

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

Salary settlement

After you get the task offer, you can work out a better income. You can likewise ask for things like a moving bonus offer or more vacation days.

Salaries in Germany

The task contract

Read your job agreement thoroughly. If your employer promised something to you throughout the interview, confirm that it remains in your agreement. 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 agreement, ask for help or talk to a legal representative.

5. Get a house permit

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you require a home license to live in Germany. Sometimes, you should await your home license to begin working. It can take a couple of months.

How to get a house permit

If you already have a home license, you may require the Ausländerbehörde’s consent to alter tasks. Sometimes, you can begin your brand-new task right away. Sometimes, you need to wait on your new house permit. This can take a couple of weeks.

How to change jobs

6. Start working

Things your company requires

During your first month at a brand-new business, your employer needs a couple of things:

A checking account.
Your company will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you require a checking 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 health insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you pick medical insurance. Your company requires this number to take medical insurance payments from your income. Your company can pick medical insurance for you, however it’s a bad idea. Ask a broker to assist you pick, it’s complimentary.
Your social insurance number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance coverage, you get this number instantly in the mail. If you have personal medical insurance, you need to look for it. Your employer can in some cases help you with this. – How to get a social insurance number

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

Things you must know

In Germany, many people are paid when monthly, usually 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 get paid by bank transfer.

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

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your very first 6 months at a brand-new business, you are in your probation duration (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s simpler to get fired. It’s likewise more difficult to find an apartment or condo, since you do not have a steady task.

How does the probation period work?

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

How to take getaways

What to do when you are ill

7. Make a tax statement

Many of your job search costs are tax-deductible:3

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

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

Need help?

Where to get help about work

Career coaching

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