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 discovering task 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 employed?
Salaries in Germany
General job search
English-speaking tasks
Tech tasks
Creative tasks: media, interactions, design
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 negotiation
The task contract
Things your company needs
Things you must know
Career coaching
Before your job search

Can you operate in Germany?

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

Do you require to speak German?

No, but it assists. You can find English-speaking jobs, however 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 workplaces
– Delivery services like Lieferando, Wolt and Flink
– Client service and call centres
– Restaurants and bars

Do you require to speak German in Berlin?

The length of time does it take to get hired?

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

Know just how much you should earn, and just how much taxes you need to pay. This helps you work out a much better wage.

Calculate your earnings tax

1. Search for jobs

General task search

Indeed.com – Job online search engine. You can filter by language and set alerts.
LinkedIn – Networking website with a big 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 listing site. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing – Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor – Company evaluations, income reports and task listings. You require an account.

English-speaking tasks

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

Berlin Startup Jobs – Most tasks remain 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 tasks

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

Creative jobs: media, communications, style

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

Startup jobs

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in start-ups and tech companies
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 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, 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 firm.
Manpower (in German) – Large temp work firm.
Randstad (in German) – Large temperature work company.
Craigslist – Most job listings are for restaurants and cafés

Freelance work

Berlin Freelancers – Facebook group, referall.us 25,000+ members

Restaurant tasks

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

2. Obtain 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 must go to a picture studio and get a professional picture for your resume. A profession coach can assist 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 an individual intro. It explains who you are, what you do, why you make an application for this job, and why they need to employ you.

Don’t send out the same cover letter to everybody. Do your research, and personalise the letter for each job offer. 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 couple of weeks, and even a couple of months. You may have several interviews with different people. It depends upon the company and the job. You require a lot of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview procedure begins with a brief call. A recruiter or employing manager will ask you a few concerns. They will try to comprehend who you are, what you want, and how you fit the job offer. 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 validate that you know how to do your job.

Technical interviews are various at every company. They may ask you technical questions, ask you to solve an issue throughout the interview, or complete a technical challenge in your home. Some business 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 unwinded. You may just talk with the group, or have lunch together.

4. The job deal

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

Salary settlement

After you get the task deal, you can work out a much better wage. You can likewise ask for things like a relocation reward or more getaway days.

Salaries in Germany

The job contract

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

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

5. Get a house permit

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you require a home permit to reside in Germany. Sometimes, you should wait on your house license to begin working. It can take a few months.

How to get a home license

If you currently have a home license, you may need the Ausländerbehörde’s permission to change jobs. Sometimes, you can start your new task immediately. Sometimes, you should wait for your brand-new house license. This can take a few weeks.

How to alter tasks

6. Start working

Things your company needs

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

A bank account.
Your employer will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you require a bank 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 very first time. If you can’t your address, you can still get a tax ID. If you can’t get a tax ID, you can still start working. – More details.
Your medical insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you pick health insurance. Your employer needs this number to take medical insurance payments from your wage. Your company can pick health insurance coverage for you, but it’s a bad concept. Ask a broker to assist you choose, it’s complimentary.
Your social insurance coverage number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance, you get this number immediately in the mail. If you have personal medical insurance, you need to obtain it. Your employer can in some cases assist you with this. – How to get a social insurance coverage number

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

Things you should understand

In Germany, many people are paid when each month, generally on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your first paycheck after 30 or 45 days after you begin working. You typically make money by bank transfer.

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

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 much easier to get fired. It’s also more difficult to find a house, since you do not have a stable task.

How does the probation period work?

All employees in Germany make money vacation days, and paid ill leave. You don’t work on public vacations, however you still get paid.

How to take holidays

What to do when you are sick

7. Make a tax statement

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

Relocation expenses
If you move more detailed to your new task, you can subtract your moving costs
Job search costs
Coaching, resume writing, somalibidders.com expert pictures, translations, printing expenses, task search services …
Travel costs.
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 income tax. Make a tax statement to decrease your income tax, and get some cash back.

Need assistance?

Where to get help about work

Career coaching

These people can help you get hired. For instance, they can evaluate your resume and cover letter. Their charge is tax-deductible.