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 finding task listings to your very first day at work.

On this page

1. Before your task search Can you work in Germany?
Do you need to speak German?
How long does it take to get employed?
Salaries in Germany
General job search
English-speaking jobs
Tech jobs
Creative tasks: media, interactions, design
Startup jobs
Internships, temp work and minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant jobs
German resumes
Cover letters
The phone screen
The technical interview
Meet the group
Salary negotiation
The task agreement
Things your employer needs
Things you need to 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 require a home permit to operate in Germany. You can get a work visa or a Blue Card, for instance. There might be a minimum income or education requirement.

Do you need to speak German?

No, however it helps. You can find English-speaking jobs, but a lot of companies want German speakers.

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

Tech companies
– Companies with English-speaking workplaces
– Delivery services like Lieferando, Wolt and Flink
– Customer service 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 few months. Even if you find a job rapidly, the hiring procedure is very sluggish.

Know just how much you should make, and just how much taxes you must pay. This helps you negotiate a better income.

Calculate your income tax

1. Search for jobs

General task search

Indeed.com – Job search engine. You can filter by language and set notifies.
LinkedIn – Networking website with a big jobs area. 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 noting 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, employment income reports and job listings. You require an account.

English-speaking tasks

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

Berlin Startup Jobs – Most tasks remain in English-speaking workplaces
Englishjobs.de – Only English-speaking tasks
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 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 tasks in startups and tech companies
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech tasks
Imagine Foundation – They assist software application developers from establishing countries discover a task and get hired

Creative jobs: media, communications, style

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

Startup tasks

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in start-ups and tech business
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * job board (in German) – tbd * is a site for entrepreneurs. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International startup task portal.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter tasks 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 company.
Manpower (in German) – Large temperature work firm.
Randstad (in German) – Large temp 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 jobs in Berlin.
Huntler – English-speaking dining establishment tasks in Berlin

2. Obtain 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 should go to a picture studio and get a professional picture for your resume. A career coach can help you compose a much better resume.

Useful links:

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

Cover letters

Include a brief cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s a personal introduction. It explains who you are, employment what you do, why you get this job, and why they should 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 short and simple to check out. Get feedback from other people before you send it. A career coach can assist you compose better cover letters.

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

3. The task interview

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

The phone screen

The interview procedure starts with a short call. A recruiter or working with supervisor will ask you a few questions. They will try to comprehend who you are, what you want, and how you fit the job offer. 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 confirm that you understand how to do your task.

Technical interviews are different at every business. They might ask you technical questions, ask you to resolve an issue throughout the interview, or complete a technical obstacle in your home. Some companies don’t have technical interviews.

Meet the team

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

4. The job deal

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

Salary settlement

After you get the job deal, you can negotiate a much better salary. You can likewise request things like a relocation bonus offer or more holiday days.

Salaries in Germany

The task contract

Read your task agreement carefully. If your employer assured something to you during the interview, validate 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, request for aid or talk to a lawyer.

5. Get a home license

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you require a house authorization to live in Germany. Sometimes, employment you need to wait on your house license to begin working. It can take a few months.

How to get a home permit

If you currently have a home license, you might require the Ausländerbehörde’s consent to alter jobs. Sometimes, you can start your new task right away. Sometimes, you should await your brand-new residence license. This can take a couple of weeks.

How to change tasks

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 need a savings account that supports SEPA . 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 register your address, you can still get a tax ID. If you can’t get a tax ID, you can still start working. – More information.
Your medical insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you choose medical insurance. Your company needs this number to take medical insurance payments from your salary. Your employer can select medical insurance for you, however it’s a bad idea. Ask a broker to assist you select, employment it’s totally free.
Your social insurance number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance, employment you get this number automatically in the mail. If you have personal medical insurance, you need to get it. Your employer can sometimes help 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, the majority of people are paid once monthly, typically on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your first paycheck after 30 or 45 days after you start working. You typically get paid by bank transfer.

Most staff members in Germany are paid by bank transfer as soon as per month, on the first day of the month.4 Your employer takes salary tax, employment health insurance, pension insurance coverage and unemployment insurance coverage from your paycheck.

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your very first 6 months at a new business, you are in your probation duration (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s much easier to get fired. It’s likewise more difficult to discover an apartment, since you don’t have a stable task.

How does the probation duration work?

All employees in Germany get paid trip days, and employment paid ill leave. You do not work on public holidays, but you still get paid.

How to take holidays

What to do when you are sick

7. Make a tax statement

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

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

Where to get assist about work

Career coaching

These individuals can help you get worked with. For instance, they can examine your resume and cover letter. Their fee is tax-deductible.