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 finding job listings to your first day at work.

On this page

1. Before your task search Can you work in Germany?
Do you require to speak German?
The length of time does it take to get employed?
Salaries in Germany
General job search
English-speaking tasks
Tech tasks
Creative jobs: media, referall.us communications, style
Startup tasks
Internships, temp work and minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant jobs
German resumes
Cover letters
The phone screen
The technical interview
Meet the team
Salary settlement
The job agreement
Things your employer requires
Things you need to know
Career coaching
Before your task search

Can you work in Germany?

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

Do you require to speak German?

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

If you don’t speak German, you can still discover 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?

The length of time does it require to get hired?

A few months. Even if you find a job quickly, the hiring process is extremely slow.

Know how much you need to earn, and how much taxes you ought to pay. This helps you work out a better income.

Calculate your income tax

1. Look 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 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 listing site. Made in Berlin.
ArbeitNow – Job noting site. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing – Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor – Company evaluations, wage reports and job listings. You need an account.

English-speaking jobs

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 jobs by language
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and salary
The Local jobs – Run by a popular English-speaking paper
Jobted
English-speaking tasks in Berlin – Facebook group, 89,000+ members
English tasks in Berlin – Facebook group, 43,000+ members

Tech tasks

GermanTechJobs – You can filter by language and technology.
Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs 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 worked with

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 startups and tech companies
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * job board (in German) – tbd * is a website for business owners. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International startup task portal.
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, temp 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 .
Adecco (in German) – Large temp work company.
Manpower (in German) – Large temp work company.
Randstad (in German) – Large temp 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 jobs in Berlin.
Huntler – English-speaking restaurant jobs in Berlin

2. Apply for 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 a photo studio and get an expert portrait 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 brief cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s an individual intro. It describes who you are, what you do, why you apply for this task, and why they should hire you.

Don’t send the exact same cover letter to everybody. Do your research, and personalise the letter for each job offer. Keep it short and simple to check out. Get feedback from other people before you send it. A career coach can help 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 extremely long. It can take a couple of weeks, and even a couple of months. You may have numerous interviews with various people. It depends on the business and the job. You require a lot of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview procedure starts with a short call. A recruiter or adremcareers.com employing supervisor will ask you a few questions. They will try to comprehend who you are, what you desire, and how you fit the job 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 obstacles. They confirm that you know how to do your task.

Technical interviews are various at every business. They might ask you technical questions, ask you to fix a problem during the interview, or complete a technical challenge in your home. Some companies do not have technical interviews.

Meet the team

Most companies 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 team, or have lunch together.

4. The task offer

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

Salary settlement

After you get the job deal, you can negotiate a much better income. You can also request things like a relocation bonus or more vacation days.

Salaries in Germany

The task agreement

Read your job agreement carefully. If your employer guaranteed something to you throughout the interview, verify that it remains in your agreement. Only sign the agreement if you agree with whatever. Send the signed agreement by email or by post.

If you are unsure about your agreement, request assistance or speak with a lawyer.

5. Get a home permit

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

How to get a house license

If you currently have a home permit, you may need the Ausländerbehörde’s authorization to change jobs. Sometimes, you can begin your new job instantly. Sometimes, you need to await your new house permit. This can take a few weeks.

How to change jobs

6. Start working

Things your employer requires

During your first month at a brand-new company, your employer needs a few things:

A checking account.
Your employer will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you require a checking account that supports SEPA transfers. Any European bank 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 coverage number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you choose medical insurance. Your employer requires this number to take health insurance payments from your income. Your company can select health insurance coverage for you, however it’s a bad idea. Ask a broker to help you pick, it’s free.
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 should obtain it. Your company can in some cases assist you with this. – How to get a social insurance coverage number

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

Things you must know

In Germany, the majority of people are paid when monthly, 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 workers in Germany are paid by bank transfer once per month, on the very first day of the month.4 Your employer takes wage tax, health insurance coverage, pension insurance and joblessness insurance from your paycheck.

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your first 6 months at a new company, you are in your probation period (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s simpler to get fired. It’s also harder to discover a home, due to the fact that you do not have a steady job.

How does the probation duration work?

All employees in Germany make money trip days, and paid authorized leave. You don’t deal with public holidays, however you still make money.

How to take vacations

What to do when you are sick

7. Make a tax declaration

Many of your task search expenses are tax-deductible:3

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

If you began operating in the middle of the year, somalibidders.com you probably paid excessive salary tax. Make a tax declaration to reduce your income tax, and get some refund.

Need aid?

Where to get assist about work

Career training

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