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 job listings to your 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 hired?
Salaries in Germany
General job search
English-speaking jobs
Tech jobs
Creative jobs: media, interactions, design
Startup jobs
Internships, temp work and job minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant tasks
German resumes
Cover letters
The phone screen
The technical interview
Meet the team
Salary negotiation
The task contract
Things your employer needs
Things you should know
Career coaching
Before your job search

Can you work in Germany?

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you require a home license 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 discover English-speaking tasks, but many business want German speakers.

If you don’t speak German, you can still find tasks in …

Tech companies
– Companies with English-speaking offices
– Delivery services like Lieferando, Wolt and Flink
– Client service and call centres
– Restaurants and bars

Do you require to speak German in Berlin?

How long does it require to get employed?

A couple of months. Even if you discover a job quickly, job the hiring process is very slow.

Know just how much you should earn, and just how much taxes you should pay. This assists you work out a much better salary.

Calculate your earnings tax

1. Look for jobs

General task search

Indeed.com – Job search engine. You can filter by language and job set informs.
LinkedIn – Networking site 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 noting website. 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 job listings. You need an account.

English-speaking tasks

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

Berlin Startup Jobs – Most jobs remain in English-speaking offices
Englishjobs.de – Only English-speaking jobs
JobsInBerlin.eu – You can filter jobs by language
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter tasks by language and salary
The Local tasks – Run by a popular English-speaking paper
Jobted
English-speaking jobs 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 innovation.
Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in start-ups and tech business
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech tasks
Imagine Foundation – They assist software designers from developing nations find a task and get worked with

Creative tasks: media, interactions, style

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

Startup jobs

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking tasks in start-ups and tech companies
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * task board (in German) – tbd * is a website for business owners. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International start-up task website.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and wage.
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 internships.
Adecco (in German) – Large temperature work agency.
Manpower (in German) – Large temperature work firm.
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 tasks in Berlin

2. Apply 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 ought to go to a photo studio and get a professional picture for job your resume. A career coach can help you compose a 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 short cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s a personal introduction. It discusses who you are, what you do, why you look for this job, and why they must hire you.

Don’t send out the same cover letter to everyone. Do your research study, and personalise the letter for each job deal. Keep it short and easy to read. Get feedback from other people before you send it. A career coach can help you compose 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 process is long. It can take a couple of weeks, and even a few months. You might have several interviews with different people. It depends upon the business and the task. You require a lot of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview process starts with a brief call. A recruiter or employing supervisor will ask you a couple of questions. They will try to comprehend who you are, what you desire, and how you fit the job deal. It’s an easy check before they invite you for an interview.

How to prepare – Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

Most tech companies have technical interviews or coding obstacles. They verify that you know how to do your task.

Technical interviews are various at every company. They may ask you technical concerns, ask you to solve a problem during the interview, or finish a technical challenge at home. Some companies do not have technical interviews.

Meet the team

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

4. The job deal

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

Salary negotiation

After you get the task deal, you can work out a much better salary. You can likewise request for things like a relocation bonus offer or more vacation days.

Salaries in Germany

The job contract

Read your task contract carefully. If your employer assured something to you during the interview, verify that it’s in your agreement. Only sign the agreement if you agree with everything. Send the signed contract by email or by post.

If you are not sure about your agreement, request assistance or speak to a lawyer.

5. Get a home permit

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you require a house permit to live in Germany. Sometimes, you must wait for your home permit to start working. It can take a few months.

How to get a home license

If you already have a home license, you might require the Ausländerbehörde’s authorization to change tasks. Sometimes, you can begin your new job immediately. Sometimes, you should wait for your new house 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 brand-new business, your employer requires a few things:

A savings 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 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 choose health insurance. Your employer requires this number to take health insurance coverage payments from your income. Your company can choose health insurance coverage for you, but it’s a bad idea. Ask a broker to assist you pick, it’s totally free.
Your social insurance number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance, you get this number automatically in the mail. If you have private health insurance, you should obtain it. Your company can sometimes 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 as soon as 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 usually earn money by bank transfer.

Most staff members in Germany are paid by bank transfer when monthly, on the first day of the month.4 Your employer takes income tax, health insurance, pension insurance and joblessness insurance from your paycheck.

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

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

How does the probation period work?

All workers in Germany make money holiday days, and paid ill leave. You do not deal with public vacations, however you still get paid.

How to take vacations

What to do when you are sick

7. Make a tax statement

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

Relocation expenses
If you move better to your brand-new job, you can deduct your moving costs
Job search costs
Coaching, resume writing, professional pictures, job 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 probably paid too much salary tax. Make a tax statement to lower your income tax, and get some cash back.

Need aid?

Where to get assist about work

Career training

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