How to Discover a Job In Berlin

Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.

This guide helps you find a task in Berlin, referall.us from finding job listings to your very first day at work.

On this page

1. Before your task search Can you work in Germany?
Do you require to speak German?
How long does it take to get employed?
Salaries in Germany
General task search
English-speaking tasks
Tech jobs
Creative tasks: media, communications, style
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 settlement
The job agreement
Things your company requires
Things you need to understand
Career coaching
Before your task search

Can you operate in Germany?

If you are not a resident of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a house license to operate 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 require to speak German?

No, however it assists. You can discover English-speaking jobs, but most companies desire German speakers.

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

Tech business
– Companies with English-speaking offices
– Delivery services like Lieferando, Wolt and Flink
– Client 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 couple of months. Even if you discover a task rapidly, the working with process is extremely slow.

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

Calculate your income tax

1. Try to find jobs

General task search

Indeed.com – Job online search engine. You can filter by language and set signals.
LinkedIn – Networking site with a huge tasks section. Preferred.
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, wage reports and task listings. You require 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 workplaces
Englishjobs.de – Only English-speaking jobs
JobsInBerlin.eu – You can by language
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter tasks by language and wage
The Local jobs – Run by a popular English-speaking paper
Jobted
English-speaking tasks 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 start-ups and tech companies
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech jobs
Imagine Foundation – They help software designers from establishing countries discover a job and get employed

Creative tasks: somalibidders.com media, interactions, style

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

Startup jobs

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking tasks 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 startup task portal.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and wage.
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 agency.
Randstad (in German) – Large temp work company.
Craigslist – Most job listings are for restaurants and cafés

Freelance work

Berlin Freelancers – Facebook group, adremcareers.com 25,000+ members

Restaurant jobs

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

2. Request 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 an expert portrait for your resume. A career coach can assist 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 brief cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s an individual introduction. It describes who you are, what you do, why you request this task, and why they should hire you.

Don’t send out the same cover letter to everybody. Do your research, and personalise the letter for each task deal. Keep it short and simple to check out. Get feedback from other people before you send it. A career coach can help you compose much 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 few months. You might have multiple interviews with various individuals. It depends on the company and the job. You need a great deal of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview process begins with a brief call. A recruiter or employing supervisor will ask you a couple of questions. They will try to understand who you are, what you desire, and how you fit the task offer. It’s a basic 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 validate that you know how to do your job.

Technical interviews are various at every company. They might ask you technical concerns, ask you to resolve an issue throughout the interview, or complete a technical obstacle in your home. Some business do not have technical interviews.

Meet the team

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

4. The task offer

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

Salary negotiation

After you get the job offer, you can work out a much better wage. You can likewise ask for things like a moving perk or more vacation days.

Salaries in Germany

The task contract

Read your task contract thoroughly. If your company promised something to you during the interview, verify that it’s in your contract. Only sign the agreement if you concur with whatever. Send the signed agreement by e-mail or by post.

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

5. Get a residence authorization

If you are not a person of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a residence permit to live in Germany. Sometimes, you need to await your residence authorization to begin working. It can take a couple of months.

How to get a home license

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

How to change tasks

6. Start working

Things your employer requires

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

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

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

Things you need to know

In Germany, many people are paid as soon as monthly, usually on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your first income after 30 or 45 days after you start working. You typically get paid by bank transfer.

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

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your very first 6 months at a brand-new company, you are in your probation duration (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s much easier to get fired. It’s also more difficult to discover a home, since you do not have a steady task.

How does the probation duration work?

All staff members in Germany get paid vacation days, and paid ill leave. You do not work on public vacations, however you still get paid.

How to take trips

What to do when you are sick

7. Make a tax declaration

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

Relocation costs
If you move better to your new task, you can subtract your moving costs
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 operating in the middle of the year, you most likely paid excessive salary tax. Make a tax declaration to reduce your earnings tax, and get some cash back.

Need help?

Where to get assist about work

Career training

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