About Us

How to find a Job In Berlin

Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.

This guide assists you discover a job in Berlin, employment from finding task 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?
How long does it take to get hired?
Salaries in Germany
General job search
English-speaking jobs
Tech jobs
Creative jobs: media, communications, design
Startup tasks
Internships, temp work and minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant jobs
German resumes
Cover letters
The phone screen
The technical interview
Meet the group
Salary settlement
The job agreement
Things your company requires
Things you need to know
Career training
Before your job search

Can you work in Germany?

If you are not a person of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need 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 need to speak German?

No, however it assists. You can find English-speaking jobs, but many companies want German speakers.

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

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

Do you need to speak German in Berlin?

The length of time does it require to get worked with?

A few months. Even if you discover a job quickly, the hiring procedure is very slow.

Know just how much you need to make, and just how much taxes you ought to pay. This helps you negotiate a much better salary.

Calculate your earnings tax

1. Try to find tasks

General job search

Indeed.com – Job online search engine. You can filter by language and set signals.
LinkedIn – Networking site with a big jobs section. Very 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 site. Made in Berlin.
ArbeitNow – Job noting site. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing – Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor – Company reviews, salary reports and job listings. You require an account.

English-speaking tasks

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

Berlin Startup Jobs – Most jobs remain in English-speaking workplaces
Englishjobs.de – Only English-speaking jobs
JobsInBerlin.eu – You can filter tasks by language
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter tasks by language and income
The Local jobs – 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 tasks in start-ups and tech business
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech jobs
Imagine Foundation – They help software developers from developing nations discover a task and get employed

Creative tasks: media, interactions, style

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

Startup tasks

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking tasks in start-ups and tech business
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * task board (in German) – tbd * is a website for business owners. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International startup task website.
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 temperature work agency.
Manpower (in German) – Large temp work agency.
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 tasks 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 an image of you.1 You should go to a photo studio and get an expert portrait for your resume. A career coach can help you compose a better resume.

Useful links:

How to compose a German resume – HalloGermany.
German resume examples – Imagine structure.
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 discusses who you are, what you do, why you obtain this task, and why they should employ you.

Don’t send the very same cover letter to everyone. Do your research, and personalise the letter for each . Keep it short and easy to check out. Get feedback from other individuals 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 procedure is long. It can take a few weeks, and even a couple of months. You might have numerous interviews with various people. It depends on the business and the job. You need a great deal of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview process begins with a brief call. An employer or hiring supervisor will ask you a few questions. They will try to comprehend who you are, what you desire, and how you fit the task deal. It’s an easy check before they welcome you for an interview.

How to prepare – Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

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

Technical interviews are various at every company. They may ask you technical concerns, ask you to solve an issue throughout the interview, or finish a technical challenge in the house. Some business don’t have technical interviews.

Meet the group

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

4. The task offer

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

Salary negotiation

After you get the task offer, you can negotiate a much better salary. You can likewise request things like a moving bonus or more trip days.

Salaries in Germany

The job agreement

Read your job contract thoroughly. If your employer guaranteed something to you throughout the interview, confirm that it remains in your contract. Only sign the contract if you agree with everything. Send the signed contract by e-mail or by post.

If you are uncertain about your contract, ask for employment help or speak to an attorney.

5. Get a residence authorization

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you require a residence authorization to reside in Germany. Sometimes, you need to wait on your house authorization to start working. It can take a couple of months.

How to get a home authorization

If you already have a home license, you may require the Ausländerbehörde’s permission to change jobs. Sometimes, you can begin your brand-new job right away. Sometimes, you need to wait on your new house permit. This can take a couple of weeks.

How to change jobs

6. Start working

Things your employer requires

During your very first month at a brand-new company, your employer needs 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 register your address, you can still get a tax ID. If you can’t get a tax ID, you can still begin working. – More details.
Your medical insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you select medical insurance. Your company requires this number to take medical insurance payments from your income. Your company can pick 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 instantly in the mail. If you have private health insurance, you must get it. Your company can sometimes help you with this. – How to get a social insurance number

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

Things you should understand

In Germany, many people are paid once 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 usually make money by bank transfer.

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

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your very first 6 months at a brand-new company, you remain in your probation duration (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s much easier to get fired. It’s likewise harder to find a home, since you don’t have a stable job.

How does the probation period work?

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

How to take holidays

What to do when you are sick

7. Make a tax statement

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

Relocation expenses
If you move closer to your new task, you can subtract your moving expenses
Job search costs
Coaching, resume writing, expert images, translations, printing expenses, job search services …
Travel costs.
Fuel, train tickets, hotels, meals and employment parking charges to go to job interviews.

If you began operating in the middle of the year, you most likely paid too much income tax. Make a tax statement to lower your earnings tax, and get some cash back.

Need help?

Where to get help about work

Career training

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