How to find a Job In Berlin

Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.

This guide assists you find a job in Berlin, from discovering task listings to your first day at work.

On this page

1. Before your task search Can you operate in Germany?
Do you need to speak German?
The length of time does it take to get worked with?
Salaries in Germany
General task search
English-speaking tasks
Tech jobs
Creative jobs: media, interactions, design
Startup jobs
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 contract
Things your company needs
Things you should understand
Career training
Before your task search

Can you operate in Germany?

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you require a home authorization to operate in Germany. You can get a work visa or a Blue Card, for example. There might be a minimum salary or education requirement.

Do you require to speak German?

No, but it helps. You can discover English-speaking tasks, but many companies want German speakers.

If you don’t speak German, you can still discover jobs in …

Tech business
– Companies with English-speaking workplaces
– Delivery services like Lieferando, Wolt and Flink
– Customer service and call centres
– Restaurants and bars

Do you require to speak German in Berlin?

How long does it take to get employed?

A few months. Even if you discover a job rapidly, the working with procedure is very slow.

Know how much you need to make, and how much taxes you need to pay. This assists you negotiate a better wage.

Calculate your earnings tax

1. Search for tasks

General task search

Indeed.com – Job search engine. You can filter by language and set informs.
LinkedIn – Networking site with a big tasks area. 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 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, wage reports and task listings. You need an account.

English-speaking tasks

These websites 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 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 technology.
Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking tasks in and tech business
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech jobs
Imagine Foundation – They help software application developers from establishing nations find a task and get worked with

Creative jobs: media, interactions, style

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

Startup tasks

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in start-ups 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 start-up task portal.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and income.
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 internships.
Adecco (in German) – Large temperature work company.
Manpower (in German) – Large temp work firm.
Randstad (in German) – Large temperature work company.
Craigslist – Most task listings are for restaurants and cafés

Freelance work

Berlin Freelancers – Facebook group, 25,000+ members

Restaurant tasks

Berlin Food Stories – Restaurant tasks 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 picture of you.1 You should go to a photo studio and get a professional portrait for employment your resume. A profession coach can assist you compose a much better resume.

Useful links:

How to compose a German resume – HalloGermany.
German resume examples – Imagine foundation.
Resume checklist – Imagine foundation.
Lingoking – Translate your resume to German

Cover letters

Include a brief cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s an individual intro. It discusses who you are, what you do, why you obtain this job, and why they must employ you.

Don’t send the same cover letter to everyone. Do your research study, and personalise the letter for each task offer. Keep it short and simple to read. Get feedback from other individuals before you send it. A profession coach can assist you write 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 couple of months. You may have several interviews with different people. It depends upon the company and the job. You need a lot of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview process starts with a brief call. A recruiter or employing supervisor employment will ask you a few concerns. They will attempt to understand who you are, what you want, and how you fit the job deal. 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 validate that you know how to do your job.

Technical interviews are various at every business. They may ask you technical concerns, ask you to solve a problem throughout the interview, or finish a technical difficulty in your home. Some business do not have technical interviews.

Meet the team

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

4. The job offer

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

Salary negotiation

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

Salaries in Germany

The job agreement

Read your task contract carefully. If your employer promised something to you throughout the interview, verify that it remains in your agreement. Only sign the agreement if you concur with everything. Send the signed contract by e-mail or by post.

If you are not sure about your contract, ask for assistance or speak with a legal representative.

5. Get a home authorization

If you are not a resident of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a home authorization to live in Germany. Sometimes, you should wait on your house authorization to start working. It can take a couple of months.

How to get a residence authorization

If you currently have a residence authorization, you may require the Ausländerbehörde’s authorization to change tasks. Sometimes, you can begin your brand-new task right away. Sometimes, you should wait for employment your new residence license. This can take a couple of weeks.

How to alter jobs

6. Start working

Things your employer needs

During your first month at a new company, your employer requires a few things:

A bank account.
Your company will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you require a checking 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 information.
Your health insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you select health insurance. Your company requires this number to take health insurance coverage payments from your salary. Your employer can select health insurance for you, but it’s a bad concept. Ask a broker to help you pick, it’s totally free.
Your social insurance coverage number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance, you get this number automatically in the mail. If you have private medical insurance, you should obtain 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 must understand

In Germany, the majority of people are paid once monthly, usually on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your very first paycheck after 30 or 45 days after you begin working. You normally earn money by bank transfer.

Most employees in Germany are paid by bank transfer once each month, on the very first day of the month.4 Your company takes wage tax, medical insurance, pension insurance coverage and unemployment insurance from your paycheck.

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your very first 6 months at a brand-new business, you remain in your probation duration (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s simpler to get fired. It’s likewise more difficult to discover a house, because you do not have a steady task.

How does the probation period work?

All employees in Germany get paid getaway days, and employment paid authorized leave. You don’t deal with public vacations, but you still make money.

How to take getaways

What to do when you are ill

7. Make a tax declaration

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

Relocation costs
If you move more detailed to your new task, you can subtract 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 charges to go to job interviews.

If you began working in the middle of the year, you probably paid excessive salary tax. Make a tax declaration to decrease your income tax, and get some money back.

Need assistance?

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.