How to Discover a Task In Berlin

Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.

This guide assists you discover a job in Berlin, from finding task listings to your very first day at work.

On this page

1. Before your job search Can you operate in Germany?
Do you need to speak German?
The length of time does it require to get worked with?
Salaries in Germany
General task search
English-speaking jobs
Tech tasks
Creative tasks: media, communications, style
Startup jobs
Internships, temp work and minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant jobs
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 understand
Career training
Before your job search

Can you work in Germany?

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a home permit 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 require to speak German?

No, but it helps. You can find English-speaking tasks, but a lot of business 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 support and call centres
– Restaurants and bars

Do you require to speak German in Berlin?

The length of time does it take to get hired?

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

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

Calculate your income tax

1. Look for tasks

General task search

Indeed.com – Job search engine. You can filter by language and set notifies.
LinkedIn – Networking site with a huge 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 listing website. Made in Berlin.
ArbeitNow – Job noting website. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing – Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor – Company reviews, salary reports and employment task 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 tasks are in English-speaking offices
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 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 jobs

GermanTechJobs – You can filter by language and innovation.
Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking tasks in startups and tech business
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech tasks
Imagine Foundation – They help software developers from establishing nations discover a task and get employed

Creative tasks: media, interactions, style

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

Startup tasks

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in startups and tech business
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * job board (in German) – tbd * is a site for business owners. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International startup task website.
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, 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 company.
Manpower (in German) – Large temp work company.
Randstad (in German) – Large temperature work agency.
Craigslist – Most task listings are for dining establishments and cafés

Freelance work

Berlin Freelancers – Facebook group, 25,000+ members

Restaurant jobs

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

2. Make an application 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 need to go to a picture studio and get an expert picture for your resume. A profession coach can assist you compose a better resume.

Useful links:

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

Cover letters

Include a brief cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s a personal intro. It describes who you are, what you do, why you request this task, and why they need to hire you.

Don’t send out the same cover letter to everybody. Do your research study, and personalise the letter for each job offer. Keep it brief and easy to read. Get feedback from other individuals before you send it. A profession coach can assist you write much 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 couple of months. You may have several interviews with different people. It depends on the company and the job. You require a great deal of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview procedure starts with a brief call. A recruiter or hiring manager will ask you a few concerns. They will try to comprehend who you are, what you desire, and how you fit the job offer. It’s a simple check before they welcome you for an interview.

How to prepare – Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

Most tech business have technical interviews or coding challenges. They validate that you understand how to do your job.

Technical interviews are various at every company. They might ask you technical questions, ask you to resolve an issue during the interview, or complete a technical challenge in the house. Some business don’t have technical interviews.

Meet the team

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

4. The task offer

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

Salary negotiation

After you get the task offer, you can negotiate a much better wage. You can also request for things like a moving benefit or more holiday days.

Salaries in Germany

The job agreement

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

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

5. Get a residence permit

If you are not a resident of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a residence license to reside in Germany. Sometimes, you must wait on your house license to begin working. It can take a couple of months.

How to get a house authorization

If you currently have a home authorization, you may require the Ausländerbehörde’s authorization to alter jobs. Sometimes, you can start your brand-new task right away. Sometimes, you must await your new home authorization. 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 company requires a few things:

A savings account.
Your employer will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you require a bank 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, employment you can still get a tax ID. If you can’t get a tax ID, you can still begin working. – More information.
Your medical insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you pick health insurance. Your employer needs this number to take medical insurance payments from your income. Your company can pick medical insurance for you, however it’s a bad idea. Ask a broker to assist you pick, it’s free.
Your social insurance coverage number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance coverage, you get this number immediately in the mail. If you have personal health insurance, you should obtain it. Your employer can often help you with this. – How to get a social insurance number

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

Things you need to understand

In Germany, most people are paid once per month, normally on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your very first income after 30 or 45 days after you begin working. You typically make money by bank transfer.

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

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your very first 6 months at a brand-new company, you remain in your probation period (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s simpler to get fired. It’s likewise harder to discover an apartment or condo, because you don’t have a steady job.

How does the probation duration work?

All employees in Germany get paid holiday days, and paid ill leave. You do not deal with public holidays, but you still earn money.

How to take holidays

What to do when you are sick

7. Make a tax statement

A number of your job search expenses are tax-deductible:3

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

If you started operating in the middle of the year, you probably paid too much wage tax. Make a tax declaration to reduce your income tax, and get some refund.

Need aid?

Where to get help about work

Career coaching

These people can assist you get worked with. For example, employment they can evaluate your resume and cover letter. Their charge is tax-deductible.