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 discovering job listings to your first day at work.

On this page

1. Before your job search Can you operate in Germany?
Do you need to speak German?
For how long does it take to get employed?
Salaries in Germany
General task search
English-speaking jobs
Tech tasks
Creative jobs: media, communications, style
Startup tasks
Internships, temperature work and employment minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant jobs
German resumes
Cover letters
The phone screen
The technical interview
Meet the group
Salary settlement
The task contract
Things your company requires
Things you must understand
Career training
Before your task search

Can you work in Germany?

If you are not a person of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you require a house license to work in Germany. You can get a work visa or a Blue Card, for example. There may be a minimum wage or employment education requirement.

Do you require to speak German?

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

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

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

Do you need to speak German in Berlin?

How long does it take to get hired?

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

Know just how much you ought to make, and how much taxes you need to pay. This helps you work out a better income.

Calculate your income tax

1. Search for tasks

General job search

Indeed.com – Job search engine. You can filter by language and set alerts.
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 website. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing – Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor – Company reviews, income reports and task listings. You require an account.

English-speaking jobs

These websites just have English-speaking jobs, 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 jobs by language
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and salary
The Local tasks – 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 tasks in startups and tech companies
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech jobs
Imagine Foundation – They help software application developers from developing countries discover a task and get worked with

Creative jobs: media, employment interactions, design

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

Startup jobs

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking tasks 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 job portal.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and salary.
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 company.
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 jobs in Berlin.
Huntler – English-speaking restaurant tasks in Berlin

2. Get jobs

German resumes

German CVs are longer than American resumes. They include your date of birth, your citizenship and an image of you.1 You must go to a picture studio and get a professional portrait for your resume. A career coach can assist you compose a much 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 brief cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s an individual introduction. It discusses who you are, what you do, why you use for this job, and why they must hire you.

Don’t send out the exact same cover letter to everyone. Do your research study, and personalise the letter for each job deal. Keep it brief and simple to check out. Get feedback from other individuals before you send it. A profession coach can help you write 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 really long. It can take a couple of weeks, and even a couple of months. You may have multiple interviews with various individuals. It depends on the business and the task. You need a great deal of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview procedure begins with a short call. A recruiter or working with supervisor will ask you a few concerns. They will attempt to comprehend who you are, what you want, employment and how you fit the job deal. It’s a simple check before they invite you for an interview.

How to prepare – Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

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

Technical interviews are different at every business. They might ask you technical concerns, ask you to solve a problem throughout the interview, or finish a technical challenge in the house. Some business do not have technical interviews.

Meet the group

Most business have a team interview. You meet 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 business can make a job deal.

Salary negotiation

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

Salaries in Germany

The job contract

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

If you are not exactly sure about your agreement, ask for aid or talk to an attorney.

5. Get a residence permit

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

How to get a home permit

If you already have a house license, you might need the Ausländerbehörde’s authorization to change jobs. Sometimes, you can begin your brand-new job instantly. Sometimes, you need to await your brand-new home authorization. This can take a couple of weeks.

How to change jobs

6. Start working

Things your employer needs

During your first month at a brand-new company, employment your employer requires a couple of things:

A bank account.
Your employer will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you need 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 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 info.
Your medical insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you choose health insurance coverage. Your company needs this number to take medical insurance payments from your income. Your employer can pick health insurance coverage for you, however it’s a bad concept. Ask a broker to help you choose, employment it’s 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 make an application for it. Your employer can in some cases 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 per month, 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 workers in Germany are paid by bank transfer once each month, on the first day of the month.4 Your company takes salary tax, health insurance coverage, pension insurance coverage and unemployment insurance coverage from your paycheck.

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your first 6 months at a brand-new business, you are in your probation duration (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s simpler to get fired. It’s also harder to discover a home, due to the fact that you don’t have a steady task.

How does the probation period work?

All workers in Germany earn money vacation days, and paid ill leave. You don’t deal with public vacations, but you still earn money.

How to take trips

What to do when you are sick

7. Make a tax statement

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

Relocation expenses
If you move closer to your brand-new task, you can deduct your moving costs
Job search costs
Coaching, resume composing, expert pictures, translations, printing costs, task search services …
Travel expenses.
Fuel, train tickets, hotels, meals and parking fees to go to task interviews.

If you began working in the middle of the year, you probably paid too much salary tax. Make a tax declaration to lower your income tax, and get some refund.

Need assistance?

Where to get assist about work

Career training

These people can assist you get hired. For example, they can review your resume and cover letter. Their cost is tax-deductible.