How to find a Job In Berlin

Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.

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

On this page

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

Can you work in Germany?

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

Do you require to speak German?

No, however it assists. You can discover English-speaking tasks, but the majority of business desire German speakers.

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

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

Do you need to speak German in Berlin?

For how long does it require to get worked with?

A few months. Even if you find a job rapidly, the is really slow.

Know how much you should make, and how much taxes you should pay. This helps you work out a better salary.

Calculate your earnings tax

1. Try to find tasks

General task search

Indeed.com – Job search engine. You can filter by language and set alerts.
LinkedIn – Networking site with a huge tasks 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 listing site. Made in Berlin.
ArbeitNow – Job noting website. 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 jobs

These sites only 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 tasks by language and salary
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 technology.
Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in startups and tech business
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech jobs
Imagine Foundation – They help software developers from developing countries find a job and get employed

Creative jobs: media, communications, style

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

Startup jobs

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in startups and tech companies
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * task board (in German) – tbd * is a site for entrepreneurs. 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, employment 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 firm.
Manpower (in German) – Large temperature work firm.
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 tasks

Berlin Food Stories – Restaurant jobs in Berlin.
Huntler – English-speaking dining establishment jobs in Berlin

2. Apply for 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 need to go to a photo studio and get a professional picture for your resume. A profession coach can help you write 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 describes who you are, what you do, why you make an application for this job, and why they need to hire you.

Don’t send the exact same cover letter to everybody. Do your research, and personalise the letter for each task offer. Keep it short and easy to check out. Get feedback from other individuals before you send it. A profession coach can help you write 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 really long. It can take a few weeks, and even a few months. You may have numerous interviews with different people. It depends upon 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 hiring supervisor will ask you a few questions. They will attempt to comprehend who you are, what you want, and how you fit the job offer. It’s an easy check before they welcome you for an interview.

How to prepare – Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

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

Technical interviews are different at every business. They might ask you technical questions, ask you to fix a problem during 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 satisfy your future group to see if you work well together. This interview is more unwinded. You may just talk with the team, or have lunch together.

4. The task deal

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

Salary negotiation

After you get the job offer, you can work out a much better salary. You can also ask for things like a relocation reward or more getaway days.

Salaries in Germany

The task agreement

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

If you are not exactly sure about your agreement, request for help or talk to a legal representative.

5. Get a house license

If you are not a resident of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you require a house authorization to reside in Germany. Sometimes, you should await your house authorization to begin working. It can take a couple of months.

How to get a house license

If you currently have a home authorization, you may need the Ausländerbehörde’s approval to change tasks. Sometimes, you can start your new job right away. Sometimes, you need to wait on your new home permit. This can take a couple of weeks.

How to alter jobs

6. Start working

Things your employer requires

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

A bank account.
Your employer will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you need 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, 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 pick health insurance coverage. Your employer needs this number to take medical insurance payments from your wage. Your company can pick health insurance coverage for you, however it’s a bad concept. Ask a broker to assist you select, 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, you need to obtain it. Your employer can often help you with this. – How to get a social insurance number

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

Things you should know

In Germany, a lot of individuals are paid as soon as monthly, normally 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 get paid by bank transfer.

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

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

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

How does the probation period work?

All employees in Germany get paid getaway days, and paid sick leave. You do not work on public holidays, but you still make money.

How to take holidays

What to do when you are ill

7. Make a tax statement

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

Relocation expenses
If you move better to your brand-new task, you can subtract your moving costs
Job search costs
Coaching, resume composing, expert photos, translations, printing expenses, task search services …
Travel expenses.
Fuel, train tickets, hotels, meals and parking charges 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 lower your income tax, and employment get some cash back.

Need assistance?

Where to get help about work

Career training

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