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 job listings to your very first day at work.

On this page

1. Before your job search Can you operate in Germany?
Do you require to speak German?
The length of time does it take to get hired?
Salaries in Germany
General task search
English-speaking tasks
Tech tasks
Creative jobs: media, communications, design
Startup jobs
Internships, temperature work and minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant jobs
German resumes
Cover letters
The phone screen
The technical interview
Meet the group
Salary settlement
The job contract
Things your company requires
Things you should 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 home permit to work in Germany. You can get a work visa or a Blue Card, for example. There may be a minimum salary or education requirement.

Do you require to speak German?

No, but it helps. You can find English-speaking tasks, however the majority of companies desire German speakers.

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

Tech business
– 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?

The length of time does it take to get employed?

A few months. Even if you discover a task rapidly, the employing procedure is extremely slow.

Know just how much you should earn, and just how much taxes you must pay. This helps you negotiate a much better wage.

Calculate your income tax

1. Search for jobs

General task search

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

English-speaking tasks

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

Berlin Startup Jobs – Most tasks remain in English-speaking workplaces
Englishjobs.de – Only English-speaking jobs
JobsInBerlin.eu – You can filter jobs by language
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter jobs by language and wage
The Local tasks – Run by a popular English-speaking newspaper
Jobted
English-speaking jobs in Berlin – Facebook group, 89,000+ members
English jobs in Berlin – Facebook group, 43,000+ members

Tech jobs

GermanTechJobs – You can filter by language and technology.
Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in start-ups and tech business
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs – German-speaking tech tasks
Imagine Foundation – They help software designers from developing countries find a job and get hired

Creative tasks: media, communications, design

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

Startup tasks

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking jobs in start-ups and tech business
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * task board (in German) – tbd * is a site for business owners. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International startup task portal.
Germany Startup Jobs – You can filter tasks by language and wage.
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 firm.
Manpower (in German) – Large temp work company.
Randstad (in German) – Large temp work agency.
Craigslist – Most job listings are for restaurants and cafés

Freelance work

Berlin Freelancers – Facebook group, 25,000+ members

Restaurant tasks

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

2. Apply for 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 picture studio and get a professional portrait for your resume. A career coach can help you write a better resume.

Useful links:

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

Cover letters

Include a short cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s an individual introduction. It describes who you are, what you do, employment why you look for this task, and why they should employ you.

Don’t send the exact same cover letter to everybody. Do your research, and personalise the letter for each job offer. Keep it short and simple to read. Get feedback from other individuals before you send it. A career coach can assist you write better cover letters.

How to write a German cover letter – HalloGermany.
Advice for cover letters with examples – Hacker News

3. The job interview

In Germany, the interview procedure is long. It can take a couple of weeks, and even a few months. You might have multiple interviews with different individuals. It depends on the business and the job. You need a great deal of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview procedure starts with a brief call. An employer or working with supervisor will ask you a few concerns. They will try to comprehend who you are, employment what you desire, and employment how you fit the task deal. It’s a basic check before they invite you for an interview.

How to prepare – Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

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

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 companies don’t have technical interviews.

Meet the group

Most companies have a team interview. You fulfill 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 task deal

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

Salary settlement

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

Salaries in Germany

The task agreement

Read your task contract thoroughly. If your employer guaranteed something to you during the interview, confirm that it remains in your contract. Only sign the agreement if you concur with everything. Send the signed agreement by email or by post.

If you are uncertain about your contract, ask for aid or talk to a legal representative.

5. Get a residence license

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

How to get a home license

If you already have a residence license, you might need the Ausländerbehörde’s authorization to change jobs. Sometimes, you can start your new task immediately. Sometimes, you need to wait on your new house authorization. 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 business, your employer requires a few things:

A bank account.
Your company 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 information.
Your medical insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you choose health insurance. Your company requires 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 select, 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 personal health insurance, you should obtain it. Your employer can in some cases assist you with this. – How to get a social insurance coverage number

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

Things you need to know

In Germany, the majority of people are paid once per month, employment normally on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your first paycheck 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 when per month, on the first day of the month.4 Your company takes income tax, medical insurance, pension insurance and unemployment insurance coverage from your paycheck.

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your first 6 months at a new company, you are in your probation duration (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s simpler to get fired. It’s likewise harder to discover a house, since you don’t have a steady job.

How does the probation period work?

All staff members in Germany make money vacation days, and paid sick leave. You do not deal with public holidays, however you still earn money.

How to take vacations

What to do when you are ill

7. Make a tax declaration

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

Relocation expenses
If you move closer to your brand-new job, you can subtract your moving expenses
Job search costs
Coaching, resume writing, expert photos, translations, printing costs, job search …
Travel expenses.
Fuel, train tickets, hotels, meals and parking fees to go to job interviews.

If you began operating in the middle of the year, you most likely paid too much salary tax. Make a tax declaration to reduce your income tax, and get some refund.

Need help?

Where to get assist about work

Career coaching

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