Top 10 Hacks to find a job in Germany | CV - Cover letter - Interview
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I have some helpful tips to help you beat the competition and get ahead of the game in the German job market!
As a European HR consultant, I worked in recruiting for a period of time and during my experience with hiring new employees I managed to gather some really useful tips and tricks to land your dream job in Germany! Plus I was lucky enough to get some valuable insight from other HR professionals from top companies all around Germany.
In this blogpost I will reveal Top 10 best kept secrets of working in Germany and a detailed step-by-step guide to finding a job in Germany. I will cover the most popular job application questions, such as:
Also included in the blog:
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Writing a good CV is winning half the game. So before you rush to apply for work in Germany, you need to make sure that your CV is competitive, up-to-date and communicates your value to the company well! Research shows that your CV can make or break your chances of getting a job in Germany so it’s very important that you invest a proper amount of time to polishing up your CV. It's imperative that you strike a healthy balance: don’t skimp on the important details but don’t turn it into your award-winning autobiographical novel!
Here are the answers to some FAQ’s about CV writing in Germany:
Those are just the very basics of CV writing. If you want your CV to be successful in Germany, it needs to be very high quality.
Luckily for you, I know some CV writing tips for German market!
Check out this useful checklist for German CV requirements:
Use this CV example used to apply for work in a German company showing the precise resume structure in Germany:
Download your FREE Resume Example and Resume Template at the bottom of the page.
I think this goes without saying: details are very important! Germans are very detail-oriented and will notice immediately if you haven’t put enough work into your job application. If you are smart, you will invest time into polishing the key details of your CV because they are what will separate you from other job applicants also looking for a job in Germany.
The best pro tip for a successful CV in Germany: get your photo done professionally!
Example of a professional photo: Example of an unprofessional photo:
Your CV picture should be located on the top of the first page, either on the left or right side. Get a professional CV photo, stay away from old photos or bad quality shots that your friends took – they just won’t do! You might want to invest in a high quality resume photo to help you shine and look your best - a person that German companies would want to employ! Head to your local photo center or try a photo booth.
Some important details in a good resume picture are:
These key details will help you achieve an overall well put-together look and put a confident face to the name on your resume.
Other important details when applying for a job in Germany are:
For practical CV Templates and more tips about the CV format in Germany, check out this article: Thelocal.do/jobs
We all want to look presentable and, most of all, employable to our future boss. While we may spend a lot of time improving our resumes and photos, few of us may think to clean up some social media disasters that may pop up when your employer decides to Google you or look you up on social media. This is a standard procedure to recruiting as it helps the company quickly discard some bad apples that may bring a bad image to the company.
Here is a handy-dandy cheat sheet to help you make a good impression on your German employer:
If you have followed all 3 previous steps - hurray! You are now ready to start looking for a job in Germany! But we have compiled a helpful list of German websites that list job vacancies for English speakers in Germany looking for work that doesn't require German language.
Here are the Top 10 best sources to find work in Germany:
There are many more sources of work in Germany out there! Try googling “work in Germany” or “jobs in Germany” for more results!
Your cover letter should be written with confidence and determination - it's your selling pitch to the employer! Present yourself in the best light possible, focus on your best qualities and skills and skip unnecessary details that don’t help you get the job. This point is key: reveal only the information that is relevant to the job you are applying to, including academic, professional, volunteering and extracurricular activities (like clubs you are a part of or conferences you attended)!
IMPORTANT: German cover letters are formal, they should not be written in a casual style!
Here are the answers to some FAQ’s about cover letters in Germany:
Here is a helpful guide to how to write the best motivational letter for work in Germany:
Top 5 worst mistakes to make in your cover letter:
Here is an example cover letter:
Download your FREE Cover Letter Example and Cover Letter Template at the bottom of the page.
Contacting the employer to submit your job application is a crucial step. You spent a lot of time preparing for this moment: your resume is superb, your cover letter is polished and you are feeling confident! Before you send off your application, it is wise to give it a second look!
What do you need to include in your job application?
5 important things to consider before you send your job application:
Having trouble writing a job application? No worries!
Here is a sample job application text you are welcome to use:
Dear Sir/Madam (name of HR manager),
I am writing to you in regards to the job application for the (position) at your company (company) in (location).You will find my CV and cover letter attached. I have also included some relevant documents for you: (name documents).Please feel free to contact me if you are any questions regarding my application or experience. I would be very happy to provide you with all the necessary additional information and documents.
I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Kind regards,
(Your name and last name)
(Address)
(Phone number)
This catchy introduction is sure to save your job application from the trash!
Interviews can be stressful and nerve-wrecking, but if you landed one, you can be sure that your resume and cover letter impressed the company. So there is definitely something to be confident about!
Whether it’s a real live interview or an online interview over skype, there are some key things to remember:
Top 3 things that are crucial for a live interview:
P.S. if you are doing an interview through Skype – remember to look at the camera, not yourself and don't forget to wear pants!
Here are the smart steps to take after completing your job interview:
If you have secured a job – congratulations! But before you jump into working, you need to learn the intricacies of German business communication in order to be able to communicate effectively within the company and build lasting relationships with your boss and collegues. Every culture is different and the German business culture has specific phrases, body language and norms that make their communication unique. Master them and you will avoid many uncomfortable situations!
Here are my Top 10 tips for effective business communication in a German company:
While working in Germany with only English knowledge is possible, it will only get you so far. Most German companies expect their foreign employees to learn German eventually. Research shows that not knowing the local language can drastically limit your work opportunities within the company, such as:
Luckily for you, learning German is not as far-fetched and difficult as it may seem!
coLanguage offers you the amazing opportunity to improve your chances of working permanently in Germany. We will guide you each step of the way during the job application process and help you make the most of our resources in order to boost your attractiveness to your future boss! Best of all - we will customize your German lessons to fit YOUR learning needs and YOUR profession for the best learning results!
Here is what coLanguage is ready to help you with:
coLanguage is a well-established multinational company with offices in Munich, Germany. We have close knowledge of the German work environment and we would love to coach you! We guarantee success in conquering the German labour market through our innovative teaching methods, such as:
Learn how to get noticed and get a raise: Start learning German with coLanguage!
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I am a 29 year old female, native English speaker from Cape Town, South Africa.
I am a fun, enthusiastic and creative individual who has over 10 years of experience in teaching .I have taught in various parts of the world, South Africa, Thailand, Columbia, Peru, Europe and UK just to name a few. I have taught both children and adults. I am passionate about teaching and find inspiration in witnessing the growth students experience within my online classes.
I feel that my experience as an au-pair, home school teacher as well as home-room teacher at various schools and online has taught me the value of improvising, taking initiative and empowering young individuals to enable each child within my care to feel inspired and to know their own unique and individual strengths. I feel that my training in psychology is truly something that has helped with every individual I have worked with. My biggest commitment as a teacher is to teach children and adults to know their worth and to instill confidence within each individual, so that they are able to realize their potential and feel encouraged to learn more.
I have found myself wishing to broaden my experience in teaching and I am currently in the position where I’m looking for new challenges in the field, and ultimately self-development. I feel that teaching online is the perfect position that will allow me to contribute to the lives of students I teach and something that will bring a great amount of reward in my life as well as that of the individuals I teach.
I am patient and make sure each student understands the concepts before moving forward.My lessons are fun and engaging and allow students opportunity to practice what they have learnt. Zoom or Skype is used and customized lessons can be planned based on the individuals level and needs. I am passionate about educating and ensuring students reach their full potential. I look forward to meeting you soon.
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Sherri is a South African English teacher who is ready to meet your objectives. She has a fun set up with a lot of learning materials especially fun ones for kids! She's had experience with different age groups so she can really adapt to different students.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Hello everyone and a big warm welcome to all the fellow language learners,
My name is Katerina, I’m a native Russian speaker and a foreign language teacher from St Petersburg, Russia. I’ve always been addicted to learning foreign languages, be it English, German, Spanish, Turkish or Arabic, so turning my passion into my job was just a matter of time. I have a Master’s degree in linguistics which taught me to understand the way the mechanism of a language works and thus to help my students see the logics behind the grammar rules. Being a constant language learner enables me to see the process from both sides and to predict the difficulties my students might face. The fact that I’m not a native speaker of English or German means I’ve been through exactly the same language-learning journey you’re about to take, and thanks to my personal experience as a student, I can make this road smooth for you.
I've had students of all ages, from pre-school kids to senior generation, and I feel comfortable working with both beginners and those who are eager to take their learning process to a new level. In my classes I encourage you to talk in the language we’re studying as much as possible, putting every single bit of knowledge into practice right away. If you’re a Russian-learner, I’d be glad to prove it to you that you can absolutely nail my mother-tongue - and yes, you’ll be able to make a small talk in Russian by the end of the first class even if you’re an absolute beginner! We’ll be focusing on the topics that are most relevant to your goals, while discovering the language and getting to know more about the culture of people who speak it.
I offer a short free trial class, for us to give each other a smile and discuss our teaching pattern, in order to ajust it to your goals and make our lessons the bee's knees :) See you soon!
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Ekaterina writes new words and sentences learnt during the lesson. She has got a very nice attitude and great accent! A pleasure to work with... yes, even in German!!!!!
Ekaterina V.Dear Silvia, thank you very much for your feedback! It's a real pleasure to have classes with you, and I hope you find them useful!
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I happen to be a safety and security specialist for a major oil and gas exploration company and have also done my one year TEFL Diploma. I have been teaching English to students online as well as in classrooms primarily out of passion and love for teaching English and helping the students overcome their difficulties and lack of confidence/ motivation towards using English in their every day lives. My average rating happens to be 4.99/5 with 5 star reviews on English teaching websites such as www.engoo.com and https://eikaiwa.dmm.com/.
Despite being a non native English speaker; I happen to have native level proficiency in aspects of English language and am very passionate about helping students achieve their goals and aspirations in life via use of exclusive and result orientated lesson that have allowed me to achieve my level of skills in English Language. Lastly, owing to my diversified professional back ground, I also provide consultation services with regards to motivation and self improvement and help individuals gain self confidence and to think objectively.
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Shahbaz is an English teacher from Pakistan who has had a lot of experience with adult audiences mainly and with beginners. He has learning materials to work both your comprehension and English verbal skills. He is a very concise and well-recommended teacher.
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Highly-experienced TEFL certified business English teacher and interview coach specializing in one-to-one tailored classes to your level. With over 7 years of English teaching and coaching experience in leading companies in Spain such as PWC, Deloitte, Telefonica, Vodafone, Ogilvy & Mather as well as the Spanish Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Development.
Level-up your business English or prepare for that interview with customised 60-hour Zoom or Skype sessions.
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Lisa is a very professional and experienced teacher. She can help you with Business English and prepare you for interviews, work meetings and so much more. Highly recommended!!
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Glad to see you here! If you're reading this, it means you're looking for a language teacher. Whether you want to learn Spanish, English or you're just looking for some conversation practice in any of these two languages, I'm the right person. I'm Daniela and I've been an English teacher for nearly 9 years. During this time I have also taught Spanish to some English speakers. I hold a bacherlor's degree in the teaching of English and Spanish as second languages and I also have a TESOL certificate. I've taught online and in classrooms to kids and adult learners. About my classes, I can tell you that you will definitely enjoy yourself since I focus a lot on your needs and interests and our learning materials are contextualized in modern and appealing subjetc matters. During our trial lesson, we will determine our starting point and the kind of topics you would like to have in our lessons. What are you waiting for? There is no room for excuses here! See you in class :)
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Daniela has a lot of teaching experience. She is very prepared and makes her lessons easy and interesting for her students. Great teacher!
This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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I'm a Italian/German bilingual teacher form Florence!
I offer lessons for beginners as well as for advanced speakers. I carry out different kinds of lessons: I could help you for example to prepare for a test, for your trip to Italy or for more advanced needs.
The lessons are focused on improving listening/comprehension skills as well as reading, writing, speaking and grammar.
If you want to know more about my methods, just book a trial lesson! It's free! I hope to see you soon!
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The lesson was perfectly geared to my needs. As my requirement for learning does not fit easily in any 'set course' or classroom situation, this individual approach, looking at what I need and then providing it, suits me very well indeed. I am very happy with the way in which the teaching / learning experience is going so far and would certainly recommend Niccoló.
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Hello,
my name is Veronika and I am a student in Florence at the academy of fine arts. I have been in Italy for three years and I really like the Italian language. In school i learned english and during journeys i used to speak a lot of english so i'm also able to teach in english.
I am from Germany so I am a German native speaker. I have already taught German to some of my friends and would love to teach my language to more people as well. At the beginning I would like to do grammar lessons and the most used words to deepen the basic knowledge of the language. Then I will continue to have conversations in German to increase vocabulary and to give confidence in dialogue and in any case in speaking the language in real scenarios. The most important thing by learning a new language is to learn it through hearing and speaking. Being difficult at first to formulate sentences will then become easier and easier and thus you arrive at a fluent and confident way to speak the new language.
For myself I learned Italian three years ago with this method so I also know what it is like to learn a language and I can help you with my teaching to learn German that way.
I can not wait to start!
greetings Veronika
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My experience with Veronika as a teacher was and still is really good. In order to reach my goals, she has setup a structured schedule and has provided good learning material. Due to my work, I had to reschedule some of my lessons and she always showed understanding in this regards. She is very friendly and easy to talk to. I can only recommend her!
Veronika N.Thank you very much!!!
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Always a sheer pleasure to learn from Fiorina: full of positive energy, well prepared, full of resources... and with a smile!
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Hello, my name is Katerina und I’m a qualified German teacher with 8 years teaching experience.
I would like to help you to master the German language. You will get your personal online lesson via Skype.
If you are interested in learning this world language, just contact me –
I’m looking forward to getting to know you!
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I have hardly had oportunities to speak German, so the lesson was a little tough, but I had fun. The way, that she tries to understand what I mean each time and make me understood is wonderful.
Katerina B.Dear Natsuki, thank you for your review. Kind regards, Katerina
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Hello =)
My name is Karolin and since the beginning of 2017, while I was still living in Chile, I've been giving online classes. I really enjoy my work and it gives me the privilage to get to know people from all around the world, which is amazing.
Both in English and in German, I teach classes for beginners and advanced students. I speak Spanish fluently, but as I lived in Chile for around 5 years, both my pronounciation and my choice of words are influenced by that. I learned and teach the european Spanish but only for beginners (A1/A2). But if you don't mind the chilenean influence, I do teach to a higher level as well.
If you'd like to get to know me and my teaching methods, just contact me and we will do a free trial lesson (please do NOT by a lesson before the trial lesson, not every teacher is good for every student).
See you soon!
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Karolin is a fantastic teacher! She is very well organized, precise and punctual. She always knows how to explain the German grammar rules to make them clear and easier to remember. The lessons time with her is flying and I always look forward to the next one. Highly recommended.
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The best way to learn a new language is through natural interaction. And I believe that you learn most effectively when you feel at ease and when you are having fun!
You will see that each class is individually adapted to your personal learning style and that you can improve at your optimal level because you will always be challenged but never overwhelmed.
I am an enthusiastic language learner myself and know the importance of a fun and knowledgeable teacher. Because I enjoyed learning with great teachers so much, I'm committed to being that for you in every class as well.
With this German class, you will get
• a very competent, patient, and fun tutor with years of experience
• a very supportive environment
• as many opportunities as possible to actually speak German, reflect on it, and improve
• efficient tools and homework
• heaps of video material as well as many exercises to help you practice all aspects of the German language
• and you will see how manageable the German grammar actually is!
Of course, you can adjust the classes to whatever you consider to be most relevant for you!
If you like my approach and want to improve your German, write me a message or book a lesson with me! I would love to help you with your German
You can start right away at any level!
I am professionally certified by the Goethe Institut with the highest mark possible. Through all these years of teaching in different formats and different countries, I have collected a huge amount of experience, and feedback and improved my lessons. I never stop learning and adapting my teaching methods to nowadays strategies and advanced thinking
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I really enjoy my German classes with Iris! She understood exactly what I would like to work on, and has helped me improve my writing skills fast. I have no doubt, that with her help I will soon be able to pass the language exam I want to take!
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Hi!
My name is Krisztina! I’m a teacher of German and French with the corresponding qualifications. I've grown up in a bilingual family (Hungarian-German), so I speak both languages as a native language. I’ve been teaching for six years, so I’m able to estimate your needs, and to meet them. In my lessons, I recreat real life situations, so that you will be able to adapt yourselves to different circumstances. I’m a patient, positive and creative person, who is looking forward to see you in her lessons. So don’t hesitate to book a lesson with me.
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Krisztina is extremely patient and is an excellent teacher. She gives great learning materials and the lessons are productive. Krisztina keeps the lessons focused and makes sure that you get the most out of the hour. I definitely recommend her.
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My name is Christina and I provide fun German&and French language lesson for children and adult beginners or intermediate who want to strengthen their language skills, improve the grammar knowledge, enrich the vocabulary and get into the German culture! I can teach in English or French!
I had experince in teaching German, English and French to foreign people so I do have a lot of useful learning material I can provide you to make it easier!
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Fantastic opportunity to improve your German with a Native speaker. Christina is really helpful, very friendly and I would fully recommend to anyone!
Christina F.Thanks a lot Padraig ..... good luck Thank you very much Padraig and good luck
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I am a German native speaker who loves languages and am passionate about teaching others. I work as language teacher in a school, teach adults at the German Culture Center and prepare my students for all types of official language exams. I love my job and always seek to make it as much fun as possible.
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My experience with Melanie has been very positive, Melanie is a very qualified teacher and you can tell that from the beginning: very professional, very good methodology, diversity in material, etc. A real one on one experience as she focused together with learning of language in identification and correction of student weaknesses. My kid is engaged with her classes as he says are useful and fun, his progress in learning German has been noticed by all. I also like her flexibility to have classes during the weekends, that is a great emergency door. I am happy !! Highly recommended!!!
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I am French living in Lisbon in Portugal. I have lived in different countries such as England, the United States and India. It gave me some experience of learning a foreign language and teaching it.
I am passionate about different cultures and try to share my love for French culture with you in a lively way.
I adapt to the needs of the students, whether to improve their oral, written, prepare for an exam or a job interview. I prioritize the conversation to allow the student to "unblock" and have fun speaking the language. I write down the vocabulary and grammar that the student lacks to express himself.
Learning a foreign language is, in my view, above all through cultural curiosity. We want to learn a language because we want to live in the country, travel there or get to know it better. We feel attracted. It is its Culture that motivates us in our learning: music, film, text, literature, way of being and cultural differences forming "another world". This means that learning is not just about learning a list of words and grammar lessons, as is taught too often in school. Practice again and again through conversation, books, music, movies and above all the pleasure of speaking and listening.
I adapt the student's personal work according to their available time and their objective (conversation, deadline for an exam, scheduled trip, etc.).
I am at your disposal for any further information.
See you soon,
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Florence is a lovely teacher. She is very flexible as to the kind of lesson you need. I have really enjoyed my lessons and look forward to them each week.
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