How to Discover a Task In Berlin

Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.

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

On this page

1. Before your task search Can you operate in Germany?
Do you require to speak German?
For how long does it require to get worked with?
Salaries in Germany
General task search
English-speaking tasks
Tech jobs
Creative tasks: media, communications, employment 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 negotiation
The job contract
Things your employer needs
Things you must know
Career training
Before your job search

Can you work in Germany?

If you are not a person of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you require a residence authorization 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 need to speak German?

No, but it assists. You can find English-speaking tasks, but many business want German speakers.

If you don’t 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 need to speak German in Berlin?

For how long does it take to get hired?

A few months. Even if you find a task quickly, the employing procedure is very slow.

Know just how much you need to earn, and how much taxes you must pay. This assists you work out a much better wage.

Calculate your income tax

1. Look for jobs

General job search

Indeed.com – Job search engine. You can filter by language and set signals.
LinkedIn – Networking website with a big jobs area. Incredibly 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 listing website. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing – Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor – Company evaluations, salary reports and job listings. You need an account.

English-speaking jobs

These websites 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 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 jobs in Berlin – Facebook group, 43,000+ members

Tech jobs

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

Creative jobs: media, interactions, design

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

Startup jobs

Berlin Startup Jobs – English-speaking tasks in startups and tech companies
Startup Sucht (in German).
tbd * task board (in German) – tbd * is a site for business owners. You can filter by language.
Wellfound – International start-up task portal.
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 temp work agency.
Manpower (in German) – Large temp work company.
Randstad (in German) – Large temperature work company.
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 dining establishment tasks in Berlin

2. Obtain tasks

German resumes

German CVs are longer than American resumes. They include your date of birth, your citizenship and a photo of you.1 You ought to go to an image studio and get a professional picture for your resume. A profession coach can assist you write a better resume.

Useful links:

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

Cover letters

Include a short cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s a personal intro. It explains who you are, what you do, why you request this job, and why they ought to hire you.

Don’t send out the same cover letter to everybody. Do your research, and employment personalise the letter for each job offer. Keep it brief and simple to check out. Get feedback from other individuals before you send it. A profession coach can help 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 procedure is long. It can take a couple of weeks, and even a few months. You might have multiple interviews with various individuals. It depends on the business and the job. You require a lot of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview process begins with a brief call. An employer or hiring manager will ask you a few questions. They will try to understand who you are, what you want, and how you fit the task offer. It’s a simple check before they invite you for an interview.

How to prepare – Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

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

Technical interviews are various at every company. They might ask you technical questions, ask you to solve an issue throughout the interview, or finish a technical challenge in your home. Some companies do not have technical interviews.

Meet the group

Most companies have a team interview. You fulfill your future team to see if you work well together. This interview is more unwinded. You might simply talk with the team, or have lunch together.

4. The task offer

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

Salary settlement

After you get the job offer, you can negotiate a better salary. You can also ask for things like a relocation perk or more vacation days.

Salaries in Germany

The task contract

Read your task contract carefully. If your company promised something to you throughout 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 uncertain about your agreement, request for aid or speak with an attorney.

5. Get a home permit

If you are not a citizen of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a residence authorization to reside in . Sometimes, you should await your home permit to start working. It can take a few months.

How to get a residence authorization

If you currently have a house permit, you may need the Ausländerbehörde’s consent to change jobs. Sometimes, you can begin your new job immediately. Sometimes, you need to wait for your brand-new residence permit. This can take a couple of weeks.

How to change jobs

6. Start working

Things your company requires

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

A checking account.
Your employer will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you require a savings account that supports SEPA transfers. Any European checking 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 select medical insurance. Your employer requires this number to take medical insurance payments from your income. Your employer can choose medical insurance for you, but it’s a bad concept. Ask a broker to help you select, it’s free.
Your social insurance number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance coverage, you get this number automatically in the mail. If you have private medical insurance, you need to use for it. Your company can sometimes help you with this. – How to get a social insurance coverage number

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

Things you should know

In Germany, the majority of people are paid as soon as per month, generally on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your very first paycheck after 30 or 45 days after you start working. You generally make money by bank transfer.

Most employees in Germany are paid by bank transfer when per month, on the very first day of the month.4 Your employer takes salary tax, medical insurance, pension insurance and unemployment insurance from your income.

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your very first 6 months at a brand-new company, you are in your probation period (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s simpler to get fired. It’s likewise harder to find a home, because you don’t have a stable task.

How does the probation duration work?

All employees in Germany earn money getaway days, and paid authorized leave. You do not deal with public vacations, however you still get paid.

How to take trips

What to do when you are ill

7. Make a tax declaration

Much of your job search expenses are tax-deductible:3

Relocation costs
If you move closer to your brand-new job, you can subtract your moving costs
Job search costs
Coaching, resume writing, expert images, translations, printing costs, job 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 too much wage tax. Make a tax statement to lower your income tax, and get some refund.

Need aid?

Where to get help about work

Career training

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