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January 18, 2018

15 Germany Job Hunting Tips for 2018 From Expats in Germany

Will you be hunting for a new job in Germany in 2018? Start preparing now. We have interviewed several expats in Germany who have shared their job seeking tips and techniques that helped them get jobs in Germany successfully. Improve your chances of finding a job in 2018 by considering the following job search strategies and advice from expats who have already found work.

 

1. Make sure your CV is updated ~ Rakesh, an Indian Expat

One thing I would definitely say is make sure your CV is updated and that you post it to as many websites as possible.

 

2. Focus on small companies ~ Hazem, a Syrian Expat

My advice for you if you are trying to find a job in Germany is to at first focus your searching on small companies.

 

3. Create a LinkedIn profile ~ Maria, a Spanish Expat

Make sure that you have your LinkedIn account super clean and with all the information that any recruiter would actually need to see from you – I think that’s kind of the main thing that I would recommend. Spanish people should write their profile in English, it doesn’t matter if someone in the Spanish market is looking for a Spanish professional, you should have it in English because you have more chances to actually be seen by other people.

 

4. Learn German ~ Andras, a Hungarian Expat

First of all knowing the language makes everything easier – there are apps and other things that can help you learn the language so just try some of them out and let’s see if they work.

 

5. Customize your application to the job ~ Nazlı, a Turkish Expat

If you want to find a job in Germany, stay positive, get in front of your laptop and look for jobs and find the ones that you fit. Also write a detailed application customized to them. Probably you won’t hear back from many of them or receive automatic rejection emails, but don’t let them demotivate you because eventually you will get something – you just need to keep applying to increase your chances.

 

6. Network as much as possible ~ Susy, a New Zealand Expat

One key tip is just meeting people and making sure you network as much as possible. It could be with people you know or just going to meetups. For me for my current job I found it through a friend who was changing positions in a company and her position came up and I applied for it. So it was just a case of talking to people and letting them know I was looking. I think you just have to be really open and let people know that you are looking for things as much as possible.

 

7. Apply for things that sound very similar to what you are interested in ~ Josh, a British Expat

My one tip for finding work would be, compared to back home, a lot of the positions here, especially the startup positions, are very generalist, so don’t be put off by the job description. I don’t think the job descriptions they write over here are often the best, so usually you should apply for things that sound very similar to what you are interested in, go to the interview, get a bit of interview experience and you’ll find that actually the job is not exactly how it was in the job description and maybe you get a bit of luck doing it that way. In the UK sometimes you only apply for certain fields, but here the jobs
are a lot more generalist and I think you’ve got a better chance by applying for as many things as you can.

 

8. For the first job just take whatever you can ~ Noella, a French Expat

For the first job I would say just take whatever you can – just come, meet some people, and then you can find a better job – in the beginning just don’t be so picky.

 

9. Boost your profile with your own side project ~ Ulises, an American Expat

A good tip would be to just always have a good side project – if you’re trying to get into programming or kind of data analytics and if you don’t have anything like an internship or don’t know anybody here, try to have something that you build in your own time – that’s what I have found to work to get to that first job where you can start getting experience and start climbing your way up the ladder.

 

10. Contact companies even if they have not posted job openings ~ Ola, a Polish Expat

If you want a particular job, don’t just wait until there is an opening in the company – just reach out to them and maybe you can get something or get in touch with someone, get to know them and once there is a vacancy you will be contacted or considered.

 

11. Really prepare for your interviews ~ Thomas, a British Expat

My tip would be to really prepare for your interviews. One thing that I got feedback on when I was going for these interviews at these different startups was that I prepared really well – I knew the company, I knew the questions they were going to ask, I had a really good understanding of the job and they thought really highly of this.

 

12. Line up as many interviews as you can, ~ Hugh, a British Expat

Once I had that interview booked, and they were paying for my flights and accommodation, I then lined up a bunch of interviews because I was in Germany anyway – I think I did like 5 or 6 over the course of a weekend. Although I didn’t actually take the job with the company that flew me over, one of the companies that I interviewed with was a really good fit. So, get yourself over here and line up as many interviews as you can, come for a weekend, come for a week, as long as you need.

 

13. Be active and have patience ~ Petra, a Finnish Expat

I think one good tip for finding jobs is to be active and have patience. I found out that things don’t work here necessarily so fast as back home, so it might take some time to get interviews or even meet people or the right people. Therefore, take your time and don’t be worried if you don’t hear back from the companies you have applied to.

 

14. Prove that you have some value ~ Baptiste, a French Expat

My tip for you if you are looking for a job in Germany, especially in Berlin I would say, is to prove that you have some value and some experience to show to your recruiters, that you speak English on a quite good level because if you don’t then it might be a bit difficult. Basically, every asset that you have, if you have been part of any associations, any experience that you have in your life, just use it – show that you are somebody that is interested in the job and interesting for the recruiters.

 

15. Try to use diverse keywords for your search for jobs ~ Sven, a Croatian Expat

The advice that I have for all the job seekers is: Try to use diverse keywords for your search for jobs – don’t just use “English speaking jobs Germany”, try to rephrase your searches. But also more importantly make sure that every time you send a CV and a cover letter, you edit it, you don’t send generic CV’s and cover letters because it’s just a waste of time – you might send them faster and send more but the chances are so much drastically lower that it’s just pointless. So, edit your CV’s and cover letters so they match the job description of the ad that you found.

Now go get that job! Start hunting for jobs in Germany at expatjobseeker.de

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