Expat Jobs in Germany

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Jesse James Woods
June 22, 2015

Germany Job Experiences & Tips: Jesse, an American Expat

In the following video I share my job experiences and tips with expats in Germany. Check it out!

Video transcription

‘Gutentag’ from the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany! My name is Jesse, and I’m an American living and working in Germany. Professionally, I’m an online marketer, specializing in search engine optimization (SEO).

What brought me to Germany

I originally came to Germany because my parents were both in the United States military, so I actually spent a good part of my life growing up on military bases in Germany.

After I finished college in the U.S., I came back to Germany because my father retired here. Then I decided I wanted to stay in Germany and I wanted to get to know the country more, so I looked for a job.

My experience searching for a job in Germany

I looked through many different websites and found a job in Wiesbaden. Since then, I’ve had two other jobs which have brought me to Berlin, Munich and Switzerland.

My #1 tip for expat jobseekers in Germany

Jesse's tip for expat jobseekers in Germany

I’d like to give what I think is the best tip if you’re an expat in Germany and you’re trying to make it here professionally. The most important thing you could possibly do is:

Learn German!

In a lot of people’s jobs you don’t need to speak German for your particular role, but in my own experience I’ve seen that if you want to move up it’s important that you learn German, especially if you want to be in a manager role and manage other people who will likely be German in addition to the people speaking your native language – It’s also important because you’re really expanding the amount of opportunities you can have if you can speak that language. Yes, there’s a lot of jobs only looking for someone who speaks your native language, but then there’s some jobs who want you to speak your native language as well as German to communicate with other people in the company.

If you want to get to know me better

If you want to learn more about me professionally and contact me, you can find my information in the resume section at expatjobseeker.de

Resume of Jesse James Woods, an expat in Germany

Want to share your tips and experiences from working as an expat in Germany? Then please record and send a video similar to the one above to jesse(at)expatjobseeker(dot)de, or comment about your working experience and share job tips at the bottom of this post.

Want to be found and hired by a company in Germany and network with other local expats? Then post your resume now at expatjobseeker.de!

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3 Comments on this Article

  • Marian Jun 23RD, 2015

    Isch nicht so leicht Jesse :))) aber isch gued

  • Mahesh kanchan Dec 03RD, 2015

    Hi sir
    I am from India .I want to work an live in Germany at present I am working in Kuwait as a technician .I did my college study in automobile s ….I also did industrial safety cource
    Can I get any job in Germany
    Please guide me I saw your vedio in YouTube

    With regards
    Mahesh

    • Jesse James Woods Dec 03RD, 2015

      Hi Mahesh,

      Working in Germany:
      In Germany I believe you can be here up to three months without a job if you do not have a working visa, but that is plenty of time to find work.

      What you should do is:
      Come here (preferably already with a job willing to hire you because it makes the visa process a lot easier) (Search for jobs here on expatjobseeker.de. When you get here you need to register with the government that you are living in the city in Germany where you are located (you do this at the “Burgeramt”)
      You need to apply for a visa – visit the “Ausländerbehörde” (they can give you a temporary residence visa as well if you are cutting it close to the three month mark, or you need to already start working while you wait for you actual working/residence visa to be processed.
      Here is a more in-depth read about the process that can give you more direction: http://travelsofadam.com/2012/05/how-to-get-visa-residenc-germany-american/

      The first working visa lasts one year, and then you can get it renewed. I think after two years, then you can get a 3 year one, and then after that you can apply for permanent residency (this is where i am at now, trying to figure out how to do all of that)

      I think is an important topic and I find myself having to consult many different resources to get all the right information, so what I will do is plan a blog post on expatjobseeker.de to really try to provide a comprehensive guide to getting setup in Germany. Thanks for your question.

      My recommendation is to take a job at a company that really interests you, even if it is low paying in the beginning and just do your best work possible and you will surely move up fast/establish a great network and opportunities will come to you from everywhere.

      Wishing you a great start in Germany.

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