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How to find a Task In Berlin

Greg is the co-founder of GermanTechJobs.de.

This guide helps you find a task in Berlin, from discovering job listings to your very first day at work.

On this page

1. Before your task search Can you work in Germany?
Do you need to speak German?
How long does it take to get worked with?
Salaries in Germany
General job search
English-speaking jobs
Tech jobs
Creative jobs: media, interactions, employment design
Startup tasks
Internships, temp work and minijobs
Freelance work
Restaurant jobs
German resumes
Cover letters
The phone screen
The technical interview
Meet the team
Salary negotiation
The job contract
Things your employer needs
Things you must know
Career training
Before your job search

Can you operate in Germany?

If you are not a resident of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a house permit to operate in Germany. You can get a work visa or a Blue Card, for instance. There might be a minimum income or education requirement.

Do you require to speak German?

No, however it helps. You can find English-speaking jobs, but the majority of business want German speakers.

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

Tech companies
— Companies with English-speaking workplaces
— Delivery services like Lieferando, Wolt and Flink
— Customer service and call centres
— Restaurants and employment bars

Do you need to speak German in Berlin?

The length of time does it take to get employed?

A couple of months. Even if you find a task rapidly, the hiring procedure is very slow.

Know how much you must earn, and how much taxes you need to pay. This helps you negotiate a better income.

Calculate your earnings tax

1. Look for jobs

General job search

Indeed.com — Job search engine. You can filter by language and set informs.
LinkedIn — Networking site with a huge jobs area. Very 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 website. Made in Berlin.
Jobted
Xing — Similar to LinkedIn. You can’t filter by language.
Glassdoor — Company evaluations, wage reports and task listings. You need an account.

English-speaking jobs

These sites just have English-speaking tasks, or let you filter by language:

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

Tech tasks

GermanTechJobs — You can filter by language and technology.
Berlin Startup Jobs — English-speaking tasks in startups and tech business
Administrator/ Web Entickler/ Entwickler Jobs — German-speaking tech tasks
Imagine Foundation — They assist software designers from developing countries discover a task and get hired

Creative jobs: media, communications, design

dasauge (in German) — Media-related jobs
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 website for business owners. You can filter by language.
Wellfound — International start-up job portal.
Germany Startup Jobs — You can filter jobs by language and salary.
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 temperature work agency.
Manpower (in German) — Large temperature work company.
Randstad (in German) — Large temperature work company.
Craigslist — Most task listings are for restaurants and cafés

Freelance work

Berlin Freelancers — Facebook group, 25,000+ members

Restaurant jobs

Berlin Food Stories — Restaurant tasks in Berlin.
Huntler — English-speaking dining establishment jobs in Berlin

2. Obtain jobs

German resumes

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

Useful links:

How to write a German resume — HalloGermany.
German resume examples — Imagine structure.
Resume checklist — Imagine structure.
Lingoking — Translate your resume to German

Cover letters

Include a short cover letter (Anschreiben) with your application. It’s an individual intro. It discusses who you are, what you do, why you make an application for this task, and why they must employ you.

Don’t send out the very same cover letter to everyone. Do your research study, and personalise the letter for each task deal. Keep it brief and easy to read. Get feedback from other people before you send it. A career coach can assist you compose 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 process is long. It can take a few weeks, and even a few months. You might have numerous interviews with different people. It depends upon the business and the task. You require a great deal of time for this.

The phone screen

The interview process begins with a brief call. An employer or working with supervisor will ask you a couple of concerns. They will try to comprehend who you are, what you desire, and how you fit the job deal. It’s a simple check before they invite you for an interview.

How to prepare — Imagine Foundation

The technical interview

Most tech companies have technical interviews or coding challenges. They verify that you understand how to do your task.

Technical interviews are various at every business. They might ask you technical concerns, ask you to fix an issue throughout the interview, or finish a technical difficulty in the house. Some business 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 relaxed. You might just talk with the group, or have lunch together.

4. The job deal

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

Salary negotiation

After you get the task offer, you can negotiate a better wage. You can also request for things like a relocation bonus offer or more trip days.

Salaries in Germany

The job contract

Read your job contract thoroughly. If your company promised something to you throughout the interview, confirm that it remains in your contract. Only sign the contract if you agree with whatever. Send the signed contract by email or by post.

If you are unsure about your agreement, request help or talk to a lawyer.

5. Get a house license

If you are not a person of the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you need a home license to live in Germany. Sometimes, you should wait on your residence authorization to begin working. It can take a couple of months.

How to get a residence permit

If you currently have a house permit, you might require the Ausländerbehörde’s permission to alter tasks. Sometimes, employment you can begin your brand-new job instantly. Sometimes, employment you must await your brand-new home authorization. This can take a few weeks.

How to change tasks

6. Start working

Things your company requires

During your very first month at a brand-new business, your company needs a few things:

A savings account.
Your company will pay you by bank transfer. For this, you need a bank 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 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 start working. — More information.
Your health insurance number (Krankenversicherungsnummer).
You get a Krankenversicherungsnummer 2 to 7 days after you choose health insurance coverage. Your employer needs this number to take medical insurance payments from your income. Your company can choose health insurance for you, but it’s a bad idea. Ask a broker to help you pick, it’s totally free.
Your social insurance coverage number (Sozialversicherungsnummer).
If you have public health insurance, you get this number immediately in the mail. If you have private health insurance coverage, you must look for it. Your company can in some cases help you with this. — How to get a social insurance coverage number

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

Things you must know

In Germany, many people are paid once monthly, usually on the 1st or 15th day of the month. You get your first income after 30 or 45 days after you begin working. You normally make money by bank transfer.

Most staff members in Germany are paid by bank transfer once 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 income.

Income tax calculator

How taxes work

During your very first 6 months at a brand-new business, you remain in your probation duration (Probezeit). 2 During that time, it’s much easier to get fired. It’s also more difficult to discover a home, since you don’t have a steady job.

How does the probation duration work?

All workers in Germany make money holiday days, and paid authorized leave. You do not work on public holidays, however you still get paid.

How to take vacations

What to do when you are sick

7. Make a tax statement

A lot of your job search costs are tax-deductible:3

Relocation expenses
If you move better to your brand-new job, you can deduct your moving expenses
Job search expenses
Coaching, resume writing, expert images, employment translations, printing expenses, task search services …
Travel costs.
Fuel, train tickets, hotels, meals and parking charges to go to task interviews.

If you started working in the middle of the year, you most likely paid excessive salary tax. Make a tax declaration to reduce your earnings tax, and get some refund.

Need assistance?

Where to get help about work

Career training

These people can assist you get employed. For instance, they can evaluate your resume and cover letter. Their charge is tax-deductible.