As everyone needs a job to survive and live a better life. Applying for jobs in Germany or anywhere is not really difficult. But, if you don’t apply in the right wayyour resume can end up in a trash bin. And if you think there is only one way to apply on job portals, then you might be wrong. To get the job, you need to crack the interview when there is a huge competition in Germany. For that, you need to follow certain principles, processes, and make huge efforts to stand out as unique in the competition.
I consolidated the best ways to apply for jobs in Germany and what you need to follow before applying, let’s go through them below.
Applying through Job Portals:
Find below the list of Job portals and create a good profile as a first step. Follow the priority below to apply for jobs, also subscribe for new job alerts
Remember, for every company you apply to, prepare a new cover letter as per your role and requirements. All employers will get 100s of applications with the same content in the CV and cover letter. So, why do they need to consider your application? Just ask for yourself. Before going to apply, study about the company and add a few points about what is great and what can you make better. This will be a chance to pick your application first. Once you applied for all the jobs in all job portals. Go to the below sites and look for jobs.
Applying directly in the company portal
The second way is to apply for jobs in Germany is directly on the company portal which is also the best method and less competition compared to other ways. Mostly, no one tries this method, and thus results in fewer job applicants for the job position. Check below ways to find companies
Job/Tech Fair to apply for jobs in Germany:
Job/Tech fair is referred commonly as a career fair or career expo, which is speed dating for companies and professional job seekers. A job fair is an event in which employers, recruiters, and schools give information to potential employees.
Many job seekers tend to overlook job fairs as they may be viewed as crowded, competitive, and confusing, considering there are so many recruiters. But, there are many benefits
You can check here some events happening in Germany
Jobs via Social Media Network:
Today, social media isn’t just used to keep in contact with our social network yet it has likewise become an essential tool for sourcing and recruiting the best candidates. In fact, more than 90% of recruiters use social networking platforms to find, recruit, and retain ideal employees. Find below some tips to find jobs in Germany:
Coming up:
The next article will be step bystep by guide to finding companies list as per city and industry-based so that you can apply for jobs in Germany directly on the company portal. Subscribe below to get notified
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With one of the most highly developed social market economy, the actual cost of living in Germany is rather comfortable and settling for expats in comparison to its European brethren. As a matter of fact, the cost of living in Germany is almost as laid back as 10% in comparison to UK, France, Norway or Switzerland – other popular countries to settle in.
How much exactly would you need then, you ask?
Well, this question is very much dependent on the lifestyle you choose to spend on. Your requirements would mostly govern your budget, but the good thing is that Germany offers you a range of monthly expenditure beginning from 900 EUR to any number you can willingly afford
Accommodation (including and excluding utilities)
Grocery Expenses
Transportation
Healthcare
Dining out
Internet and mobile provider
Taxation
Except for the high end expenses, the cost of living can be determined based on the below mentioned factors to sustain a certain standard of living:
This article would provide an overview of the average costs for the above mentioned factors based on estimates for an individual. The item dependent pricing will be elaborately mentioned for making it easier for you to shortlist them according to your suitability and give you a clearer insight about your personalized monthly budget.
Accommodation
The first, foremost and largest expense in the cost of living is the housing budget. Though, it will vary according to the cities you decide to stay in and will be heavily dependent on the size and location of the property, we still present you the average costing for the most popular cities in Germany.
Finding Accomodation
Berlin
One of the most chic hangouts in the world. This city is the most popular city with expats in Germany.
Rent
400 EUR
800 EUR
1,500 EUR
Room type
Single Room in shared apartment
Approx. 50m² 2 bedroom apartment
Approx. 100m² 3-4 bedroom apartment
Berlin Tower
A single room in a shared apartment can begin at around 400 EUR and can be as much as 600 EUR per month. For a 2 bedroom apartment in a decent neighborhood and good location, the rent might average least 800 EUR including costs for water and heating. There can be additional expenses for the internet, TV, and electricity adding 100 EUR.
Hamburg
Hamburg is the second biggest city in Germany and interestingly boasts of more living space per person than all the other major cities in the entire world!
Rent
370 EUR
900 EUR
1,800 EUR
Room type
Single Room in shared apartment
Approx. 50m² 2 bedroom apartment
Approx. 100m² 3-4 bedroom apartment
Hamburg
Hamburg is the second most expensive city in Germany and the cheapest accommodation offered is in terms of shared rooms and rents. Flats and apartments begin at around 900 EUR and can go as high as 2000 EUR based on the size and location including utilities.
Munich
Munich easily showcases a large international community making life a lot easier for expats but at a higher cost.
Rent
600 EUR
1,200 EUR
2,000 EUR
Room type
Single Room in shared apartment
Approx. 50m² 2 bedroom apartment
Approx. 100m² 3-4 bedroom apartment
Munich
A single room in a shared flat will roughly cost 600 EUR and can escalate up to 900 EUR per month, more expensive in comparison to other cities. For an apartment with 2 rooms in a good neighborhood, you need to shell out at least 1200 EUR. A flat with 3 or 4 rooms and a separate kitchen can easily cost you 2000 EUR or more with dependent on location.
Nuremberg
Another impressive but a more relaxed option which offers a great lifestyle within your budget in Germany is Nürnberg (also known as Nuremberg).
Rent
300 EUR
700 EUR
1,200 EUR
Room type
Room in shared apartment
50m² 2 bedroom apartment
100m² 3-4 bedroom apartment
Frankfurt
As Germany’s financial capital, it’s a fairly expensive city to live in, with monthly rent averaging over 1600 EUR for a flat with utilities.
Rent
500 EUR
1000 EUR
1,600 EUR
Room type
Single Room in shared apartment
Approx 50m² 2 bedroom apartment
Approx 100m² 3-4 bedroom apartment
Frankfurt
Grocery Expenses
The common single individual’s grocery consumption is estimated at around 50 EUR to 60 EUR per week but is again very much conditioned upon the taste and preferences of individuals.
Below listed is the typical pricing for essentials to let you customize your own weekly expenditure.
Item
Quantity
Price
Water
1.5 litre
0.43 EUR
Milk
1 litre
1.20 EUR
White Bread
500 g
1.34 EUR
White Rice
1 Kg
2.99 EUR
Regular Eggs
1 dozen
2.00 EUR
Local Cheese
1 Kg
8.32 EUR
Regular fruits
1 Kg
3.00 EUR
Regular Veggies
1 Kg
1.00 to 2.00 EUR
Chicken
1 kg
5.96 EUR
Beef Round
1 Kg
10.78 EUR
Wine (Mid-range)
1 Bottle
4.99 EUR
Domestic Beer
0.5 litre
0.84 EUR
Cigarettes
20 pack
6.40 EUR
Transportation
Moving around in Germany is usually by local trains, metro, trams, and buses. Germany also provides the flexibility to rent bikes on an hourly and daily basis. App-based cab services mostly operate in only some big cities. But, do not let it discourage you as there’s hardly any inconvenience because of the efficient public transport and hail taxi system.
Also, please visit the precise guide that helps when you move to Germany at GoTravelYourself. And it has helpful guides to travel around the Europe
Public transport:
A single ticket for public transport would cost you 2.8 – 3.4 EUR depending on the area. The tickets can be bought for individuals and groups (with discounts).
1 day ticket would cost you approximately 7 – 7.7 EUR
7-day ticket would be about 30 – 37.5 EUR
Taxis:
Taxis round to about 3.00 EUR fixed charge with addition of about 1.50 EUR per km and waiting charges of almost 30.00 EUR per hour.
Bikes:
A 2-hour rental would cost you about 6 – 8 EUR, going up to 10 EUR for 4 hours. Daily rental charges would be in the range of 12 – 14 EUR.
InterCIty Transportation:
The most prevalent express trains in Germany are the Deutsche Bahn – super-fast InterCity Express (ICE) trains. They zoom around the country at hourly and two-hourly intervals and link up all major cities.
The ticket pricing varies for different destinations but there are attractive discounts for short journeys and groups.
There are also three BahnCards offering reductions.
“BahnCard 25” – In which, you need to pay only three-quarters of the ticket price,
“BahnCard 50” – Pay half the ticket price
“BahnCard 100” – Simply pay the price of the card and nothing else.
Healthcare
Public healthcare
In Germany, every employed worker has to pay a statutory healthcare insurance contribution as part of their social security contribution.
Contribution by employee = 7 to 8% of total income.
Contribution by the employer = additional 7 to 8% of employee’s income
Total contribution = 14-16%
The maximum amount is capped at EUR683 (inclusive of both employee and employer’s contribution) a month.
Private Healthcare
Private healthcare is limited to only a set of individuals including freelancers, students over the age of 30, people earning less than 450 EUR, or earning more than 60,000 EUR.
As, the cost of private health insurance not regulated by the government, the expense mostly depends on insurance companies’ monopoly.
This creates an anomaly as for people deemed as low-risk patients, the premiums could be around 170 EUR whereas for high-risk patients or older people this could mount up to 1500 EUR per month.
Dining Out
Dining out can range between 8.00 EUR – 9.00 EUR for a meal at popular fast-food chains without discount coupons. But, a full three-course meal at a regular restaurant would cost you 12.00 EUR and go up as high as 25.00 EUR.
A piece of cake = 3 – 5 EUR
A pastry = 1.2 – 2 EUR
A croissant = 1.2 EUR
Pizza = 7 – 10EUR
Ice cream dessert = 6 – 7 EUR
Internet and Mobile
Prepaid phones offer good flexibility since you pay as you go. As you need more credit you simply buy recharge cards. The minimum amount of credit that you can add is usually EUR 5-10. And a minute of Prepaid Mobile Tariff (No Discounts or Plans) would cost you around 0.10 EUR.
The other option is a contract phone. These do offer lower calling rates and better deals on new phones but these prices can be estimated on the basis of your need, the monthly fee, the connection cost, and the minimum monthly consumption.
It is not really common in Germany to get data plans with unlimited mobile internet. Presently, there are two providers namely Telekom and O2, which offer unlimited data plans. The cheapest unlimited data offer is provided by O2 for 39.99 EUR per month and Telekom is a little bit on the expensive side mounting to 84.95 EUR/month.
Taxation
One another important aspect to include in your cost of living expenses is the taxation.
This would vary for individuals depending on their source of Income. It is advisable for you to go through the latest tax summaries to understand your tax rate and estimate your total cost of living in Germany accordingly.
Even if these numbers look a bit under or overwhelming, It is very important to remember they only provide the comprehension of a personal budget to form an overview of the financial planning required and are definitely not the guidelines to live by!
Recruiters get hundreds of resumes. If your resume does not grab their attention in the first few seconds, it will be thrown in the trash heap.
Recruiters eliminate resumes not only on content but also on how they look. If they are poorly formatted, too short, or really ugly, content almost doesn’t matter.
Most of the German employers are happy with Euro pass CV. You can create one here.
Finding a job is never easy and especially without effort and proper process it is challenging to land a job. Follow the process, and prepare the perfect CV and cover letter.
Here is the list of some portals to apply to as soon as you hold the Job Seeker Visa
stepstone.de
indeed.de
meinstadt.de
LinkedIn
StackOverflow
honeypot.io
Step 4: Crack the Interview
Cracking the interview is never easy if you don’t follow proper guidelines. Here are some tips that may help you
Always be confident
Dress well
Don’t fake anything as German employers believe in trust
Trust yourself
Arrive early, Don’t be late.
Research about the company
Step 5: Applying for a Work Permit/Blue Card
The last step is to get the work permit/Blue Card. The Job Seeker Visa’s purpose is only to give you enough time to find a job in Germany, not exceeding 6 months. You can’t work with the Job Seeker Visa and you need to convert to a Work Permit before starting your career in Germany.
Once your Job Seeker Visa is approved and you are ready to travel to Germany, you may find yourself stressed out or confused with questions like how and when to apply for jobs and when to schedule your travel. This post aims to answer those questions and address any concerns you may have and gives an idea of how to plan and land successful interviews after or before you arrive in Germany.
3 Tips to Follow
When to travel once your Job Seeker Visa is approved?
You can travel immediately or after a few weeks depending on your convenience. Once your Job Seeker Visa interview is complete, you will get an email from the consulate requiring you to bring your Passport, Health Insurance, and travel tickets.
If you cannot finalize your travel date just yet, you can always present a booked Flight Itinerary and/or Flight Reservation from companies like yatra or similar services and hold the tickets without paying for the full cost of the Flight Ticket.
How to apply for jobs?
By now you should already have a well-written Resume to show for. As an additional step, if you haven’t done it already, update the address in your resume to that of the place where you plan to reside in Germany. A candidate with an address in Germany is much likely to be prioritized over a candidate outside the country. The contact number however can be from whichever country you’re coming from (almost all the companies offer you to choose between Skype and a phone call and you can choose the former). Also, mention the Job Seeker Visa details (validity) so that employers have an idea about your visa
Once your resume is tweaked in this way, you can start applying on sites like stepstone.de, Linkedin, Xing, meinstadt.de, and indeed.de. etc. Set Job alerts for your role so that you get notified instead of digging the entire job list.
Some companies post job descriptions in German and might still be interested in accepting candidates who do not speak German. So translate such matching roles and apply them to them anyway to increase your chances.
When to apply for jobs?
You can apply from your country following the steps above as soon as your Job Seeker Visa is approved. As mentioned earlier, just change your address and you will get the interview calls.
Note: If you do get any interview calls, do not try to lie about your current location. If they expect you to attend a face-to-face interview and it is not possible for you to be in Germany by then, simply inform them that you’re currently not in Germany and will arrive there by a specified time.
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