I have posted a lot on jobs in Germany from the jobs on demand in Germany both Academic and Non Academic; writing a CV; writing a cover letter to how to succeed in an interview (before, at the interview and at assessment centres) and applying for the EU Blue Card. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten around to the most important part…..finding a job to apply to.
Unfortunately, not unless you’re in the academic professions, finding a job with absolutely no knowledge of German can be a bit taxing. You could try use google translate but the rule of thumb is that if the job offer is in German then your application is in German, and the same applies to when the job offer is in English.
If you’re looking for an Ausbildung, you search for an Ausbildung the same way you search for a job. Though for the Ausbildung you also have higher chances of getting a position through unsolicited applications (Initiative Bewerbung). You can simply call the place you want to do it and ask if they have a position. It’s less formal. You can also check the places that offer FSJ and BFD, most of them also offer Ausbildung positions.
Where to find job offers.
1. Local newspapers, not tabloids, newspapers. Reputable newspapers like the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Spiegel, Focus, Stern, Die Welt, Süddeutsche Zeitung, etc
2. Profession specific magazines e.g. for Engineers VDI (Verein Deutscher Ingenieure); Doctors Ärtze Zeitung, IT Professionals and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) etc. Most professions in Germany have an organization and most of these organizations have a magazine or newspaper they publish regularly with job offers.
3. Online
a. The company website. I think these are the best sources as they have the latest job offers and you’re sure the offer is legit. Check companies in your field, bookmark their Career pages and keep checking them out regularly. You can even call and ask if you can send in an unsolicited CV just incase a position “appears”. Better chances of getting the sites also in English.
b. Profession specific websites. The same organisations for different professions also publish the jobs on their websites e.g. VDI for engineers has the site – vdi.de
c. Newspaper websites. Most of these newspapers also offer a Job section on their online version. Some might require you to pay their subscription to access their job market, but they are usually legit.
d. Career sites – these are usually aimed at students who’re about to graduate: staufenbiel.de; Ausbildung.de; duales-studium.de
e. IHK website – the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) offer a Lehrstellenbörse for each Federal state and one for the whole country: IHK Lehrstellenbörse
f. Bundesagentur für Arbeit – The Federal Job Agency offers a list of job offers you can apply for. I don’t recommend this usually because most of the offers are targeted at “privileged” candidates. Meaning in most cases, those jobs had been applied for by a foreigner already and are only being readvertised targeting a German or EU national, failure to which the job is given back to the foreigner who had applied. Read about that process here: Applying for a Work Permit after Uni.
g. Job websites – Apart from Stepstone I don’t recommend these too much, mainly because I’ve never had much luck with many of them. Usually they tend to collect offers from the company websites and sometimes, they end up collecting very old postings. They rarely have the latest job offers. You can google these, there are soooooo many and some aren’t legit. Although some of them are very reputable in the US and UK, their German versions are rarely any good. In Germany, I’d suggest you focus more on the other websites mentioned above.
