Liverpool Year Abroad > Country Guides

Germany

This section contains information that should give you a fuller picture of the country that might help you and websites that you might find useful. It is divided into the following areas

General Country Guides
Embassies
Jobs, CVs and the job market

Don't forget you can find out about current job vacancies, working overseas or in the UK, on the Careers & Employability Service website.

General Country Guides

Lonely Plant - Germany
Rough Guides
Goethe Institute is a general site covering Germany with some useful links
Google Germany
EURES website has extensive information on working, living and studying in Germany

Embassies

Jobs, CVs and the job market

Germany is a popular destination for British graduates working in Europe. The main areas of initial employment for graduates are Teaching English as a Foreign Language in private language schools and casual work in the construction and hotel and catering industries. The re-unification of East and West Germany has made a significant impact on the German economy. General job prospects have become limited but there are opportunities for those with highly specialist skills and qualifications. As with the UK, the German economy is undergoing changes with a general decrease in the heavy engineering sector and an increase in technology, finance and business services.

Prospects, Hobsons and the EURES website has extensive information on working, living and studying in Germany.

Follow instructions carefully when applying for jobs in Germany as employers can be very specific about what is required. CVs are more common than application forms but typically the CV is just one part of the application package. A typical application package, in strict chronological order, would consist of:

CV (1 page of A4 typically) with factual information covering the usual areas (personal details, education, employment history and extra-curricular activities). Examples of German CVs can be found here
Single side A4 covering letter in German. This should begin with the name and title of the person who deals with the applications. Titles are very important in Germany so try to find out in advance who to address your letter to.
Passport-sized photograph
Photocopies of all relevant certificates from school, university or other sources

At graduate level jobs can be found primarily by responding to adverts in German newspapers. The leading newspapers are FAZ, Welt and Suddeutsche Zeitung. You could also try Handesblatt on Fridays and Die Zeit on Thursdays for public sector posts.Some posts do not appear in the press so speculative applications are worth considering but your research needs to be thorough. The European Employment Service (EURES) network of advisers can also be a useful source of vacancies. Arbeitsamt, the German Public Employment Service, should also be helpful.

Key resources include the German Embassy website ('Culture and Study' section) has a Directory of German-British Co-operation which has useful contacts for a variety of industries in Germany as well as the Absolventun Zeitung Online.

Online Recruitment Agencies in Germany

country guides

Germany