Berlin is known as the second leading startup hub in Europe after London, with this status comes great opportunities to find work! Although this may sound exciting, it actually requires hard work from your end as the candidate and new to Berlin.

Regardless of where you are in your career, kicking off the job hunt as a recent graduate or trying to revive an existing job search, finding work is no easy task especially if you don't speak a word of German. Having an effective and detailed job-search checklist on hand will make finding work in Berlin much easier.

So let's look at this in more detail starting off with the most important part, your CV. Every country has its own way of doing things and Germany is no different and since we know you want to land your ideal job as you navigate your career we are here to help you know all the tips to ensure your CV is in the right format so you can nail this job hunt from start to finish!

German hiring managers will respect you if you keep your CV short and simple and accompanied by all the necessary documentation which also makes their work a lot easier. We have come up with 5 simple steps for you to follow to make sure your CV as top notch and that you make a good impression in the German job market.

Required Documents

First things first, apart from having a CV in the right format, one thing you will learn when you move to German is how much they love paperwork and sending letters in your mail.

So make sure you have all the documents needed when you apply for jobs like:

• a covering letter (anschreiben)
• a CV (lebenslauf)
  copies of educational certificates
• Copies of your references
  passport photos

Some of the larger more traditional companies will ask for all these documents and require you to upload them all in one folder or PDF file in your application. This is also known as a “die Mappe” or Application Portfolio.