Hello All,

I'am currently into the job market and looking forward to start my career in Germany. I graduated from a German FH. I have worked for couple of years before I came to Germany. I'am currently applying for jobs in the same industry but not exactly the same profile what I'am experienced in.

I have sent <100 applications and attended 6 interviews so far.I'am going to attend the 7th one. I'am pretty lost and confused trying to do a self-assessment and trying to understand what went wrong in the previous six interviews.

Some points which I would like to highlight are :

1. Relevance : None of them were exact matching positions.For most of the positions, the employers were trying to correlate my previous experience to their requirement.

2. Questions :There were no technical questions. There were just general HR questions and expected compensation.

3. Language skills : Apart from 2 companies with business language as German,all other were either American MNCs having design centers in Germany and German companies operating globally.So most of them were not particular about language. Although they asked if I wanted the discussion to be in English or German. I opted for English.

4.I never found a reliable source of information regarding the compensation standards. I believe I always messed up this question.

5. The next one is also not 100% matching,but the guy liked my Thesis and the work profile matches my thesis work to a great extent.

I would really appreciate, if I could get some inputs from your personal experiences, so that I could do a better job this time. It would be great if any of you experienced guys could analyse this situation and share your views.

Looking forward for help !

The job market has been quite difficult in recent months however it's becoming increasingly better, however I would say your chances will increase if you try to improve your german or at least you show in the interview you are eager to improve your german skills.

Your problem is the German language. If you opt for English during the interviews, this is in most cases a big minus for you.

Regards,

Lacrima

Lacrima is right. Language can be a big minus.

Sometimes, even simple German helps as it shows that you are ready/willing to speak. So you can always start by saying that your German is not fluent but you are willing to give it a try.

In technical areas, there are many companies which do hire non-German speakers, obviously depending on the position. I will name a few:

Bosch Sicherheitssysteme
Infineon
BMW
LSI
Bosch
Lantiq

You need to apply at right time to the right company and a lot of luck. I dont think that it has a lot to do with you German language skills as long as are not applying you apply to a small "Germany oriented" company.

My wife was working earlier. Sent 8 application and recieved rejections, but could make it in next 2 interviews. She always opted for English during interviews. I appeared in 14 interviews, 8 rejections and 6 acceptance. And I could speak fluent German during my interviews.

Market was slow, and the companies are very choosy. As mentioned already, its improving. Tell them you are very keen to leanr German, but think before you opt for interview in German. Better English than too bad German for such a meeting.

All the best for your next interview.

Thanks a lot guys !!!