THE PERFECT GERMAN RESUMÉ

TOP 10 TIPS ABOUT PERFECT GERMAN RESUMÉS

  1. A photo taken by a professional photograph
  2. the necessity for birthdate is becoming less important
  3. try several ways of grouping your educational and professional facts and let your friends vote for the most transparent one
  4. as a young parent, you don't need to reveal your parenthood
  5. as a woman, you may also decide not to elaborate on your marital status
  6. individualize your CV to the specific job offer (use the key words the company used to describe the requirements, put more details to former jobs that gave you experience which the job requires
  7. for professionals with a few years experience, schooling is irrelevant unless the circumstances will be beneficial to the company (i.e. proving language and cultural skills). You just put the year and degree of your last school education.
  8. The CV is usually reduced to table format with no full sentences but key words only, bullet points are also fine
  9. It does usually not contain a descriptive profile, although putting one does not do any harm
  10. It should not be longer than 3 pages

Professional help can be a real success factor.

"Landing a job in Germany as a foreigner can be tough. But knowing what German employers expect from your CV could mean the crucial difference between getting an interview and getting dumped in the wastepaper basket." read the full article in The Local...
 

The 3 biggest mistakes in a Resume:

"I have reviewed thousands of resumes over my career and built a system to categorize them into yes, no and the dreaded maybe buckets. The resumes that go into either the yes or the no piles are usually very easy to identify. But I often think about the maybes. These resumes get saved as a backup but in reality, never get a chance to be in the field of play..." read the full article in LinkedIn (you need to log in first).

DOCUMENTS TO ATTACH

There is no absolute rule as to what documents you should attach. The more recent certificates should all go in, the older one should be tested for relevance. You can always put a small hint after the word "Anlage" (appendix or attachment) that you can provide any further certificate if so requested.

  • A copy of your last educational degree
  • References of former employers
  • Certificates of relevant training

MORE TIPS FOR GERMAN RESUMÉS

Information on the perfect German resume: