German CV
When applying for a position in Germany, you may use either German or English, depending on the company and your fluency. Stick to one language once chosen.
The German CV is always in chronological order - ending with the most recent job. Typewrite your German CV on one to maximum two pages in A4 format, depending on the length of your work experience. Germans respect perfectionism in all areas of business, so your CV should be concise, precise as possible and clear. Attach a photo, with your details on the back, to the top right hand corner of CV.
The aim of your German CV should be to persuade recruiters to invite you for a job interview. Therefore, your CV is a marketing tool, which should be customized to the market in which you intend to use it.
Start with your personal details: name, address, telephone number, place and date of birth, civil status (habitually including your children) and whether you have a driving license. It is no longer common to include parents' names, they professions and your religion.
Often CV are kept on file for long periods, so any contact details you give have to remain accurate in the long term. A daytime phone number, with the international access code and e-mail are most important.
Follow with your complete education including junior and secondary school, college and university training. Detail names, locations, dates of attendance, diplomas, majors and degrees. Add honors, internships, additional training and IT knowledge.
Having work experience (including apprenticeships) is one of the main selection criteria in Germany. List responsibilities you had in each job with dates, their locations and your titles - emphasizing areas relevant to the position for which you are applying.
Make your CV more effective by providing examples to illustrate your achievements. Use power words and action verbs such as contributed, organized, demonstrated, trained, managed, developed, coordinated etc. Bullet point these at the start of a sentence for maximum impact.
Reveal your native tongue and describe level of fluency for the other languages with reference to the spoken and written levels.
Also mention whether you have a driving license. Include your personal interests when they are relevant to the job only.
Make sure that there are no “gaps” in your German CV. However, if “gaps” exists, ensure to mention the reason. Carefully consider what to leave out of your CV and exclude anything that might give prospective employers a chance to discriminate against you.
CV are often scanned by employers, so make your CV scannable by avoiding for example lines or italic fonts etc.
Finally sign your German CV at the bottom right with the place and date in the opposite left hand corner.
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Other German CV Info
Now to finalize your german job search, if your german cover letter and German CV are ready, you may email them through our job search engine to job recruiters and executive headhunters.
On a german job interview page you will find useful tips on a job interview and a job interview dress code in Germany.
Good luck with your german CV.
