German Job Search
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.
Foreign job seekers are expected to have at least a basic understanding of German language. On the other hand in the IT sector for example, there is a fair chance of finding job when you are capable of just speaking English. Many Germans speak and understand English. English is accepted in business. Not speaking German will not necessarily hurt you.
Germany Basic Data
Background: As Europe's largest economy and most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed the country in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring eastern productivity and wages up to western standards. In January 2002, Germany and 11 other EU countries introduced a common European currency, the euro.
Capital: Berlin
Climate: temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm foehn wind
Ethnic groups: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbo-Croatian, Italian, Russian, Greek, Polish, Spanish)
Languages: German
Economy - overview: Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy has turned in a weak performance throughout much of the 1990s and early 2000s. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term problem, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's ageing population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Growth in 2002 and 2003 fell short of 1%. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are further addressed. In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit.
Labor force - by occupation: industry 33.4%, agriculture 2.8%, services 63.8% (1999)
Unemployment rate: 9.8% (2002 est.)
Natural resources: iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land
Industries: among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages; shipbuilding; textiles
Currency: euro (EUR)
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999), 1.76 (1998)
Internet country code: .de
German Job Search Info
Now to finalize your job search, if your cover letter and CV are ready, you may email them through our international job search engine to recruiters and executive headhunters.
In addition, on the german cover letter, german CV and german job interview pages, you will find useful tips.
Good luck with your german job search!
