Rejection of a job in Germany is not necessarily due to insufficient qualifications, often a job candidate is rejected due to fairly formal things such as a misspelled "Bewerbung" (resume) or lack of interview practice.
In this article, you can familiarize yourself with the most important nuances of interviewing in Germany.
Types and structure of the interview
Let's start with the fact that an interview in Germany often consists of several parts.
The first round is usually a short phone conversation or an online interview. Online interviews are always typical for large companies with branches in different cities. So, in one city there may be a head office with a recruiting department, and in another a subsidiary company, where the vacancy is actually open. Therefore, the recruiter and your immediate supervisor cannot conduct an on-site interview together.
An online interview means that they want to get to know you, find out your language level and gather general information, as well as get to know your personal qualities, such as punctuality, communication skills, self-confidence and technical skills.
Therefore, at this stage, it is important to take care of a good Internet connection, to register in time in the program that will be used for the interview, to have a dignified appearance and to practice your speech, because you will definitely be asked to tell about yourself.
The second part is an offline interview. It has the same structure as an online interview, but is more detailed and may include a test task, a demonstration of the workplace or getting to know colleagues.
Presentation of the employer
After the connection has taken place, they will greet you and introduce themselves, tell you about the company.
Next, you will definitely be asked to tell about yourself. We recommend preparing your speech in advance.
Presentation of yourself
What should your presentation of yourself consist of:
- Brief introductory information. For example, where you came from (if you are not a resident of the country), how long you have been in Germany, why you like being here.
- Your achievements. For example, that you have learned a language, have worked/are working somewhere, realized yourself in something useful for the position you are applying for.
- Your skills. This is a very important part of the speech, because it allows the potential employer to understand why they should hire you, what you can do. Here you should talk about your experience and professional achievements.
- Your personal qualities. It is also quite an important part, since each profession requires special qualities. For example, an accountant must be attentive, diligent, able to analyze and calculate. The consultant must be active, friendly and have well-developed communication skills. That is, you should separate those personal qualities that will be useful in a potential position. They are usually written in the job description.
- Your hobbies and interests. Here it is important to consolidate the impression about yourself with positive and safe preferences. If you have a risky hobby, such as riding a motorcycle or horse sports, then it is better not to mention it. But something related to the profession or useful, for example, professional self-study, teaching, learning foreign languages, is worth mentioning.
Your self-introduction should be short but meaningful. Set aside 10 minutes of your time, tell as much as possible about your experience and skills, so that you get fewer questions.
But prepare more information for each point, because you will be asked questions related to your speech.
Block of questions
After you have finished presenting yourself, you will be asked questions. You also need to prepare for this.
For example, you may be asked:
Information from your Bewerbung. Study your resume well so you don't get confused in dates and positions.
- Why do you want to work in this particular company?
- Why did you leave your last place of work?
- What motivates and demotivates you at work?
- What is your greatest achievement?
- What do you know about the employer's company?
- Details of your work?
- Who/where do you see yourself in 5 years?
- What amount of salary will suit you?
Think carefully about the answers to these questions.
Then it's your turn to ask questions. They must be asked, this is a sign that you are interested in your future workplace.
For example, you can ask:
- Why is this position vacant?
- What is the working climate like inside the company?
- How big is the team?
- How can a manager describe an employee who, in his opinion, is suitable for this position?
At the end, you will be thanked and told when you will be notified of the result. Usually it is several calendar days. Most likely, you will be sent an email with a decision about employment, probation or rejection.
Trial work is common in Germany and is completely normal. This is usually 3-4 hours of work to first of all let you understand whether you like the company and whether you are a good fit for the employer.
But whatever the result after the interview, we recommend that you believe in yourself and keep trying if you are rejected. Remember, every subsequent interview is an experience that allows you to feel confident and well prepared, so that as a result you can flawlessly pass the interview and get the desired position.
If you need a job or help preparing your Bewerbung, contact us.
Thank you for reading us!
