Writing a CV in German

We have already talked with you about how to write the ideal motivation letter for a job application. Recall that your application must consist of a motivation letter (das Bewerbungsschreiben), which is the most important, a resume (der Lebenslauf) and letters of recommendation (das Referenzschreiben). Today we are talking with you about the resume.

For the Germans, your motivation letter is the most important document, but the summary is also important. It, like the motivation, should be compiled separately for each company. Considering the specifics of the place you go to.

Structure of the ideal resume:

Name;
A photo;

Accept to put your photo on the first page of your resume (is it worth to clarify that the photo should be adequate, like a passport?).

Personal Information;

Address, e-mail, phone number, date of birth. A common practice is to indicate your family status and nationality.

Education;

From the later and to the earliest. It is worth mentioning not only the school and higher education institution, but also additional trainings, courses, etc. The employer is primarily interested in your specialization. It will not be superfluous to indicate your average score (in terms of the German rating system). Please also indicate the subject of your thesis or other works if they are relevant to your future position.

Experience;

The order of placing your experience in the resume should start from the very last place of work and end with the very first. It is worth mentioning what exactly was part of your duties. In this category, it is necessary to include all internships and part-time work during study, if this experience will be useful to you in a new place. Tell us a little about the company in which you worked. Any experience develops in one way or another: it teaches you to work in a team, with customers or with numbers. If you have a lot of experience abroad, it can be classified as a separate category. But remember that things like “language schools” are the “education” section.

Skills and special skills;

This is the point where it is necessary to indicate your knowledge of languages. In the modern world, knowledge of languages ​​is a big plus for any job seeker, but it is worth remembering that they are most likely to be checked at an interview. It is necessary to indicate not only the language, but also the level of ownership. For this, the following categories are usually used: “Muttersprachler” (German) – “native speaker” (English) – “native language”, “fließend” (German) – “fluent” (English) – “free possession” “Grundkenntnisse” (German) – “basic” (English) – “basic knowledge”. Less low levels of language skills are not worth mentioning separately in the summary. If you have a certificate that confirms knowledge of the language, add it to the list of documents for submission to the workplace.

Tell us about your relationship with the computer. Tell us with which programs MS Office you can work and at what level.

Interests;

The person who will read your resume will be interested to know about you as a person. Your personal interests can create a positive impression of you. A person who has interests other than work and study is a person with a broad outlook. Even if climbing is not necessary for you in the office, it shows you as a person who is assembled and knows how to work in a team.

List of publications;
Place, date, signature.

Do not leave any gaps in the description of your life. It may seem that you are trying to hide something. Unsuccessful experience, loud dismissal or something else. But you have nothing to hide … Better submit it in a favorable light for yourself: “and after university I decided to devote myself to traveling, to improve the knowledge of languages ​​and grow as a person.”

As we said before, be prepared to document every item you specify in the CV.

Copies of your passports or other personal documents are not required of you.

If you submit your documents in hard copy, it is expected that they will be signed. If in electronic, they are expected to be in PDF format.

As we said in the previous article, literacy is extremely important. A person who allows grammatical mistakes or errors in the design, probably did not spend a lot of time on his resume, and therefore, not very motivated to get a seat. It is better to give the German a check.

Next, we will give recommendations for writing a letter of recommendation.