Job seeking in Berlin
Replies: 14 - Last Post: Feb 21, 2013 8:35 AM Last Post By: travelinstyle46
jump to
Job seeking in Berlin
Hey there, I am a kiwi girl moving to Berlin very soon. When I arrive I am hoping to find a job, but I am a little skeptical about how hard this will be.I can only speak english and a tiny bit of german.
I have heaps of experience in the hospitality industry and I have Barista skills. Preferably I would like to find a job in the hospitality industry but I am flexible.
If you have any advice or information that would help me out, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks
Emma
1
Are you legally able to work in Germany? Work permit, long stay visa, or an EU passport?2
If your answer to #1 is yes, yes and yes take a look here: http://www.morgenpost.de/jobs/ergebnisliste.html?offset=0&reloadedSearch=1This newspaper (Berliner Morgenpost) offer especially on Sunday the most proposals for people searching jobs. Good luck if you dont speak German.
4
Hey there,Yes I am able to work in Germany, under a working holiday visa.
See here for more details:
http://www.nzembassy.com/germany/new-zealanders-overseas/living-germany/working-germany
I will apply for this once I arrive in Berlin as advised by my home embassy.
Thanks for sending me the Berliner Morgenpost link (Regards), I will spend some time looking into it now.
I'm a little concerned about your comment in regards to not speaking German. Is it common that people with this intention of finding a job and only speaking english, find it exceptionally hard?
5
How easy would it be to get hospitality work in New Zealand without speaking English?Maybe you could try Irish pubs, but in general, you'll need some German to get by.
6
I am not sure about if you go in Berlin to the Ausländerbehöre to get your Aufenthaltsgenehmigung only speaking English will be any help for you and them. Did you have had any contact with them: www.ba-auslandsvermittlung.dewww.arbeitsagentur.de as suggest in the link you wrote in #4 ?
7
Thank you for your help, I appreciate your time.I won't be applying for a residence permit (Aufenthaltsgenehmigung), just a working holiday visa, which is a temporary one year arrangement.
"The Working Holiday Visa Program aims to enable young people between 18 and 30 to gain an insight into the culture and daily life in Germany. With the German Working Holiday visa you can travel and work in the country for a period up to 12 months."
I have checked on the website (www.arbeitsagentur.de) for the requirements and I have the requirements for the application. But it is true going to the Ausländerbehöre, and only speaking english will be an issue, I will take my german flat mate to help me out.
I have to have the visa before I can work.
8
How easy would it be to get hospitality work in New Zealand without speaking English?
Exactly. I never stop being amazed by this sense of entitlement expresssed by some monoligual anglophones. Yes, lots of people speak english as a 2nd language in continental Europe but any frequent interaction with customers etc will require the local language.
There are people who only speak English in places like Germany who have jobs- they tend to have very specific skills that outweigh their lack of German.
'Hospitality industry' (which to me is a euphemism for 'waiting tables' doesn't sound like a high-skilled job to me- and there will be plenty of young Germans with similar skills who speak English well enough to deal with foreign tourists and the like. Only when really native speaking skills are required do you have an edge.
Are you sure you can apply for the WHV after arrival? I didn't look at your link but usually you need to apply in your home country.
9
Hospitality work requires being able to communicate with the customers. Obviously, German language skills are needed for that. Why should any bar/pub/restaurant hire a person ho can't? As this is a typical job for university students, they have more than enough applicants in a city with four large universities and dozens of other schools. Without speaking German your options are limited to dishwashing, cleaning, peeling potatoes and similar.Spending your first month or two in an intensive language class would be a good idea to improve your options concerning work and any aspect of daily life.
10
this is really pitty that the opening of the new Berlin airport is moving in a far and uncertain future. In Tegel I have encountered the ground staff with very good English but poor German thus perhaps something like this would be an option.11
You can apply in NZ or after arrival in Germany. However, there is obviously a time period between applying and getting it. So why not apply before leaving NZ and have it on arrival?Comments above are about being realistic. Having a temporary right to work does not mean you will find work. With no real skills/profession, you are limited to jobs that require no language proficiency. ie. dishwashing, digging ditches, etc. The only other option is teaching English but you have no qualifications for that.
So yes, you will find it difficult to find work unless you are prepared to do very menial work. For example, you might get a job doing cleaning (houses or offices). That kind of job is typically filled by foreigners (that's you) in any country.
You have to consider possible vs. probable and you should certainly not arrive without enough money to live on for several months and pay for a ticket home if things don't work out. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.
12
Unless you have contacts/friends who have a job for you, finding a job in Berlin with no advanced skillset/qualification and no or very little German is almost impossible.13
Regarding English language teaching - are there many opportunities to do this in Berlin? I have a CELTA qualification and also speak German.Thanks.
