Finding work as a Brit moving to Düsseldorf

HI Everyone,

This forum certianly looks great - thank god for google finding it because i was getting a little stressed.

I have decided to leave to the bright lights and dangers of london behind me and am moving with my girlfriend back to her native Düsseldorf. I hope to have this all wrapped up by the end of August.

Am a little stuck though...

I need pointing in the right direction as to gain employment. I am a 26 yr old and have a strong science degree and been working in business development and sales for 4 years now, so i guess i am pretty good. Does that expereince matter though if i dont have any German skills - when i say i dont, i do sort of, but it is only can i have a coffee etc etc!!

What is the recruitment process like in Germany? Does any one know any good recrutiment agencies in Germany? Does Germany even operate on a recruitment agency basis like the UK?

I am not looking for war and peice novel style help - just a little push in the right direction!

Thanks all in advance!

Brummieade (yes, i am originally from BIrmingham!)

There is http://www.devonshire.de/ they are quite good for creative jobs, but they may also offer something related to your field. Good Luck!

Hi,
so your girlfriend will know which of the bigger companies have bases in Düsseldorf - ask her, and check out their websites - they will probably be advertising their vanancies there...apply for jobs, even if they are not 100% "you"
Your girlfriend should be able to help you with a German job application (they do things differently), but you will, of course, have to emphasise the point that you German is not that good.
What is your girlfriend going to do "at home"? - does she already have a job lined up? - if so, and you can´t find employment straight away, use the time to take a German course and to really work on learning the language - listen to the radio, watch television and mix with the locals - obviously, the better your German, the better the chances of getting a decent job.
Good Luck!

Hi
THanks for your replies - she is from a very very small town outside - place called Rees, but we are going to Düsseldorf..she works as a PA and secretary but then small odd jobs as well...

I know, German is definitely the biggest hurdle to over come, but have been advised that most biotechs and pharmaceutical companies in the area do 80% of their business in English, so it shouldnt be too bad - im not your stereotypical BRit who doesnt bother speaking other languages - i actually get a kick out of it..

Fingers crossed...

THanks anyway!

First thing would be to get your cv on Monster, indicating availability in Dü from whenever. Doing it in English is fine as a first step - it's what I've always done, although I've also always put additional information about my previous posts in German - perhaps your girlfriend could help with that.

You might also consider taking a few months break and doing an intensive German course and getting your German language skills up to par. Considering that areas like sales and business management, which are inherently client-facing, might demand good German skills.

This is, of course, not to say that there are no English speaking jobs out there.

Good luck!

I agree that German is critical.

It's also important to rememeber that "doing business in English" means just that. They "do business". Most will still run their day to day operations in German, their HR processes, their local communications etc. Your co-workers routinel speak German etc. So it can still be a big strain working in that situ (partifcularly on top of the stress of emigrating etc).

It's a bit random wherever you go I think. Some people hit lucky first time and get the English only job.

I've known people who were competent enough in the local language and were also assured it was OK to use English...only to then be told their local language wasn't actually good enough.

You also have to think longer term. You may be able to get away with just English your current job - but what if you don't like it and / or want to move on and most other companies in the area want more or whatever?

Also remember that your ability to speak English is not actually much of a competitive advantage.

Millions of Germans speak decent enough English to work in it. So you are competing against people who offer the native language *and* English.

Not necessarily. Dus has lots of Japanese companies, with lots of Japanese resident in Germany to make sure the company is run the way they like it, and I've only ever met two Japanese who had any German language ability at all (but both of them were totally fluent). I was employed in Dus even though I was a language dullard, and Germans were employed only if they were happy to speak English all day long, so sweeping statements like that just dont hold up.


Millions of Germans speak broken, tiring, failing broken English and do so only under duress. There are many jobs requiring more English ability than that and it will help the OP to search them out and play on his strength while at the same time emphasising his enthusiasm to learn German...

yes, i agree that i need to learn german. I am a fast learner - lived in Rome for three years and was fluent after a year of living there in full immersion italian so i reckon that wont be the hard part...

I am just worried about the finding job part - my student days of working in bars and check outs are over (i dont want to sound snobby there) so dont want some run of the mill job while i am learning german. Although maybe a bar job a couple of nights a week would not be so bad??!! BUt maybe some full immersion langauge learning using my savings may not be so bad?

FOund some really nice appartments over the net as well now - and for Eu400 a month!! Wow that beast the hell out of London!

Still struggling to be pointed in the direction of medical and pharma recruitment agencies though - for business development, marketing etc so if any one has any ideas, that would be great!!