German vs. UK CV's

I now have to prepare a German CV. I have been reading up on it and am amazed at what has to go in there. Is the following true:

1. I need a photo of myself attached?
2. I need to give a brief overview of my parents and their professions
3. I have to disclose my marital status, if I have a driving license, my age, etc. [ how personal does it have to get?]
4. I need to attach a copy of my University degree?
5. No personal hobby/interest section?

How much of the above is correct and where can I find some good examples of how a German CV should look?

Thanks

untrue

irrelevant

ps. dont forget to attach the e.u paper mountain in certificates saying what a worthwhile human being you are...

but the rest is true...

The people at the arbeitsamt will also go over it with you for free, suggesting improvements and fixing mistakes, if you ask nicely.

1. Yes you do, par for the course here
2. Oldfashioned, you don't need to do this (unless it plays in your favour and even then...)
3. Yes to all of them - you do not have to disclose your martial status or religious preference but include anything which puts your application in the best light
4. YES - need copies of the whole lot plus the orginals brought along to the interview. When describing academic qualifications (Diplom, BSc...) list start date, end date, name and city of study, course title, name, (expected) result. Only really new grads or those whose qualification is explicitly relevant should go into more detail.
5. Not relevant - mention specific relevant items in your covering letter if necessary (e.g. participation in competitive sports if you're applying to adidas etc.)
Important: leave no gaps in your CV, that's a huge red flag, if you were unemployed say so and try and say something positive about how the time was used, if you were travelling, say so, just don't leave gaps. Gaps give the impression that people are trying to hide something - which is not the impression you want to give to a recruiter.
Junge Karriere article
If you want someone to help you write it (for a fee), try Christine Öttl and Gitte Härter, lovely women who know their stuff backwards. Their free tips are also excellent.

You will need inside leg measurement, chest (expanded and deflated) and, in the case of ladies, cup size. This is some daft european regulation - potential employers need to know so they can design your workspace to the correct ergonomic specifications.

Not really.

You've got it pretty much spot on apart from the bit about parents' professions. try and keep it to one side of A4, and don't forget to put any copies of relevant diplomas/certificates with it - german employers love lots of paperwork and boasting about achievements (see how a lot germans put their academic qualifications along with their name on the door of their homes to impress the neighbours).

Prof. Dr. Hr. Flogger

Thanks- I guess just submitting my regular UK/US CV would be death?

What about job references from prior employers, how many do I need usually?

Is it a much better idea to submit the german cv not only in German format but also in German language [even when applying for an English Speaking position?]

Depends on the company and if a job ad exists or not. Quite often it will state in the advert how (and in what language) applications should be made.
When I've applied for multi-lingual posts here (have never applied for an exclusively English-speaking post, perhaps someone else here has?), I've included the Zeugnis (employer reference document) from at least the last three positions (if available).
Good luck!

I normally submit a CV in both languages and styles.

As already mentioned there must not be gaps as they really will assume you were in prison or something like that.

It seems that generally covering letters are a bit more important here.

Also leave off any dubious sports activities (I was told this by a Manager here) as again they are paranoid you will be spending all your time recovering from injuries and also may infer all sorts of things about your character.

You can get good books on CV writing in Hugendubel.

Yes, I couldn't even get a job at the Hofbrauhaus without a picture.

Der Lebenslauf

Yup. My boss said I really should be asking for permission to go snowboarding, and that paragliding (I had my eye on some courses at Garmisch this summer) was out of the question (!)


Yup. Another crock of absolutely ridiculous German shite. Who do they think they will be interviewing. Someone who has stolen your personality?? ps. I never had to submit a photo when I got my job here. But I got it through London. Fritz must've known he'd get laughed out of blighty asking an Englishmen for a photo on a CV.

Depends on the job - for most IT work, you're probably better off using your regular CV and making a few tweaks to it. I attached a picture to the top of mine, added "languages" and "place of birth" to the personal details section, and it did fine - sadly it got much better results than my German-style German-language Lebenslauf which took ages to put together.

Also depends on who you're applying to. If you're sending mass applications on spec to loads of companies, then yes, it might be better to do it the german way. But if you go somewhere where you've been recommended by a friend/former colleague/whatever, sending a CV is most likely just a formality and you'll probably get away with the UK version.

That's often a legal requirement here. Certainly in my field.

(I know its stupid.)

Your academic qualifications are legally required to be shown along with your name at your private place of residence?

One thing worth mentioning for IT is that people here are extremely optimistic about what they know, often if they have walked past it, it goes on the CV, in my department at work I am the only Unix specialist/DBA, yet half my colleagues list more IT skills than I do. Thats why its not unusual to see job ads along the lines of

"junior programmer required must have 10 years Unix Admin exp, and 5 years C#"

Employers know there is a measure of BS on most CVs here, its up to you how you tackle it, I list IT stuff into primary and secondary skills, that way its clear what I know and what I walked past.