Hi everyone,

I have been visiting this site for sometime now have found it really helpful so finally decided to register!

I currently live in the UK but I am moving to Germany (Hamburg) in July to live with girlfriend who lives there.

I have given myself 6 months to try and find some kind of work, otherwise I will have to move back to the UK as I will have run out of money!

My german is basic at the moment but I am learning every day and will enrol in langauage courses when I arrive to help.

What I am really wondering is, realisticaly, what are my chances of getting some kind of employment within the next 6 months? I currently work as an Insurance Broker but I am prepared to do anything to enable me to live in Hamburg.

I have made around 30 speculative applications but predictably, my lack of German and higher education (I have no A Levels or Degree) have held me back so far.

Just looking for any advice that could be offered here!

You might want to look at teaching English either privately or through one of the many language schools in Hamburg. I know of a few native English speakers who have become English teachers with only limited German. If your girlfriend is from Hamburg she might know people who want or need to improve their English for business. It would give you some time (and income) while your German improves.

I would do a double check on how long you can be in Hamburg without a job. When I came over then I had a temporary 3 month residance permit. To get a more permanent residance permit then I had to have 1) a work contract 2) health insurance 3) a fixed address. Although I know things have changed around a little now (since when I went to renew my residence permit it turned into a permanent thing a not a 5 year extension which was what I was expecting). Perhaps ask your girlfriend to pop in to the ausländeramt if she has a few hours to spare.

With regards to jobs for limited German speakers. I would suggest looking at other expat websites also. There are some that do job adverts for expats etc... Don't ask me for an address because I didn't pay much attention ... sorry. My personal experience was basically pure luck. During the 3 months I managed to get two job offers. One with an american internet company, the other with a German company. I wasn't able to speak any German but I was just out of uni so was most likely better positioned.

Oh another suggestion would be to track down foreign companies. Or subsiduaries of foreign companies. You'll be surprised how many use English as their business language. Ok they will be speaking German in the office. But they usually can cope with a non-native better.

This guy don't need no permit he is an EU citizen

On the job front German employers place a high importance on formal education, wrongly in my opinion. My only advice is to keep applying and then wow them at interview and maybe be willing to lower your expectations to do a job you might not necessarily do at home. The advice on chasing up foreign companies is useful but I can tell you with little formal qualifications many of them will not even have the courtesy to respond to your application; I know because I have been there.

The thing is to just keep trying mate and eventually you will get a job but not without a lot of effort and perserverance.

Good luck on your move here.

You don't need a a residence permit.

You can stay as long as you wish.

Tip:

Sign on the Dole before you leaving telling them you are going to Germany to find a job*. They will pay your unemployment benefit for six weeks in Germany then you will move to the Germany system. You will be treated equivalent to a German - in your case a German who has not paid any unemployment insurance. In the UK that means you get, shite forgot the name, not Dole but the other benefit the one you get when you don't have enough NI - anyhow you still get money - so it is in Germany.

Definately, sign on the British side otherwise you will make it harder to claim later. This is genuine as I did it in 1995 for Berlin - ended-up in Spain and Italy but my dole was transferred to Berlin... Sometimes the EU can be a great thing...

There is advice on this on the UK government websites.

* Not for your Girlfriend!

An excellent piece of advice on the dole idea Stanford

Hi

Im a German student studying in Leeds and am moving to Hamburg in september for one year to be a teaching assistant. My friend is hoping to come with me but she doesnt speak any German. I was just wondering how easy it would be for her to find a job?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
monkley_moo

Topics merged by admin

unemployment rate Hamburg: 9,3 %

My girlfriend has been looking into this for me, apparantly the german equivalent of the 'job centre' run a course free of charge for EU residents but i'm not sure that one is going to be right for me.

I intend to investigate a few when i arrive next week. There are a few mentioned in other posts on this forum which i have looked at, approx cost is around 400 euros a month.

I will post again when i'm over there and decided which course to take.

Still looking for work!!

Following your reply Stanford, I am on the case re trying to get some dole money if i cant find anything. Thanks for the suggestion.

One thing to remember with teaching English in hamburg is that you must have a TEFL [teaching English as a foreign language] qualification. You'll find it hard to get work without one because it is ILLEGAL to employ you without one...I found out the hard way...moved here with the idea that I could find work. But you can take an on-line course..it'll take you about 6 weeks.

I'm not sure about your situation, but i don't have a TEFL, have never been asked if i had one, and i have no problem finding work in Hamburg... and i work for the biggest schools in town.

i would like to hear your story...

t.

The Language Schools I have worked for only
"employ" freelancers.
It's something you only do for fun or pin money.
You MUST have Krankenversicherung etc, and as
a freelancer paying that out of your meagre pay is a joke.
One of the biggest names in the business succeeds by
"employing" an endless succession of English native-speaking naive newcomers
to HH.
You can get away with it if you are only here for a short while,
otherwise the Finanzamt starts asking nasty questions.
(and they have sharp teeth).
Germany is NOT well disposed to freelancers (lots of laws
left over from Nazi times).
Try paying doctor's bills out of your own pocket here
(as I have had to do) and you will understand.

I came from UK about 2 years ago and didnt need a work permit or a residency permit all i had to do was register at the auslanderamt , what i did then was register for hertz IV ( the german dole) and then through them i done an integrationskurs , which lasts about 6 months after that I started work as a zeitarbeiter, the work is varied and you get roughly €750 ( depending on how much you work.

Hello!
I´m a 24 year old Australian who was supposed to be au pairing in Hamburg for a few months but sadly this did not work out. I am not that keen on doing other au pair work after that experience, however obviously I will if needs be!!! But I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of other jobs here for someone who does not have much German at all but who will be taking classes? I will do any work; I´m getting quite desperate now...I´ve been living with a friend for some weeks now and feel terrible about imposing upon them and not earning any money!!!
Hopefully someone can help, I´d really appreciate it!!!
Thanks!

Topics merged by admin

You could try some of the Irish bars for a quick solution and then look further from there.

You could try teaching English at Berlitz, I think they train you so you don't need a TEFL certificate.

Anyone looking for a job, a good idea is to register at the Arbeitsamt (job centre). Take someone with you who can speak German, as some of them can speak English and some can't. You will probably get an appointment to see someone, who will take you through their database where you can fill in all your skills, including which languages you speak and to what level. Employers can search through this database, if they see a skill set they like the look of, they get the Arbeitsamt to send you a letter with details of the job and it's up to you to apply for the job. This is how I got my job, so it's worth a try.

Firstly - Hello everyone.

I have been reading through TT for a few weeks now and have just decided to take the leap into posting. So i have read lots of useful info from past posts but would like to here more of peoples advice and experiences when it comes to finding work in Hamburg. I have read a lot of the "English Teaching" advice so this post can be for anything other than that, if it exsists!

Like many others i have come here following "love" and didn't really plan for it, so had minimal German language ability. However, i had been here for a few months now and have (as one major language school described it) functional German ability. To me this means i can understand a fair amount but replying is still basic. Again like many others i have a degree (BSc in Business Economics from the UK) and a couple of years work experience, so what advice do people have?

Thanks in advance...

Topics merged by admin

Hello,

Having a degree in business is an advantage in Germany - it is highly respected whatever the university. For finding a job, having a functional ability in German will be a big boon, you can learn more on the way.

As you already have work experience, you should have good chances of getting a job. Try to be a specialist in one functional area, sales, finance, IT whatever. Germans do not like the varied careers and frequent job changes people in the UK have - they cannot understand this at all. Therefore, present yourself as a solid craftsman in one area. (Of course, feel free adapt the area to whatever the position is asking for!) Solid craftsmanship in one field is highly regarded. Read some trade magazines or books about the topic so you can have a discussion about newest finance tools, marketing gimmicks etc. when you have the interview.

Try to contact some recruiting agencies in Hamburg. I do not know them well and without doubt you will find stupid ones who will not accept foreigners as possible candidates. But if you can find some of the smaller ones which are specialised in whatever field you are or want to be specialised in, you will be an attractive candidate for them.

Good luck!

Not sure about the curriculum for a BSc in Business Economics at Longborough, which, BTW is a fine university, but such a degree is normally weighted much more towards economics courses than business courses.

Being in Munich, I am not that familiar with Hamburg's economic base, but based upon your degree I would also suggest (in addition to talking to recruiting firms) trying to find a company in which you could work in business development, i.e., internal consultancy, or a private equity/asset management firm for whom you could work as an analyst. Look for firms whose working language is English until your German is up to snuff. If you can be flexible as to location, consider moving to Frankfurt or Munich.

Good luck...

Does anyone know if Americans are able to find work through these recruiting agencies? I have a friend who tried once and after a series of interviews was turned down because although it was a temp job that could turn into a permanent position, Americans aren't able to hold temp jobs here, only EU citizens.

Hi marymanu, I found my job by applying to the company directly. Ive contacted few recruiting agencies or headhunters; most advised me to apply directly. I used to think that its impossible to get a job in Europe (especially when you are Asian and hv only had 4yrs work experiences!);i must say it is not an easy process to go through but i do believe now that impossible is nothing im sure the company will help getting the work permit for you should they really want you onboard; regardless of what ur nationality is.

Hi there

Sounds like you are in exactly the same boat as myself! I am moving tg Lüneburg to live with my girlfriend in June and will be jobless (have also given myself 6 months to find something) but am optimistic about finding a job. I think the key is networking as much as possible, and it seems like teaching English as a foreign language is a realistic opportunity to earn some money, learn the language and pick up experience.

If you need any help or want to practise your German on someone who is also learning just let me know!

Barri

Hello Everyone,

I am South African and have been living in Hamburg since start 2005. I am married, so permission to stay and work here is no problem. I did a 6 month intensive German language course, finished my B1 certificate and was lucky to find work directly after I finished my language course. I am an IT profesional (Programmer). Although work is easier to come by in IT, I am strugling to find companies where English is more commin, or International. I have been now with this company for nearly 2 years and feel it is time to change. Besides the fact that we are being way underpaid here, I also would like to hear a bit of English more around me. My German is good, but sometimes you just need to 'switch off' and relax and share humor in your own language. Can anyone recommend where I can look for IT work?

With many thanks
Jacobus

The Hamburger Abendblatt website has a good job search page. Either that or try Monster.de or one of the larger online recruiters.

You could also try some speculative applcations at some of the major British or American firms in Hamburg?