You want to know how to get a job in Germany after your masters degree? It doesnt matter if you are about to finish your masters or are in the last stages, the next few days and months are going to be extremely crutial for you.
So let me help lay down the road map for you and share some ways on how to get a Job in Germany after masters.
Land a Job in Germany after a Masters Degree
Why should your read this guide?
I came to Germany in 2015 for a Masters Degree and have been working as a Full time Employee since 2017. So I know first hand what you might be going through at the moment.
Ill be sharing multiple scenarios and tips throughout the guide so make sure you read it till the end as I am very confident that you will find some interesting insights that can help you land a job in Germany.
Is it easy to Find a Job after Masters in Germany?
In an Ideal world you should have a job contract already signed by the end of your Masters in Germany. But we don’t live in an Ideal world.
Even though it happened with me , I dont think such situations happen that often. I was lucky being at the right place at the right time, and you might not be that lucky.
But we can prepare ourselves to be ready to grab important opportunites that come our way or even create such situations ourselves.
Start during your Studies
Lets say your Masters program is 3 semesters in total, 2 for your course work and 1 for your thesis. Your goal should be to get Industry exposure during your studies.
You can get it by looking for HiWi or Werkstudent jobs, Internships or getting a thesis position in the industry or a Research Institute.
This helps you fill in the Important Experience section in your CV. Now you might have years of experience before your Masters degree but unfortunately some companies simply do not consider it while others prefer candidates who already have some experience in the German work environment.
Related Guide: German CV Template That HR in Germany Loves
How I landed my First Student job in Germany
When I was a student I was unable to find any jobs in my first semester. By the middle of the Second semester I was able to land my first job.
It was a HiWi position in the university. And during my second semester I had also started applying for Internships and Thesis positions in the industry.
Unfortunately I wasnt getting any interview calls for a thesis nor for an Internship. Most of my internship applications were rejected because I was applying for Voluntary internships as there was no mandatory program in my course.
My luck was the same when it came to Thesis positions, I applied to dozens of Thesis positions which fit my profile perfectly and couldnt find anything. You might think that multiple dozens of applications is nothing. And I would agree considering todays economic situation but back in 2016 it wasnt such a low amount.
Now bear in mind I did not apply for a thesis with my University Professors as I wanted to get Industry exposure.
None the less I was able to land a Werkstudent position in a Research Institute.
Is taking a Semester Break worth it in Germany?
After my Second semester I decided to take an Urlaub semester. To focus on German language and do the two HiWi and Werkstudent jobs.
Now I am not saying that you should delay your masters degree but if you have a specific goal in Mind, then perhaps extending it by a semester can be helpful.
So if you are in your first or second semester, I highly recommend you apply for Internships or HiWi positions. Internships might not pay well but you can learn many things and earn valuable experience .
During the first 3 months of my urlaub semester, I worked on my German language and reached around B1.1 level and tried to do the best possible Werkstudent job.
My objective was not only to impress but get an Amazing Recommendation letter which I would use to apply for Thesis positions. Fortunately My supervisor liked my work so much that She asked me if I would continue and do a Thesis with her. We both sat together and decided the objectives of my thesis.
Add Job Oriented Tasks in your Thesis
This is another point that you should focus on. If you are lucky enough to get a Thesis position in Germany: try to add objectives or focus points in which you are actually interested in and want to learn.
You might be asking why should you add addtional points and what should you add. Well this is the point in your career where you do not have that much accountablility.
As a student you are here to learn. So why not do it in your thesis. To figure out what you should include, I want you to think about the job or company you would like to join after your thesis.
Selecting Objectives that assist you in finding a Job in Germany
Lets say you want to join Bosch as an Engineer. Go to their website and find a position that fits you and look at the tasks.
Have a look and see what skill do you have and what you are missing, search for 10 to 15 other jobs and repeat the same. Now you can have a good idea of the things which are required in your field and things you can improve on.
Try to incorporate these things in your thesis. If there is resistance and you are unable to add these its ok. You can work on acquiring those skill on your own.
I added a small hardware development module in my mostly Software and testing thesis because I wanted to learn that.
Start your job search during your Thesis
During my thesis I was again proactive and started applying for jobs as soon as I cleared the half way point of three months.
I got many rejections. A few positive responses asking to contact again once my Degree was completed. But I was able to land my first interview in the 4th month of my thesis.
I reached the third interview with them but I think I was too picky and a bit too rigid. I declined to do some tasks which I did not have interest in even though I knew how to do them. So they did not decide to proceed any further. There were a few more video interviews but nothing special. I learnt a few lessons here.
- I was getting more interviews to positions where I was sending my CV and Cover letter in German.
- Most of the responses were from job postings that were less than a week old. Older postings were either ghosting me or sending me direct rejection emails. Most likely they were in the later stages, perhaps they had already conducted interviews and had candidates already.
- Try to get the first possible interview date, I found that selecting the earliest possible interview date actually lead me further compared to those where I selected something farther away.
- Don’t be extremely picky, try to be flexible and show that you are willing and able to learn things even if you don’t know how to do them at the moment.
How Hard work helped me Land a Job in Germany
During my application process I was just getting rejections. I was thinking of extending my thesis for 3 more months at this moment.
But by the end of the sixth month something wierd happened, my supervisor and her boss called a meeting. In that meeting they asked me If I would like to join as a Full time employee.
Apparently my supervisor had found another job and they wanted to ask me as I would seemlessly fit into the position. I accepted the position right away.
Why students in the Industry get jobs faster than others
Maybe I was lucky, maybe it was hard work but one thing you must understand is that companies prefer to hire students who have already working with them. This is another reason where some job postings never really hire anyone from outside. No matter how good an external candidate is.
Most of the times internal hirings are the prefered way. So always try to get one foot in the company by doing a HiWi or thesis there.
But not everyone gets such opportunities.
Job Visa after your Masters Degree in Germany
What if your thesis is over and you havent landed a job after your masters in Germany has finished. What now?
Well the counter has started. Remember in most Districts your 18 month Job search visa starts as soon as you submit and defend your thesis. Some districts give you time till you get your result. So please do not waste time thinking that your 18 months havent started yet.
There are even some districts where you need another blocked account to get the Job Search Visa. I know that is very tough situation to be in. However there is a workaround to the blocked account in this situation. You can get a declaration of commitment from someone in Germany.
If that is not possible in some cases a document stating that your family back home will support you can replace the blocked account requirement.
Surviving Germany after Masters with no funds
If you have enough funds in your bank account the you can skip this step. But by the end of your thesis, chances are that your bank account is quite drained.
I can attest to that first hand, I used to get 430€ during my thesis, with 220€ rent and about 90€ in health insurance. I was dipping into my savings every single month. So if you are in a situation similar to that.
If you are in the same boat, then perhaps dedicating the first 2 maybe 3 months to a full-time odd job might not be a bad idea. Because having 15 months job search visa with 4000€ in your bank account is way better than having 400€ and having 18months visa.
Why you must do part time jobs during your Job Search in Germany
Once you have some cash, now you can perhaps do a half time job and focus half the time on job search.
Why not focus 100% on the job search you might ask. Well the answer is simple. How much time in a day can you really spend applying for jobs? Be totally honest. 2, 3 maybe 4 hours.
Rest of the time you would be either wasting doing unnecessary “research” or stressing that you are not finding a job. We want to have some funds coming our way while we look for a job.
Additionally doing something else can reduce stress and dont forget the most important point.
Improve German skills during Job Search
We want to improve our German language. And where else can you improve it, if not actively talking to people and being in situations where you are forced to talk to people in German language.
So I mentioned earlier in the guide, that you should add tasks to your thesis.
If you were unable to add those then, now is the time to learn those skills. Go back and read how to search for those skills if you skipped that part.
But knowing which tools, skills and tasks are being performed in your field are absolutely essential in helping to you finding a job in Germany after your masters.
So doing a part time job, applying for relevant full time jobs and learning these essential skills should be your goal for the next few months.
Why you WILL find a Job in Germany
I know the job market is extremely tough right now and there are very few opportunities out there. So try to get any upper hand you can, leverage AI and learn to use it no matter what field you are in.
And if you think you will find a job without at least B2 German level, I am sorry to say you are going to have an extremely rough time.
Now one of the biggest reasons students struggle to find a job in Germany after masters is that they are using complicated CV format. In this Guide I share what I think is the best CV format in Germany .
Disclaimer: None of the content in this article is meant to be considered as legal, tax or investment advice, as I am not a financial expert or a lawyer and am only sharing my experience in Germany. The information is based on my own research and is only accurate at the time of posting this article but may not be accurate at the time you are reading it. Please check with multiple sources and make your own opinion based on that.