German words in job adverts, in plain English

The German words you will meet while job-hunting here, explained one at a time — what each means, and what it tells you about the job behind it.

Every listing on this site is an advert written in English. That does not mean the German disappears: the contract will be in German, the payslip will be in German, and half the adverts you find elsewhere will be too. These are the words that turn up most often, in the order you are likely to meet them.

Where a word needs more than a paragraph, there is a link to the guide that covers it properly. No figures are repeated here — amounts and limits change and they live in one place each, in the guides, so there is only ever one thing to keep up to date.

How a job is advertised

m/w/d

Short for männlich / weiblich / divers — male, female, diverse. You will also see m/f/d, w/m/d, m/w/x and (all genders). It is not decoration: German equal-treatment law (the AGG) means an advert may not be aimed at one sex,^[1] and since Germany recognised a third gender option employers add the third letter to be safe.^[2] A job title without it is not a warning sign; a job title with it is simply an employer being careful.

Stellenanzeige, Stellenausschreibung

The job advert itself. Ausschreibung is the more formal of the two and turns up in public-sector postings.

Standort

Location. In a large company's advert it means the office or site the job belongs to, which is not always the city it is advertised from.

Eintrittstermin, Eintritt, ab sofort

Start date. Ab sofort means "as soon as possible". Zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt — "at the earliest possible moment" — means the same thing in six more words.

Homeoffice, mobiles Arbeiten, hybrides Arbeiten

Working from home. Homeoffice is a German word that looks English, and it rarely means fully remote: most often it means an agreed number of days a week. Mobiles Arbeiten is the more precise term employers use when the arrangement is not tied to your home address. If the advert does not say how many days, that is a question for the interview.

What kind of job it is

Festanstellung

A permanent employment contract with a company — a staff job, as opposed to freelance or agency work. An advert saying Direktvermittlung in Festanstellung is an agency advertising a permanent job at their client, not a job with the agency.

unbefristet, befristet

Open-ended and fixed-term. Unbefristet is the ordinary German employment contract and has no end date. Befristet auf zwei Jahre means the contract ends after two years unless it is renewed. Fixed-term contracts are normal in research and in project work, and there are legal limits on stringing them together.^[3] See Your job contract.

Vollzeit, Teilzeit

Full time and part time. The weekly hours are set in the contract, and the advert normally says how many.^[4]

Werkstudent, Werkstudentin

A student working part-time alongside a degree, on a contract written for that purpose — it is a real job with a real salary, not an internship. You have to be enrolled, and there are limits on the hours during term.^[5] The listings here are at /working-student/, and Working while you study explains the rules.

Praktikum, Pflichtpraktikum, freiwilliges Praktikum

An internship. Pflichtpraktikum is one your course requires — which changes how it is paid and insured — and freiwillig is a voluntary one, which is treated differently again.^[6][7] The listings are at /internship/.

Ausbildung, Azubi

Not an internship, and not a graduate scheme. An Ausbildung is Germany's vocational training: two to three and a half years, part in a company and part in a vocational school, on a training contract with pay that rises each year, ending in a recognised qualification.^[8][9] Azubi is short for Auszubildende — the trainee. Almost all of it is taught in German.^[10]

Abschlussarbeit, Masterarbeit, Bachelorarbeit, Diplomarbeit

A thesis placement — writing your final thesis inside a company, usually paid and supervised on both sides. German employers advertise these constantly and they are one of the easier ways into a large firm. The listings are at /thesis/.

Minijob, geringfügige Beschäftigung

A job with earnings under a monthly limit, taxed and insured differently from ordinary employment.^[11] Found in retail and hospitality among much else, and one is allowed as a second job alongside a main one.^[12] Working while you study has the current limit.

Zeitarbeit, Arbeitnehmerüberlassung, Personaldienstleister

Temporary agency work: you are employed by the agency and work at their client. It is legal and regulated, and it is not the same as being hired by the company whose name is in the advert.^[13]

Words about language — the ones this site exists for

Deutschkenntnisse

"German knowledge" — German-language skills. Whatever follows this word is the thing to read carefully, because it is the difference between a job you can do and one you cannot.

Grundkenntnisse, gute Kenntnisse, sehr gute Kenntnisse

Basic, good, very good. Vague on purpose, and the ladder matters: gute Deutschkenntnisse usually means you are expected to work in German day to day.

fließend

Fluent. In practice, able to hold a meeting.

verhandlungssicher

Literally "negotiation-secure". This is the strongest of the common phrases and it means near-native business German — the level at which you could argue about a contract without help. An advert asking for verhandlungssicheres Deutsch is asking for German, whatever else it says.

Muttersprache, Muttersprachler

Native language, native speaker. Worth knowing that under German equal-treatment law an advert asking for a Muttersprachler is on shaky ground — language ability can be required where the work needs it, but being born to a language cannot.^[1] We turn those adverts away, whichever language they name.^[14] See how we label German.

erforderlich, zwingend erforderlich, Voraussetzung

Required, absolutely required, precondition. If one of these sits next to Deutschkenntnisse, the job needs German.

von Vorteil, wünschenswert, idealerweise

An advantage, desirable, ideally. The softer half of the scale — German is wanted but the advert is not shutting the door. This is exactly the distinction behind the label English works, German helps.^[14]

A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2

The Common European Framework levels, used in German job adverts and language courses. Roughly: A is getting by, B is working, C is arguing.^[15] B1 is the level asked for naturalisation and in some permit rules;^[16][17] C1 is where "fluent" starts to be meant seriously. Learning German covers the public courses.

Money

Gehaltsvorstellung

Your salary expectation. German applications often ask for it up front, in the cover letter, as a yearly gross figure. Say a number: leaving it out reads as evasive rather than modest. Salaries and pay explains how to work out a sensible one.

brutto, netto

Gross and net. Every salary you see advertised or agreed is brutto — the figure before tax and social insurance, which together take a substantial share.^[18] The gap surprises nearly everybody once.

Jahresgehalt, Monatsgehalt

Annual and monthly salary. German offers are usually quoted as a yearly gross figure.

13. Gehalt, Weihnachtsgeld, Urlaubsgeld

A thirteenth month's salary, a Christmas payment, a holiday payment. Extra payments some employers make, often written into a collective agreement. They are not automatic — if the advert mentions one, it is part of the offer.

Steuerklasse

Tax class, numbered one to six. It decides how much income tax comes off each month, and it depends on whether you are married and whether you have more than one job.^[19] Salaries and pay has the detail.

Sozialversicherung

Social insurance: health, long-term care, pension and unemployment, plus accident cover paid by the employer.^[20] Deducted automatically, shared between you and the employer, and the reason the gap between brutto and netto is as wide as it is.^[18]

Tarifvertrag, tarifgebunden, außertariflich (AT)

A collective agreement between a union and an employer or a whole industry, setting terms such as pay and holiday.^[4] Tarifgebunden means the employer is bound by one — usually good news for pay and predictability. Außertariflich means the job sits above the agreement's top grade and is negotiated individually.

The contract, and working there

Arbeitsvertrag

The employment contract. Get it in writing before you resign from anything; a written contract setting out the essential terms is the standard in Germany.^[4]

Probezeit

Probation. Usually the first six months, during which either side can end the contract with a short notice period. It is not a trial that you pass or fail — it is a period with weaker protection.^[21] Your job contract.

Kündigungsfrist

Notice period — for both sides. German notice periods are longer than many people expect, and the employer's grows with your length of service.^[22] This is the number to check before you accept, because it also decides how soon you could start somewhere else.

Kündigung, Aufhebungsvertrag

A termination, and a mutual agreement to end the contract. Never sign an Aufhebungsvertrag on the spot: it can affect unemployment benefit in ways a dismissal does not.^[23]

Betriebsrat

The works council — employee representatives elected inside a company, with real legal powers over matters such as working hours, and a right to be heard before any dismissal.^[24] One can be elected in any workplace with five or more permanent staff, and it is on your side.^[25]

Überstunden

Overtime. The contract says whether it is paid, taken as time off, or treated as covered by the salary — worth checking before you sign.

Time off, and being ill

Urlaubsanspruch, Urlaubstage

Holiday entitlement and holiday days. There is a statutory minimum and many employers offer more;^[26] the advert usually says how many.

Krankmeldung, AU

A sick note — AU is short for Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung, a certificate of unfitness for work. If you are ill you tell the employer straight away, and from a certain number of days you need one from a doctor. You do not need to say what is wrong with you — the certificate does not tell the employer, only that you are unfit for work.^[27]

Elternzeit, Elterngeld

Elternzeit is unpaid leave to look after your child, which either parent can take, and during which you are specially protected against dismissal.^[28] Elterngeld is the separate state payment during part of it.^[29] Two different things, often confused.

Paperwork, before and after

Lebenslauf

The CV. Shorter and more factual than in many countries, in reverse chronological order. Applying in Germany covers what goes in it and the photo question.

Anschreiben

The cover letter, and in Germany it is usually still expected — one page, addressed to a person where you can find one.

Zeugnisse, Arbeitszeugnis

Zeugnisse are certificates: degrees, school leaving certificates, references. An Arbeitszeugnis is the written reference a German employer must give you when you leave, and it is written in a coded, relentlessly positive language where the exact words carry the grade.^[30] Ask for yours; employers expect to be asked.

Anerkennung, ZAB

Recognition of a foreign qualification. Some professions cannot be practised without it, and for others it is optional but helps.^[31] The ZAB is the central office that assesses foreign degrees.^[32] Getting your qualifications recognised.

Anmeldung, Meldebescheinigung

Registering your address at the local office, and the certificate proving you did.^[33] Your tax ID is issued from it,^[34] and much else — bank account, contracts — tends to follow on from it, which is why it is the first thing to do. After you arrive.

Steuer-ID, Steuernummer

Your tax identification number, sent to you after you register, and the one your employer needs.^[34][35] The Steuernummer is a different number used for tax returns and self-employment.

Aufenthaltstitel, Blaue Karte EU, Chancenkarte

Residence permit, EU Blue Card, Opportunity Card. What you may do here, and for how long. Visas and work permits covers the routes and what each one asks of you.

Arbeitserlaubnis

Permission to work. For most people it comes with the residence permit rather than as a separate document — a Blue Card holder, for example, may start work once the card is issued.^[36]

Something missing, or something here that reads wrong to a German speaker? Tell us — this page is meant to be the one that saves somebody an hour, and it only works if it is right.