[2022] Landing a Job with just LinkedIn In-depth Guide (Specially Germany)

9 min readFeb 23, 2022

Hello fellow Netizens 👋,

Welcome to the amazing blog post which explains how I landed a job in one of the prestigious organization in Germany using just my LinkedIn account (and no, you don’t need the paid version for this. Cool right?🤩)

PS: You have a better chance of getting shortlisted for the test/screening interview if you have at least 3 years worth of experience. But hey, don’t let that stop you from trying. Luck and prayers can go a long way 🍀.

This guide is written with an assumption that you’re from Pakistan and want to relocate abroad, specifically Germany (but it might work for others as well 🙌)

Alright, so let’s dive into this, shall we?

#1. Role Setting

First of all, it’s best to plan your steps ahead so that you don’t fumble along the way. Ask yourself about the role(s) you’re aiming for?

Computers 💻: Software Engineer, Quality Assurance, Business Analyst, etc.
Data 📔: Data Engineer, Data Analyst, Data Scientist, etc.
Marketing 🔈: Brand Manager, Digital Marketer, Market Researcher, etc.
Finance 💰: Investment Manager, Banker, Controller, Accountant, etc.

You get the idea, right?

#2. CV/Resume

Once you’ve shortlisted the roles that you’re interested in, then on to the next step: Updating your CV/Resume in a way that highlights your career/skills around that domain.

In case you’ve shortlisted roles of different nature then it’s best to have a separate CV/Resume for each role.

Standing Out

Most of the CV/Resume that I’ve seen online are from Free CV Maker or Novo Resume 🤦‍♂️. It must be irritating for a Talent Acquisition personnel to go through the same template majority of the time. So it’s best to either design your own unique version or finding a template that’s isn’t used as much in the market to make your application shine from the rest of the applicants.

💡 Think about the font, font-size, theme colors, contrasting colors, logos, icons, headings, sections, content, etc. when designing your CV/Resume. Every element should be self explanatory and must not generate questions in the mind of the reader. Just don’t complicate your CV/Resume, if you’re having trouble then keep it simple (Google Homepage?).

A Glimpse of my Resume (yes yes I know, it’s amazing 😎):

💡 Role Jargons/Keywords are significantly important not just from a tool that automatically shortlists your resume’s standpoint, but it also highlights that you have an understanding of the role you’re applying for once your hiring manager or interviewer skims through it.

#3. Destination Selection

Onto the most important question: Where do you want to see yourself working?

I went for Dubai (UAE), Vancouver (Canada), and Berlin (Germany). The reason simply being that these places are economically and politically stable, they support work-life balance, great places to live and settle, and lack of Islamophobia and existence of Muslim community.

Ponder over questions that will help ease up your decision making like family relocation, weather conditions, spoken languages, culture, citizenship, estimated monthly expenses, etc.

❗ I had a 100% rejection rate from Dubai (Amazon UAE, Chalhoub, Atlantis, Emirates Group, Jumeirah Group, etc.). My friends who are working there claim they prefer if the person is already living there.
❗ Companies in Vancouver were slow to respond back (6–7 weeks on average), maybe because they don’t hire as much when compared to Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, and Ottawa.
🟢 Germany is a tech hub for a lot of companies and startups so maybe that’s the reason I heard most from there. Their average response time is around 1–2 weeks.

#4. Alert Setup

Most of you must be fed up at this point and must be wondering if it’s all talk.

Finally let’s get our hands dirty (figuratively).

Go to LinkedIn Jobs
Now we are going to search and filter based on job postings we would like LinkedIn to notify us about

e.g. Since I was looking for a data track based job, I had my Title set to Data; Destination to Berlin, Germany; and Date Posted to Past 24 hours. You can totally explore different filters and adjust everything based on your needs.

After doing so, a list of postings is going to be displayed by LinkedIn

Click the Set alert toggle switch button and set it to active
Go to Job Alerts to manage notification settings
Alter the settings as per your preference then click save

Repeat this process for each role and city/country combination since LinkedIn doesn’t give us a bulk create/filter option.

The reason why I setup the alerts this way was because I wanted to be the first one to apply for a position that is of interest to me, simpul. So everyday, go through the postings and apply for the role that arouses an interest in you.

PS: You might need a Cover Letter since some recruiters require it. Just create a generic one, and you’re good to go.
Yet another PS: Don’t just look for the Easy Apply option, apply through the company’s portal as well (I know it’s hectic to fill out information all over again and again, but they are the ones that respond to you the most).

#5. Prepare

Meanwhile your application is processing, it’s best to take this time and polish up your tests and interviewing skills, and mark off some items from the to-do list.

Degree Attestation

Yes, it’s mandatory and is a part of the documents list that the consulate requires (takes around ~2 weeks). For Pakistan, degrees are attested by Higher Education Commission (HEC). Thankfully, they have an online portal (a lot better than other government portal, ever tried filing your tax returns? 🤮) where you can process your application.

❗ If you don’t have your degree and transcript, I reckon you reach out to your university and get them on hand ASAP

Go to HEC attestation online portal
Create an account
Create a Degree Attestation Service application, fill it, and then submit it

❗ HEC will scrutinize and send back the application in case there are errors in the application like expired CNIC

Once your application has been approved, HEC will send you the courier details (please read the document carefully as it has the necessary steps for you to follow)
Visit any of the TCS Courier Branch and submit your documents as per the instructions
Collect the Invoice Receipt and upload it to the online portal so that HEC can track your application
Once attested, TCS will deliver the attested documents at your doorstep

HEC online portal gives you an update about your application or actions required from your side (a pretty handy dandy feature):

💡 It’s best if you can get your original transcript and degree attested along with 2 copies. Original costs 1,000 PKR whilst copies cost 700 PKR. My grand total was 3,400 PKR. (Why? The consulate keeps the copies attached with your visa application)

Bank Account

Though this can come in late. Once you land the job then there are going to be a lot of expenses that you have not accounted for yet. You can activate international transactions and increase your limit from your local service provider (Meezan, HBL, SCB, UBL, etc.) but each transaction is going to cost you an additional FOREX charge due to currency conversion.

There are a plethora of Fintech apps out there like PayPal, Venmo, Stripe, Payoneer, Square, ProPay, etc. I recommend you to create a Wise Account since they have the best rates so far (so you’ll save a lot per transaction in comparison to other service providers).

💡 Another great advantage of using Wise is that it can be paired with Google Pay and you can use the NFC technology to instantly pay at any POS from the get go (Many transactions in developed countries are cashless).

Tests and Interviews

Since I applied for a data track I can only relate to that and can’t say much about how other areas are assessed by an organization.

I applied at nearly 250~ companies and most of their tests revolved around Statistics, SQL, and Python/R.

The interviews were mostly scenario based than technical. For the organization where I landed the job, I had to face 7 interviews in total:

Screening: A basic check if I understand the position and had the capabilities for the role
Technical: Advanced in-depth technical interview with respect to my domain area
Team Fit: Hypothetical or questions relating to my previous experience on how I managed or would manage a situation
Stakeholder: Knowledge about various stakeholders and communication skills and how I’ve dealt with them in my previous roles
Strategic: Long-term vision check and a lot of scenario based questions to test my reasoning and decision making skills
Business: Seeing if I had business knowledge regarding marketing, finance, supply chain, operations, and how to gauge performance using KPIs since my work revolved around supporting these business units
HR: A generic HR interview as one expects

So prepare accordingly because most of the interviews were hectic and there’s no getting around by telling stories (guilty? 🌚).

💡 Show that you’re enthusiastic, and willing to learn & grow in that role.

Sample questions list:

Tell me about Yourself?
Why do you want to work with us?
Why do you want to leave your current employer?
What do you consider to be your weaknesses?
Tell me about your current role and job description?
Tell me about a challenge or conflict you’ve faced at work, and how you dealt with it?
Tell me about a time you failed?
How would you boss and/or co-workers describe you?
How are you outside of work?
What is your biggest accomplishment?

💡 Lookup on Glassdoor to get an idea about the questions asked in a company’s interview process.

Salary Expectation

After everything has gone in your favor and you have a gut feeling that you’ll land the job successfully, try researching into average salaries that are paid out for such a role via Glassdoor, Payscale, or other sites.

Negotiation is an important part in a HR interview and make sure you firmly convey what you expect to make (keeping after-tax-and-after-insurance salary in mind since that is your disposable income).

#6. Things to Keep in Mind

Rejections 😔

You will face a lot of rejections, out of 250 applications I sent out, I only heard back from 140 (100 were rejections). So keep yourself motivated and keep applying, someone is bound to catch you from falling.

Equipment 🪒

Please have a decent internet connection, microphone, and webcam on hand. No one likes a distorted interview, especially online.

Online interviews or a Zoom class, what’s the difference?

Finances 💲

Keep in mind that you have a good amount on hand since most of the companies that help with relocation reimburse expenses after a couple of months (so basically you’re paying for everything in the start).

Expense to keep in mind: Flight Ticket, Visa & Protectorate Fees, Travel Insurance, Accommodation + Deposit, Groceries, Travel Expenses, and Miscellaneous Expenses (so prepare your budget accordingly).

COVID 😷

Read about the accepted vaccines and COVID guidelines online, and check if isolation will be required from your side when you relocate.

#7. Finale

Congratulations for making it through. I am proud of you, and hope that you found this blog to be helpful. I pray that you land the dream job that you’ve always hoped for 🥂.

💡 Keep yourself motivated and constantly try to improve on areas where you lack command.

Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn if you need any advice, I will be glad to help 😊.