Welcome to Germany. Willkommen!
All you need is … a job
Germany.
Germany is the country that gave birth to Ludwig von Beethoven, Immanuel Kant, Angela Merkel and Toni Kroos.
Today, Germany is more diverse than ever.
We have a population of 82 million people. 12% of us are 1st generation immigrants, and 23% have some kind of immigration background. In 2015 and 2016, we welcomed to Germany more than 1 million people applying for asylum.
Germany, past
We are also the country that must not forget its past. Last century, we devastated Europe twice and caused unparalleled human suffering.
We hope we have learned our fair share from that painful past.
Since then, generations of young Germans are brought up to never forget, and to preserve our peaceful democracy. As a result, Germany now again has friendly peaceful relationships with its neighboring countries. Many young Europeans now flock to Germany to find work and live here.
Germany, today
Fast forward to today. These days, Germany’s national pride is our soccer team, which — it bears repeating — beat Brazil 7:1 in the 2014 World Cup en route to win the trophy. [Update: We’re not the world champion anymore. Congrats France.]
We have a reputation for lack of humor, a certain boring solidity and nude sunbathing. Angela Merkel, our chancellor, was once asked “what’s typically German for you?” She answered: “well made window panes.” Angela Merkel was also born in East Germany, a place particularly fond of the culture of beach nudity. You see, most stereotypes about Germany have a grain of truth.
But enough playful self-deprecation. Germany today is a prosperous, well organized country in which we, the citizens, overall live very well. Gut und gerne.
Want some proof? The Economist even awarded us its highest badge of honor, calling us “Cool Germany” in a recent cover feature. That week’s edition sold out lightning-fast at German news stands. True story.
Unlike France or the UK, Germany is a highly decentralized country. Most regions in Germany still maintain their own customs. In Bavaria with its capital Munich, people drink Weissbier. At the coast in Hamburg, they drink a Pils. Near Frankfurt they drink Riesling wine or Ebbelwoi. In Berlin, Germany’s capital, you see young startup types drink Club Mate or coffee. A lot.
Germany, future
Since Germany is such a diverse country, you find German firms hiring digital tech talents all over the country — not just in Berlin.
It’s not only startups, but the entire German economy that is hiring digital talent. Why? Here’s a first word of German for you to learn: Fachkräftemangel.
It translates as a ‘shortage of skilled workers’. The IT industry association BITKOM estimates that Germany currently has a shortage of at least ~55.000 IT workers.
Your opportunity — make it in Germany
For you this means that you have a great chance to make it in Germany, and come here to work and live.
Your chances are particularly high if you:
- Are a data scientist or full stack engineer. These job profiles are currently in particularly high demand
- Have prior work experience, ideally more than 2 but less than 5 years. German firms are particularly short of senior and mid-level talents
- Know our German ways of working. e.g. having worked for European clients in an IT outsourcing company helps a lot
- Are willing to work in a fast paced startup, where salaries tend to be a bit lower than at firms like Daimler (Mercedes cars) or Siemens (Power plants, health tech)
- Speak good working level English. German firms don’t care about your accent, but people need you to speedily, fluently communicate
- Know some German — even a tiny bit (A1 level). Sure, it’s not necessary if you want to work only in startups. But why don’t oyu go for it? It’s not that hard to learn a few basics. And it’s a strong plus when you’re applying for jobs.
So, how do you “make it” in Germany?
It’s simple and hard at the same time. Our visa process and the work regulations for global talent are quite transparent — unlike in most other countries. We will spare you the administrative details for now.
Generally, if you are a software engineer, one thing holds true: All you need to make it in Germany is a job offer.
That’s why our service for you has one goal: Helping you find a job in Germany. Getting a job offer can be hard. Some talents took more than 12 months to get one. But it does not have to be. One person we worked with found 2 jobs within 10 weeks. This is why we founded Imagine.
— Your friends at Imagine. Apply now.
— This post is part of a longer series. Read more.
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