3 of the Best Tips to Finding a Job in Düsseldorf and Around Germany

Because many of us can resonate with the fact that it is not always so simple finding a job as an English speaker in a German city, today we have Malaika Neri, writer at International NGO Jobs, giving us her top 3 tips to finding a job in Dusseldorf.

Malaika Neri: We went to college together, then he moved to the Middle East and taught himself Arabic. After three years in Dubai’s advertising industry, Derek was ready for something different. He wrote to me last week, about finding a job in Dusseldorf.

“I’m ready to move out of the Gulf region,” he says. “It’s not me. I want to move to Germany, I think it would be a good fit.”

“That’s great,” I tell him, smiling, remembering the passionate, intellectually curious polyglot who joined me for late-night falafel runs in New York City.

“So I’m open to any opportunity,” he continues, “but I’m scared of not finding anything,” he admits. “I’m unsure if not knowing German will be a big burden.”

“No worries, dude,” I tell my old friend, “You’ll definitely find something. After all, I found two great jobs here.”

“How did you do it?” he asks. 

Well, here’s what I told him and what I will tell you.

My top 3 tips for finding a job in Dusseldorf:

Brand yourself as a specialist.

Germans don’t do generalists; local hires are often expected to have a string of certifications in a highly specialized area, and although this expectation is less strongly applied to foreign hires, Germans have a tendency to think “If you haven’t studied computer science, you can’t be a programmer.”

You can prove your abilities once you’ve been hired but to get hired, pick a silo, and fit yourself into it. There are tons of amazing online courses that you can take to be specialized in any given topic, take SkillShare for example.

Market your outsider perspective.

Though I’ve picked up enough German listening to 1LIVE and chatting with Deutsch colleagues, I’ll never be a native speaker and still have difficulty planning a vacation more than three months in advance. So why try to be what I’m not?

Instead, I apply to organizations specifically seeking candidates with international and/or non-traditional backgrounds, who can think on their feet, and add a fresh perspective to the team. Sitting down for a coffee with my previous boss, I asked him, “Why did you hire me?”

“Because I knew you’d bring us lots of new ideas,” he said, without missing a beat.

Apply only to jobs targeting international candidates.

Stop looking at postings that want native German skills; apply instead to jobs that specifically look for high-level English speakers and internationally-minded candidates who have studied outside Germany and have experience in countries and contexts outside Europe.

TIP: The international development and NGO sector frequently hires non-EU citizens, and operates in an English-language environment; possibilities abound, with several international NGOs based in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, and Frankfurt, and over 100 development and humanitarian aid organizations based in Germany.

Wondering where else to look for jobs?  Here are the 10 best online platforms to search for English jobs in Germany – even smaller ones like jobrapido and jobbird are worth checking out for as well! You can also check out Brand Ambassador jobs at companies like Oppizi who promote propular brands like Amazon, Doordash, and Uber.

Relax, and remember that Germany, and particularly the Rhineland, despite its quirks, is enormously open to foreign hires. Use the lists above to identify the organizations that inspire you, and, depending on the job posting, you can send in a German Lebenslauf or an international CV.