Personal data:
Your CV needs to include your name, address, phone number and email address. You can optionally also include your date and place of birth, civil status, citizenship and information on your working permit or visa if applicable.
Professional experiences:
This is of course the key part of your German CV. In this part, you list all of your previous professional experiences starting with the latest one. Apart from the company name, your job title and the time period, don’t forget to give a brief overview of your tasks, responsibilities and achievements.
Education:
Recruiters are of course also interested in your educational background. In this section, you provide information on any degrees (university/high school/apprenticeships) you already obtained or which you are currently pursuing.
Further qualifications:
Don’t forget to also mention your language skills (including your mother tongue!), IT skills or professional trainings you participated in.
Hobbies/interests/social commitment:
In order to add a more personal note to your CV, you can include information on your hobbies, interests or social commitment.
An increasing amount of people also include a personal statement in their German CV. This is not mandatory but gives you another chance to add a personal note. However, in my point of view a personal statement can never replace a good application letter!
An individual application letter is key to win the job
Contrary to your CV, where you mainly focus on showing your professional qualifications, the aim of the application letter is to highlight your passion, motivation and personality. The goal is to convince the HR manager that you are the perfect candidate for the position.
Do not simply repeat what is already written in your CV! Instead, select suitable experiences and relate them to the requirements mentioned in the job description. Try to avoid standard phrases or online templates and show that you took the time to inform yourself about the company and its requirements.
As already mentioned, recruiters hardly have time to waste. So try to be as precise as possible – the application letter should not be longer than one page. Pay attention to readability when selecting the font size and line spacing. I also recommend aligning the design with your CV in order to give a uniform impression!
If you would like to have a professional recruiter assess your application documents or need help writing a convincing application, just send me a short message!
