A market with demand and no visa for Spaniards
As an EU citizen you do not need a visa or work permit to work in Germany. A valid ID card or passport is enough, and once in the country you must register your address (Anmeldung) and register with Social Security, which is usually handled by the employer.
Demand is real and broad: engineering, healthcare, technology, hospitality and logistics are constantly looking for staff. The minimum wage is €13.90 per hour and the average salary is around €48,000 gross per year, about €4,000 per month.
Where job offers are published
General job boards work the same as in Spain: Indeed and StepStone are the most used, LinkedIn covers professional and tech profiles well. XING, the German professional network, has much more local penetration than in other countries and it is advisable to have a profile there.
The Agentur für Arbeit, the public employment service, maintains its own job bank and has specialised advisers. Large companies and family businesses (Mittelstand) publish on their careers website, so search directly with companies in your sector.
Berlin concentrates startups and English-language offers, while in the rest of the country German is practically essential. Munich, Frankfurt and Stuttgart pay the highest salaries.
The German-style CV: Lebenslauf and Anschreiben
The German CV (Lebenslauf) is more formal than the Spanish one: it is ordered chronologically, signed and dated at the end, and it is common to include a photo, date and place of birth, nationality and marital status. Two pages maximum.
The cover letter (Anschreiben) is almost always sent together with the CV and is written for each offer: why the position, why the company and what you bring. Sending a generic Anschreiben is noticeable and leads to rejection.
Attach certificates and references from studies and previous jobs (Arbeitszeugnis). Germans value orderly documentation as much as the interview.
Language and qualification recognition
For most positions, German at least at B1-B2 level is required. Technical profiles in international companies and Berlin startups work in English, but German greatly expands the range of offers.
Regulated professions, such as healthcare, engineering or teaching, require the Anerkennung: the recognition of the qualification before the corresponding Land authority. The process can take months, so it is advisable to start it before looking for employment in those sectors.
If you speak Spanish and German, the profile is highly sought after in international trade, customer service and logistics, sectors with a constant Spanish and Latin American presence.
The selection process and the offer
The process usually includes one or two interviews, sometimes with a technical test, and large companies negotiate according to the collective agreement (Tarifvertrag), which sets salary bands. The usual probation period is six months.
Offers are expressed as gross annual salary, normally in twelve payments. Before accepting, check the Steuerklasse (tax class) you will be assigned, because it determines your net pay, and bear in mind that health insurance is compulsory.
