Friends International English Conversation Group

Last Tuesday, we talked about our experiences with applying for jobs in Germany and Anglo-Saxon countries. First of all, in Britain and otherjob experience, countries, it is quite normal to change jobs in a matter of two years. This would be classed as job-hopping in Germany, where staying with a company for decades is still the standard. In Britain, this would be seen as being inflexible. Changing jobs there means getting more job experience.

Applying in Britain means pointing out your abilities and job experience. This goes especially for the cover letter. From the cv, an employer must be able to take information about former employments to be able to rate the professional development of the candidate. So the job interview will focus on the advantages a company would have from employing a specific applicant.

The habit of attaching a passport photo to the cover letter, as is common in Germany, would be classed as unnecessary and even discriminatory in other countries. The same goes for private data as maritial status and the number of children. This is of no evident use for the employer, as he only is interested in the employee´s performance.

In Germany, an application is classed as incomplete without a testimonial of the former employer. In international standard, you would at the most provide one or two references. Some companies even want a reference only during the job interview and will not check on it if the candidate is taken into serious consideration.

So attention all Germans applying internationally: get informed about the standards and stick to them! And attention all expats applying for a job in a German company: Get informed about different standards!

More information and links concerning the topic can be found at http://lehrergehrke.wordpress.com .