Job Interview Questions For German Market [2024] - Navigate Germany

A job interview is a professional conversation between an applicant and an interviewer in which he makes hiring decisions of a capable candidate out of numerous applicants. If you have received an interview call, that’s great, but prepare yourself for the interview questions to enhance your chances of selection.

Interview Scenario in Germany

Interview method in Germany is almost same as of other countries. People appear 10-15 minutes before the given time, sit with a positive attitude, and wait for their turn. Be in time, dress appropriately, and bring required documents.

Greetings and Welcome

Your interviewer will visit you in the conference room with his/her group of interviewers. Greet them with confidence but shaking hands is not compulsory. Pass a welcoming smile or say a simple “Hello” or “Good morning” with eye contact will break the ice.  

Company’s Introduction and Vacancy Details

Listen the interviewer carefully when he/she shares the company’s information and the vacancy details. Show attention and deep interest in his/her words.

Commonly Asked Questions and Their Answers

Stellen Sie sich vor! (Introduce yourself)

It is the most common question to start the conversation so practice the answer in advance. You can speak about yourself briefly but don’t go into the details. You can share information such as name, qualification, institute of education, work experience, interests, arrival in Germany, and something extraordinary you did or achieved.

Was wissen Sie über unser Unternehmen, und warum möchten Sie dort arbeiten? (What do you know about our business, and what makes you desire to be employed there?)

Before you appear for the interview, conduct research about the company and think about the reasons due to which you want to join that company. If you have good knowledge about the company and can share the productive reasons to join that company, interviewer will definitely hire you.

Teilen Sie Herausforderungen und Erfolgsgeschichten aus Ihrem Leben! (Share challenge and success story of your life)

German recruiters loves to hear the success stories and challenges in interviewees life to know how they handle the critical situation. You can share anything from your experience or any issue that you resolved at your workplace. 

Teilen Sie uns Ihre Schwäche mit und sagen Sie uns, wie Sie mit Misserfolgen umgehen? (Share you weakness and tell us how do you handle failure?)

Answer to this question will be used to know about your reaction and behavior in negative and complicated scenarios. German recruiters will ask you about the failure situations that how do you handle. You can support your answer with an actual situation that you ever faced ad share the tips you used during that time. Prove that you are calm, positive and can manage failures effectively.

Teilen Sie Ihre Stärken. (Share your strengths.)

You can share your strengths and justify your answer with real life examples from your professional work so you can better explain your behavioral skills during your job.

Was sind Ihre Gehaltsvorstellungen? (What are your salary expectations?)

When researching the company, do not forget to check what salaries they are offering to what level at different platforms like:

• kununu.com
• glassdoor.com
• gehalt.de

Wo sehen Sie sich in den nächsten 5 Jahren? (Where do you see yourself in next 5 years?)

Answer this question by sharing your future plans and the strategy you will use to achieve your goals. Recruiter might judge your personality and will see if you are looking for a bright future or you have enthusiasm to work efficiently.

Assessment During Job Interview

Your interviewer will not just assess your academic grades but will assess a lot of other things during your interview.

Language

German language is not compulsory for many jobs, but in some cases like Ausbildung jobs, it is important to at least have A2-B2 level speaking skills. If speaking and understanding the German language is a requirement, prepare for that as it will be assesses during your interview.

Experience

Interviewer will assess your work experience, skills, and technicalities you have learned during your previous job. They will see how smartly you can work at their company by asking technical and situation based questions.

Interest in The Job

The interviewer will ask you question to assess how important this job is for you by focusing on your expressions and attitude during the interview. Your interviewer might ask you the reason to leave the previous job. It is better to divert their question by sharing your deep interest in their company.

Appearance

Your appearance will leave the first impression so do a careful research about the company’s dress code and prepare yourself accordingly. Be very careful as you will never get another chance to leave your first impression.

Your Personality

Behave nicely when you appear for an interview. Be cooperative and show ethics with a positive smile on your face. Behaving friendly with an energetic spark in your eyes will brighten up your personality.

Job Interview Dos and Don’ts

Here are the things you must follow or avoid.

Dos

• Be on time to show that you are punctual.
• Dress appropriately.
• Greet in a good way like “Freut mich” with a smile on your face.
• Prepare your answers through mirror work.
• Research about the company and the interviewer.
• Check your visa requirements and other processes.
• Know your worth and give good answer to the salary question.
• Ask questions in the end of the interview.

Don’ts

• Do not ask questions at the start of the interview.
• Do not shake hand yourself.
• Avoid informal German phrases.
• Avoid lengthy answers.
• Avoid dressing which is not liked in the company.

Creating A Retirement Plan

Many people choose to build a more complicated retirement plan with components from pillars one, two, and three rather than relying only on one of them. This can be assisted by a financial advisor in Germany, who will ensure that you maximize all incentives. It is important to have a good pension plan that suits you as these play a huge role in your life. It is very vital to get a great pension plan as the state of your retirement depends on this.

Conclusion

Your job interview is the key to your new job. You can leave a great impression on your employerduring your job interview by answering the asked question in  a perfect way. Prepare yourself perfectly after doing thorough research about the company and the interviewer. Impress your interview and get your dream job!