Job search tips
Chapter overviewLooking for a job online
Job ads are typically listed on job search websites, in newspapers, and on networking sites. Due to Hamburg's lively startup scene and its many gaming and digital media companies, English and other language-skills are increasingly in demand. Depending on your line of work, some jobs will require a working level of German. Below we've listed the most important non-profit and commercial job portals in Hamburg and Germany.
Job portal of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg: Here you will find the current job offers of the City of Hamburg.
Hamburg baut auf dich: Job offers of the city of Hamburg in the field of urban development and housing.
Federal Employment Agency: The job portal of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit is the largest official job search portal in Germany.
Make it in Germany: provides multi-lingual job listings for shortage occupations and information on sectors in which skilled workers are being sought.
EURES: The European Job Mobility Portal offers you job vacancies from 31 European countries - including Germany.
Stellenwerk is a cooperation of the universities of Hamburg. Besides holiday jobs they also advertise positions for graduates.
Chapter overviewCurrent job offers for professionals presented by the Hamburg Welcome Center (in German)
Commercial Job Portals
There are many more job search engines on the Internet. The following is a small selection:
Newspapers
Browse through German newspapers. Many companies publish their job offers in regional as well as national newspapers. You can also publish your own job search in a newspaper. Here you can find an overview of the German newspaper market: http://www.zeitung.de/
Private recruitment agencies
Please note: The services of private employment agencies are subject to a fee!
Search for private employment agencies
- via the Yellow Pages
- via the Federal Employers' Association of Personnel Service Providers (Bundesarbeitgeberverband der Personaldienstleister)
Speculative application
A speculative application is sent to a company's Human Resources department without a specific job advertisement.
Advantages: You thereby prove the initiative appreciated by the employer and encounter less competition. These applications are generally regarded as positive!
Consulting services at the Hamburg Welcome Center
Labour Market Service
At AQtivus, we assess the vocational skills and needs of immigrants and migrants. We strive for qualification in the fields of trades, chamber of commerce professions or medical professions.
Address: Süderstraße 32b, 20097 Hamburg
Phone: (040) 428 39 5528
E-mail: awo-aqtivus@welcome.hamburg.de
Please note that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, you need to make an appointment in advance for in-person consultations.
Public consulting services
Foreign individuals looking for a job in Hamburg can get assistance at several local organisations.
ZAV - Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung (International Placement Services) is part of the Federal Employment Agency and offers individual consulting services in English for foreign job seekers, including those who do not yet live in Hamburg.
Phone: +49 228 7131313
Email: make-it-in-germany@arbeitsagentur.de
Address: Villemombler Straße 76, 53123 Bonn
Make it in Germany operates a hotline where international residents can receive information in German and English on topics such as job hunting, work and career, recognition of foreign qualifications, entry and residency, and learning German.
Hotline: +49 30 1815 1111 (Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
