# Consdering the move...



## germangirl80 (Dec 28, 2014)

I am fairly new to this forum and am seeking help and advice. My husband and I have done some serious talking about moving to Germany for many reasons..ones which I will not bore you all with. I know the first thing we need to do is get passports for all five of us...but how exactly do you look for work over there when you live in the U.S.? And how do you apply? Thanks all!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

It really depends on what line of work you're in. Finding a job overseas is very much a matter of luck and of being in the right place at the right time.

I was lucky enough to have had a one year stint in the UK, which was ended abruptly when the economy took a nose dive and my employer decided to pull back all their expats. Turns out, though, that having even just a scant year of "international experience" made me all the more interesting to European employers. (And having two languages in addition to English helped, too.)

What I wound up doing was to apply for jobs from whatever sources I could find - at the time (pre-Internet) it was the Frankfurter Allgemein (the only paper generally available from Germany), the Wall St. Journal compilation of ads from all their editions (don't know if that's still published) and any and all other leads. My cover letter included a sentence stating that I would be over in Germany "in the near future" and would like the opportunity to meet face to face. When I got the first nibble (i.e. someone asking when, exactly, I'd be in the area), I booked a quick "vacation" over to make myself available for interviews. 

I got lucky - I found an international headhunter who shopped me around to some of her regular clients, and ultimately I wound up with a job thanks to her. But I had to fund that whirlwind trip to Europe on my own (much of which was deductible on my US taxes once I landed a job).

The big factors seem to have been: I had 15 years of experience in my field at the time, including that year in Europe; I had two foreign languages ; I had the backing of a good head hunter (who later admitted that she got several commissions from contacts she had made while shopping my CV around). 

And frankly, it took me a good year and a half of job hunting before I actually found something. This is a long-term project. You'll also have to adapt and adjust the current job hunting tools at your disposal to overcome the hesitations about hiring a foreigner. You really have to show them that you have "something" they can't find in their local pool of job seekers and that it's worth all the extra hassle to bring someone over from "across the pond." (US or British based companies with offices in Germany are probably better bets than strictly local companies, but you never know.)
Cheers,
Bev


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

Yyou'll probably need to learn German first - both to find a job and to live there.


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## germangirl80 (Dec 28, 2014)

I am a beginner in the german language even tho Germany is where my roots are..my husband is learning and so are our children. I understand its going to take some time I just really hope this works out for us. thank you!


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

germangirl80 said:


> I am fairly new to this forum and am seeking help and advice. My husband and I have done some serious talking about moving to Germany for many reasons..ones which I will not bore you all with. I know the first thing we need to do is get passports for all five of us...but how exactly do you look for work over there when you live in the U.S.? And how do you apply? Thanks all!


If neither you nor your husband have EU citizenship, then you also have to factor in the small matter of gaining permission to stay. If one or both of you found a decent job for which the employer was willing to sponsor an application, you'd be granted a work permit and residence permit. If not, you can only stay 90 days as a tourist.

It's not impossible, but it's not easy either. Some fields of work aren't too bad - certain parts of the IT world, engineering possibly - but otherwise you'd have a very difficult time.

When you said five passports that implies children. Depending on their ages and facility with language, you may have some challenges with schooling.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

germangirl80 said:


> I am fairly new to this forum and am seeking help and advice. My husband and I have done some serious talking about moving to Germany for many reasons..ones which I will not bore you all with. I know the first thing we need to do is get passports for all five of us...but how exactly do you look for work over there when you live in the U.S.? And how do you apply? Thanks all!


You look for work online, just like you do in the US. If you can't figure out the job sites due to language, it's probably a sign that you're not quite ready to work there. Likely only in certain fields (IT particularly, or something quite senior where they'd be willing to fly you over for an interview) would it work to apply remotely. Otherwise you'd need to move over and find something within 90 days - a huge risk and expense.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

germangirl80 said:


> I am a beginner in the german language even tho Germany is where my roots are..my husband is learning and so are our children. I understand its going to take some time I just really hope this works out for us. thank you!


How far back do these roots go?

Parents born in Germany? Grandparents?

Are you educated to Masters Degree level?


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

If you can obtain German citizenship, that is of course useful, though it might still be difficult finding work. 

If you don't have EU citizenship, here's where to start.

German Missions in the United States - Working, Training and Studying in Germany

For qualified professionals - Make it in Germany

Residence/Work Permit for Germany | United States Diplomatic Mission


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