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Tips on content and structure: This is how an application looks like in English

2019-08-30T08:55:27.281Z


A German company has put out your dream job - in English? Or you would like to apply internationally? Read here what to pay attention to when applying in English.



"Querying English in the application process has been a big trend for about five years," says job application coach Liz Naithani. It makes perfect sense, because in an international job, employees eventually have to deal with colleagues and customers from all over the world and should be able to communicate with everyone in English.

If you apply to an international company in Germany, an application in English may be required. And if the call is written in English, your application should be.

In such cases, in addition to the written application, the job interview can also be in English. "In my experience, medium-sized and smaller companies tend to switch to English in a short conversation," says Naithani. Applicants should then answer simple questions in English for ten to twenty minutes. Afterwards, people often switch back to German "for the more demanding topics".

When in Germany an application in English is required

If a German company is bought by a group headquartered in non-German-speaking countries, the interviewers, according to the expert, are often German native speakers. But even if only one of the decision makers does not speak German, but must give his consent, it can happen that the entire written application must be in English .

Prepare a cover letter in English

Applying in English in a short time can be stressful. Those who still need to refresh their English can quickly experience difficulties if they are still completing a course or want to familiarize themselves with books.

Those who are not professionals should, according to Naithani, use services such as Linguee, where words and phrases are placed in sample contexts, and work with an online translator such as Deepl. According to the expert, non-native speakers should invest 10 to 20 hours: at least five hours for the cover letter, at least four hours for the resume, and about five to ten hours to prepare for the interview in English.

"A common mistake is: Germans google in German, " says Naithani. Instead, look for sentences in English when preparing your application materials - this helps a lot. Above all, if you apply outside the German-speaking area, form and requirements are different. For example, if you are applying for a degree in England, you can google the following keywords in English: "sample", "example", "letter of motivation", "university", "England".

This is how a written application is structured in English

If you apply for English in the German-speaking area, the structure is like in an application in German. Just that you translate them into English. "Perfection is not expected because readers are often not native speakers themselves," says Naithani. You will find further information in our contribution to the CV and in this article on the application letter. But for an application in English-speaking foreign countries: read in English.

Cover Letter - the cover letter

Cover letters on the German model are generally too humble and reserved for an application in the USA. Here is true: "Apply thickly: 'I'm the best and you want me'," says the application expert. And you should also attach to concrete examples and prove with appropriate stories.

Overall, the cover letter should be very confident and motivated.

Résumé - the professional CV

On one page (maximum two), the résumé should set out your key stations and skills relevant to the job. Naithani explains the structure of a résumé as follows:

1. Contact details

2. "Professional Profile" / "Executive Summary" / "Professional Summary" : "The summary must be short and should also convince linguistically," says the expert. It consists of two to three crisp sentences, which sound like a marketing text and convey the most important strengths and experiences of the applicant. To write this "Professional Summary" in a foreign language is quite demanding. "Here it is worthwhile to pick some good English examples for its respective branch and work experience - Googling in English," advises Naithani. Then adjust the text accordingly. An example recommended by the expert can be found here.

3. "Work Experience" : This is all information relevant to the position about you, starting with the most recent one. In a page Résumé this should be about three to four points.

4. "Education" : short and sweet.

5. "Top Skills" : Do not just use nouns as buzzwords here in "Work Experience", but rather formulate them more actively with "active verbs": "I initiated ..." (instead of "initiation of ... ")," responsible for establishing our newest ... "(instead of" responsible for the establishment of our newest ... ").

CV - the CV

In the US, the CV (short for Curriculum Vitae) is sometimes very long. For example, if you work in research, you can come up with ten pages because all publications are listed. The Résumé is the more common variant in the USA.

Errors in cover letter that you should avoid

Especially in the cover letter there are errors that occur frequently. "Job title and technical expertise are usually translated correctly, but punctuation and spelling often fall behind," says the expert. To prevent this, you should be aware of the following sources of error:

1. The Date : Are you writing to the US ("July 23rd, 2019") or to the UK ("23 July 2019")?

2. The Salutation : Ms. must be used as a salutation when you write to a female person. As an emergency solution is still "Dear Sir or Madam," . Attention: The first sentence (after the comma) of the salutation starts in English with a capital letter.

3. "I" (me) should not be the beginning of any sentence or paragraph.

4. Do not just go through the curriculum vitae , but relate exactly to the job and the company.

5. Nonuniformity : No matter what you write, write consistently. You can write "e-mail" with and without a hyphen - it is important that you stick to a form - in letter and CV. And give the same contact information on all documents.

6. Countries and languages are always written in English: German engineer and non-erman engineer.

7. "current" is often confused with "actual", then the application translates into German for example: "My real job" if you wanted to write about your current job.

8. "address" - in English with double d.

9. Punctuation marks : "" - quotes always above, dashes and hyphens to distinguish (dashes are longer than hyphens).

10. Final: "I look forward to hearing from you."

Please note: In the US, employers do not want photos, dates, ages, civil status or whether or how many children you have. In Germany, photos are usually even desired, even if you apply to a company headquartered in the United States. Overall, everything stays as in a conventional application, if you apply in Germany, only in English. When in doubt, ask best which form is desired: German application in English or anonymization (no gender, etc.).

A must in the USA: The Letter of Recommendation

"When applying in the US, Letters of Recommendation are a must," says Naithani. These are not work references, but very positive letters of recommendation.

According to Naithani, you should ask your (former) German employer to write a letter of recommendation in German - and have it professionally translated. The text must be written in a positive and high-praise style and should contain phrases such as "whole heartedly" or "he / she is awesome". Get approval for the translated version. Then have them printed and signed on company paper. Tip of the Expert: You can look here to see how positive letters of recommendation are.

A letter of recommendation should be about one page long. Which costs to pay you: According to Naithani, each letter of recommendation costs approximately 100 to 130 euros - with professional translation and certification. Translating a job certificate into English requires a lot of intercultural and linguistic sensitivity and is labor intensive, therefore more expensive. For comparison: For a Unizé prize fall about 60 to 80 euros for translation and authentication, as these are standardized and therefore less expensive to translate.

Translations, certifications, costs

Not all documents are directly requested in the USA - at first only résumé and cover letter.

Translating and authenticating all relevant documents is worthwhile for those who are sure that they will work abroad in the longer term. "For example, if you marry an American woman and want to work and live in the US for a long time, you will be more likely to apply for English over the years," says Naithani, "and of course I can translate everything directly."

Anyone looking for this opportunity should plan for a budget of about 300 to 400 euros - for example, for professional translation and proofreading and CV, certified translations of certificates and letters of recommendation. In addition, there are other costs, if the applicant for a professional application training in English decide.

The three main differences between applying for English in German-speaking countries and applying for a job in the US

1st Résumé : The CV is in the German-speaking countries a maximum of two pages long. The résumé demanded in the USA is one page long and not to be confused with the CV, which can be several pages long.

Photo 2 : Applications are popular in Germany. Anyone who sends a photo usually has a more sympathetic look. In the US, however, you should definitely refrain from the photo and personal information. This is regulated by law in order to avoid discrimination. However, the expert recommends referring to the LinkedIn profile - if that is in English - and having an attractive professional photo there. On the topic of online career networks, the expert recommends: "LinkedIn in English, Xing profile in German."

3. Recommendation : If you apply in Germany, then with work certificates and possibly letters of recommendation. "In the United States, Letters of Recommendation are indispensable," says the expert. These letters of recommendation are more personal, positive and enthusiastic than a reference in Germany. But as a rule nobody has a right to such a letter. "You get these from the superiors, with whom you understand each other very well," says Naithani.

What to look for in English after the written application

A Skype call is the first step in an application in English-speaking foreign countries and a possible last one when applying for English in Germany, for example if the final decision-making body is not German-speaking.

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2019-08-30

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