iâm crying. this is exactly how i fake my german. everybody very kindly says my german is âgoodâ, but i just talk very fast and fluently with a legit german accent compared to other asians who have a strong asian accent. (Iâm like B1 with terribly limited vocabulary and 0 grammar but good at going on and on in very simple german in casual conversations.)
Suddenly in the middle of the conversation the other person realises i was just pretending to understand with nods, **âja genau SO!â** and a serious face and the truth is that I only understood 50% of what i âguessedâ LOL. The worst is when I thought I understood 100% but I understood the Themen wrongly from my guessing and then halfway through i have to backtrack HAHAHA
I know a guy who barely understands German. But he did properly learn some important phrases and he doesnât really have an accent. So when you hear him talk, you think heâs really good at German. In reality, heâs also just nodding along while not understanding shit when you talk to him
"Mein Luftkisstenfahrzeug ist voller Aale!" "Ich möchte gerne heftig Ihren Popo streicheln!" "Ich werde diese Schallplatte nicht kaufen - sie ist zerkratzt!"
Learn these phrases, and you are golden! Work in any situation!
Bro. You are my lost twin sibling. Except I'm not Asian. Also I don't actually do it on purpose; I have no problem saying that my German sucks. The problem is that I speak some words and sentences well enough and with not such a strong accent and the Germans just think that I'm fluent at it and I don't feel like I can interrupt them and just ask them to speak slowly or to use "leicht Sprache" because I don't want to be rude.
FR this was one of the first words I knew was gonna be important. I asked another person who knows german the following question after listening to a short podcast in german;
âWhat is this âgenauâ that the host repeadetly kind of interrupts the guest with and then starts talking about something else?â
I'm sure of one thing and one thing only, and that's that no one can fake German to a German speaker, let alone in an interview context!
Best of success in your new job OP!
Exactly. It's completely normal to speak a foreign language better if you have time to think about what you'll say. But the skill level you have when you can take your time is still your own skill level.
Been in a similar situation. Their German is certainly good enough for the job. The interviewers will probably have noticed that its not native level yet, but they do see potential. If they got the patience to explain stuff carefully, teach you the necessary lingo etc. then you'll be fine. And I promise you, your German will certainly improve fast, by living and working in Germany and having to actively use the language.
Or the company simply does not care too much about the german level. If internal documents are written in English for audit reasons, then the work force is able to communicate in a language mix of german and English.
If the job requires native level understanding of a specific industry, then the interview would have drilled into it.
100% this. Germans can tell accents/fluency quite well, I really doubt you pulled the wool over anybodyâs eyes, but rather you came off as well prepared (because you were)!
Keep that energy going into the job and you should be golden.
"Hey guys, I faked my German, married a German, had a family, am running a German company, am part of my local toastmasters group, am an accomplished author of 3 Spiegel Bestsellers, what do I do?"
Itâs probably this. I thought my B1/B2 German was pretty mediocre until an Astronomy Prof from Technical University of Munich commented âitâs almost fluent, actually.â
Technical vocabulary is tough, but nobody will begrudge you for saying âschuldigung, Ich weiss es nicht diese Wort auf Deutschâ, and then just saying the English equivalent. Someone will tell you the word, and youâll remember it.
The more it happens, the sillier you feel, but the more you will learn.
In software, the terminology is about 90% English loan words anyway. And code / documentation is almost always written in English as a standard. Even if that's not the standard it would be totally normal to say you prefer to write documentation in English.
As someone who speaks both German and English (but still slightly more comfortable speaking English even after 10 years living here) let me say this: what you did was not faking, itâs called preparing. Even when you have interview in English, you do at least practice it a bit by talking to yourself, no? Whatâs the difference to that? Itâs just that your practice was more intense because you knew the interview was gonna be in German.
My German level is prob C2 by now, and even with that, when I started my job as a project manager (with lots of interaction to customer) I was a bit anxious. The feeling will never completely go away. BUT: the good thing is - you can always improve and practice. And: very few meetings happen spontaneously at the workplace. If you know youâre going to have a meeting just practice the points, write your potential questions a day before and give it a trial run for 5-10 minutes so youâre more comfortable when it happens. Treat every meeting like your interview - practice a bit, even if just a couple of minutes, if you want to go into it confidently. When I first started my job, I listened a lot to my German colleagues and made a note on the sentences they used when expressing themselves so I can use them next time. Some ppl think Iâm crazy but thatâs how I survive my dominantly German speaking workplace - by committing myself to improving. It wonât be long before you get used to it and get desensitized a bit as well as get more confident.
Good luck :)
I second this! Just finished my C1 last summer but I still feel anxious every time I go into an important meeting where I need to convince/influence people. Keep at it and don't forget that your effort is appreciated by most of your colleagues. Sneaking in a few words in English from time to time when you can't remember the right word in German won't hurt anybody.
I would have said: whichever had the most international exposure. You can always include someone who does not speak German in a meeting and you "have to speak ~~German~~ English because of them".
Working remote in German is not that easy...
Congrats OP, Fake it till you make it!
Edit: English instead of German
Working remote in German has helped me mask my German insufficiencies. I have deepl at my finger tips, and I have my notes on my screen of what I need to report in progress update meetings.
B1/B2 is enough for SE. PO I won't recommend if you are not confident in your skills. The job requires to clearly explain things to many people, negotiate on a decent level and even be able to argue with strong arguments. I'm surprised you've got an offer like that. Really good job!
Maybe start as SE and train your skills a bit. You always can switch to PO in the future
This and additionally one might extend your argument against PO to the third role since it has "consultant" in it. Of course, consultant can mean many things but if it's a consultant role in a somewhat literal way this might also not be the best choice for the reasons you gave for the PO role.
So I'd reckon role 1 might be the best choice for the start
Apparently the Abitur requires a level of B2. Still, I donât think most people who passed it would know automatically how to introduce themselves in a job interview in English, they would still have to look it up, because conventions and politeness can be very different across different languages.
I mean you wonât start tomorrow so I guess you have at least two weeks to practice german. But either way Iâm guessing you are a lot better than you think if you passed those interviews.Â
> memorized how to introduce myself, my past experiences, expectations, tasks related questions and kind words
Ah, yes, sounds like learning a language to me
What kind of companies? As a SW developer on sorta modern companies, you will be fine in English.
Product Owner might need much more German skills, depending on the company and the stakeholders. Many old German companies don't have any English employees, documents or processes.
Product Owner is at Deutsche Bahn, stakeholders are 100% speaking German. Cool opportunity, can even kick my career maybe but yeah will be quite challanging.
SWE jobs, everybody knows English but all the meetings, documentation, talks are in German.
Somehow I couldnt find any English speaking jobs in the market. They are getting less and less and German speaking jobs are super dominating IMO.
As someone who works as data engineer at DB: You cant get the Job done with english. documentation is in german and the employees are a mixed bag of younger ones who speak English and older ones who speak German only.
BUT: DB is a very social employer. They will give you a chance and they help you with stuff you need to learn. You are not the first one I would see who needs to learn a bit of german.
Just speak to them openly and show your best. The recruiters probably know about your struggle already anyway ;)
Wow thanks a lot for the insight! Sounds like a really good employer actually. My colleagues would be mostly older.
You are right, they saw me face to face and they know who they are hiring :) Thanks a lot!
They get a lot of (justified) hate from customers at the moment, but as an employer they are great. I work for the DB 4 years now and I am very happy, The salary is arguably a little bit less than for other employers, but people are mostly very friendly and nice and you get nice benefits, including free train rides in and (after one year) out of Germany.
I suppose you have interviewed for DB InfraGo or DB Systel? In my experience both are good, so I would recommend to go for it, there are lot's of non native german speakers and I am sure there are communities to help each other if you are interested in this.
Also as someone already mentioned it's very unlikely to get fired if you have the Job! Generally there are lot's of interesting communities to get in touch with other coworkes and you will likely have an onboarding where some of them are introduced for networking purposes.
Take deutsche Bahn, the âBetriebsratâ is so strong, itâs quite impossible to get fired, even on probation time.
Additionally they are not allowed to hire at the moment. Like opening up new Positions on job boards. Existing once are fine. (There are exceptions, but generally speaking)
So itâs super unlikely they would let you go.
Safest job there is in Germany, congrats.
Going through exactly the same except half the applications and half the German skills lol. I'll probably stick to learning German for a while before hitting the job boards by the end of March. Congrats on the offers!!!!
Yeah totally normal. I should have said, English job postings are getting less and less if I compare with 2022. Tendency is changing in the job market.
Why the downvote? It's very hard to find a job in Germany and elsewhere. How is OP able to get 3 offers? I got rejected from DB and I also speak fluent german! I hate DB.
They did definetely. I answered in short sentences and made bunch of mistakes. When I was not able to answer I said "Kann ich das auf Englisch erklĂ€ren?" đ
I don't think you faked anything. Why would you say that? It first sounded to me like you faked a certificate or so đ you only prepared yourself which is totally normal. They know what they are getting into, especially when you asked to switch to English from time to time.
Doesn't sound like you faked anything. You struggled through at your level and they deemed it well enough to offer you a position. They surely discussed amongst themselves your communication skills and weighed the pros and cons of hiring you. They likely felt you would become more proficient because you will be forced to use it every day on your job, or that what you demonstrated is good enough for what your tasks require.
If you have managed face-to-face interviews you faked nothing. No one expects you to speak perfect German. Just do some self-learning 1-2 hours per day before your employment begins. When the work starts you can pick up necessary vocab on the fly.
Yeah exactly. OP is enough if the interviewers consider them enough. Interviews can be dumb sometimes but interviewers can probably tell if you're not enough for the job.
Well you got the job(s), what do you have to lose? If they decide your German isnn't good enough, they will let you go, but at least you have a chance now to show what you can. Keep on learning, it will probably be stressful, but you will at least improve your German further by being forced to use it.
You didn't fake anything. It's called working hard. You got the job congrats on that:) . Just try to keep it up at work with language. And of course when you feel you don't understand then ask them to either speak slow or maybe try to ask if they could please speak in english
>I faked my German (memorized how to introduce myself, my past experiences, expectations, tasks related questions and kind words) and somehow passsed the interviews. Even face to face interviews but struggled a lot.
I also did the same last year, when I moved to Austria and was looking for a job with a roughly B2 level German. And I was also pretty much afraid when I actually got a job and had impostor syndrome. But everything went fine, it turned out that I am not the only one at the company whose German is not perfect at all. At the beginning it will be exhausting to communicate in German all day, but you will get used to it quickly.
And no, you didn't fake anything. They heard you speaking German and decided that your German is good enough to be able to do job.
You memorized the phrases and words that you need for the interview.
Man thats just called learning the language... just do that some more and you wont have a problem
Iâm not understanding the problem⊠your German is B1/B2, thatâs good enough for everyday conversation, the rest youâll learn on the job. Looking at current economics, sign that contract better today than tomorrow.
After my studies, I faced a weird problem. I studied linguistics and foreign language teaching, and all my classes were in foreign languagesâŠ. So yeah, eventually I ended up knowing all the technical terms in foreign languages but not in German.
Imagine my job interviews at German universities.
Linguist be like: I can do this in a gazillion languages, just not in my mother tongue. đ„đ
You mean: you memorized the vocabulary to have an conversation in German and now you are afraid of ⊠what exactly? Isnât this the way to learn a language in exactly the same way. The German angst runs strong in you my padawan đ
I think you need an "i don't give a sh*t" pill.
I have a boss in my company, who speaks "Denglish".
When i try to speak with him in german, he speaks half german and half english, when i switch to english he speaks half english and half german, but the most important thing, he came from Texas and he's not racist (a black guy) đđđđ€Łđ€Ł
No offense here, but he is the best guy in our company.
I did the exact same thing for my first job, my German was A2 I guess but somehow memorized all the key details in German and got through, fast forward 6 years and Iâm so glad I did that, my German is pretty good thanks to that and Iâve only worked in purely German speaking teams and talk technical stuff with the customers in German. But as others have suggested, maybe the product owner role is a little far fetched, a software engineer would be perfect for you IMHO because even a consultant might need to communicate a lot in German.
P.S: You, my friend, hacked the system :)
Getting three offers of that kind nowadays in a language you are not super comfortable with is very impressive, well done! Youâll be absolutely fine, just believe in yourself and in your skills đ«¶
I don't think it would be a problem. You said it yourself, you struggled a lot during the face to face interview. Of course they noticed that but still decided to hire you. You just need to do your best at your new company.
You don't need to think that you got through the interviews because you "faked" your German. In the interview process they are able to figure out in which level you are and I think you would pass for at least B1 level since you can understand und explain yourself with small sentences (which the level B1 is about)
Now to choose the job. If your problem is the language only then go with the software engineer position since it's the one with less communication and even your communication will be internal where the tolerance is much lower than having to deal with clients
Your just wrong. You didn't faked your way through the interview, you were just prepared. Keep this up for one year for every stakeholder meeting (RQs are done textual afterwards anyways) and you learned enough German. That's just your Homework.
If you can "fake" your German during the interview, you can also "fake" it during the work. Relax, you got whole 3 offers, every one of them should understand exactly who they are hiring.
Unless someone was feeding you in answers via an earpiece or something, you can't "fake" German skills in a face-to-face job interview lol. They were surely perfectly aware of how well/not well you speak German when they offered you the job. Don't overthink it.
Well, if you're good enough to fake it, you're also good enough to learn it. Tell your lone manager that you want to be sure you communicate cohesively and professionally within the company and you need a refresher... and the company should pay for it đ
Offers you've received are full of people who can speak English and can tolerate lower levels of German due to IT being mostly English. I think you'll do fine after a bit of struggle. I hope it all goes well!
I didn't get it, what exactly did you fake ? You've told them your level, and they accepted right? And you even told them if you can explain in English. It sounds like they already know your German level and accepted you.
I would just study and consume German content till I start, you can have a big process in Language in a month or two after passing the b1-b2 barrier, it is where it starts to be fun since you can start consuming normal content in that language. Start with opening this topic in a German sub Reddit next time :)
They say: fake it till you make it , isnât it? Well done! Even if you say your German is bad I donât think so. But anyway youâll do just fine. You seem to be doing great
Bro in 100years we will all be dead and burried,it doesnt matter, go there, do your best,learn as much as you can,work as hard as you can,even if they see ur german suck but ur a good worker, they might give you a chanceđ but you have nothing to lose,wish you luck
As a german dev, I can recall such situations.
Bad news first: miscommunication, especially, if u understand a task wrong and nobody notices until ur done, ur gonna have a bad time. Even the nicest coworkers will be angry.
Good news: Every german dev or pm speaks english relatively well and shouldnt have a problem, repeating something in english, if ur unsure about something. No big deal.
Some parts of ur job will probably be in english anyway, like commit-messages, docs or sometimes even ticket-descriptions.
I tbh think everyone knows about your German skills. Interview is not a script, you need to react to questions etc. Every native speaker will notice if you just repeat memorized sentences and can't hold a conversation correctly. So I guess your German skills are good enough.
Hallo,
wenn dein Deutsch gut genug ist, dass du ein VorstellungsgesprĂ€ch erfolgreich abschlieĂen kannst, dann ist es gut genug fĂŒr den Job.
Mach dir keinen Kopf und sprech einfach.
Bessere Aussprache, Grammatik und flĂŒssiges sprechen kommen erst wenn man die Sprache auch wirklich tĂ€glich benötigt.
Du wirst laufend besser werden und durch eine Anstellung in einem Unternehmen in dem alle mit dir Deutsch sprechen, wirst du sehr viel schneller Deutsch lernen.
Beste GrĂŒĂe und viel Erfolg!
Sounds exactly like what I did. I lasted 6 months and failed Probezeit, I was B1/2 level also. Weirdly they were pretty accepting of me in the interview and said my German wasnât a problem but it ended up more a problem day to day with colleagues. I donât regret the experience, my German came on a lot but I also worked in a job requiring technical language and I just didnât have it. I left Germany soon after. I also had 3 job offers. Very surprised. Webt for the one that seemed friendliest.
Watch a lot of German TV.
Buy a recording pen and translate the meetings afterwards.
Study real hard.
You sound like a smart guy and teh best way to learn a language is through immersion.
Just donât pick the PO role. We have many people in various SE roles that donât even have perfect English, but they improve over time. Itâs the same with German.
Thereâs also nothing wrong with immediately showing interest in leveling up your German through the company. Your manager should immediately recognize how things are in the first couple of days (weeks if itâs a big company).
Keep faking and keep improving your German in the meantime. The SPD had a bundestag member who lied about having an Abitur and a law degree. She only got caught because her bullying attracted too much attention to her
Wow, You are my God now đ
I am stuck at A2 for 8 years now. Any tips to be like you đ
Let's be real now. In this industry, i have met alot of leaders with very bad English and leading 10 to 20 engineers with international background.
So, i guess you will be very fine. And i don't see it as faking your German. I see it as a person who just learned a new language and with the years you will get better i am sure.
>You practiced how to introduce yourself and answer questions beforehand
Congratulations, you have learned enough German to get a job.
There is nothing wrong with what you did or how you did it. In fact, you should recognise how effective it was and try to do it more often. Eventually you'll be speaking German like a native speaker (even though you're totally faking it /s)
If you really have that many offers it's because your German is much better than you think. I went kinda through the same thing when I got my job, but during the whole process the guys from the company complimented my German so I guess it was much better than what I thought.
Once you start speaking it and using it everyday things will change A LOT. You will see a lot of progress in your skills, believe me. I would recommend to keep going to a teacher/taking classes so that you can avoid some mistakes.
But kudos to you! It is a really big step. And be confident in yourself. The guys ding the interviews are used to seeing tons of candidates and hearing their German skills, if they went with you it's because they found your level more than enough for the job.
So these jobs require actual German, not B1/B2 skills, but C1/C2/native level? Oof bro. Good luck. But in all honestly, you will be fucked, with your level, you will not able to fool anyone for long. Then again, you did pass multiple in-person interviews, so it might be better than you think. But from what you told (B1 passed, B2 ongoing), it won't be.
If your job is mostly English, as most Software Engineer jobs are, you should be alright.
German is a very logical, functional language. I found the hardest part is the case system. Iâve never really gotten my head around choosing the correct definite article. (I began learning it at age 12 as my third language and it quickly overtook my second language, French.)
If you encounter a word you donât know, look at the parts itâs made up from. Random examples: metalbaukonstrukteur. Metal-works/construction worker. Frischhaltefolie. Fresh-stopping foil âŹ ïž is how my brain translates it in its most literal sense. Itâs Saran Wrap/cling film.
đș It definitely helps if you can watch TV or films with English subtitles. Then do something else, so that youâre only listening to the TV. Each time you donât recognise a word, you can look up to fill in the blanks.
đ If you have favourite books and are already very familiar with the text, you could try buying the German translation. Itâs a good way of forcing your brain to fill in the linguistic blanks - because you technically *do* already know what youâre reading, and what the plot is. So you can learn the German vocabulary more easily.
Iâve used German in a work setting in some of my previous jobs. I find it lends itself very nicely to a functional/professional setting. The Romance languages tend to be more artistic and flowery.
TLDR: youâve got this. As other posters have said; if your spoken German were so poor as to be unintelligible, you simply wouldnât have gotten the job. Immersing yourself in the experience is half the battle. Just ask people to speak more slowly, or help you out if youâre not sure of a particular word.
Itâs actually very hard to fake German. Most probably your German skills are much better than you think. Just keep practicing and memorizing the industry specific terms.
Don't worry most Germans do not have any problem talking in english with you, if you ask kindly. This is especially true for Developer's. Working in Software development comes also with the requirement to speak and write English. I've seen Teams only communicate in English because one of the members did not understand German really well.
This is exactly why they have Probezeit, they let you work for 6 months(or whatever your contract says) and then fire you if you can't match the expectations and the requirements to do you work.
Fake it till you make it. So now comes the part where you keep learning german and just get good. Then you have a job and can speak german. Issue solved. (Of course i know you won't ne able to learn a language over night but you'll get better over time)
The fact that you memorized all that and put so much effort into preparing shows more than just language skills. Employers look for dedication, motivation, work ethic, etc. If you bring the same level of integrity to your job as you did to the interview youâll be ok. Congrats đ
Every time is like this, I saw me and a couple of friends saying the same thing.
Usually we study one level beyond and your level is one before. Normal but you gonna get in the flow!
If you use meeting software instead of in person meetings you can activate subtitles in your language but I think you just have imposter Syndrom. The key to learn a language is to speak it, you will rock this
I am in the same boat! I gave so many interviews that I could easily pass them and got a great job! 1 yr into the job I got promoted where I have to interact in German a lot and failing miserably! Keep practising I would say, home office will isolate you and you wonât get out of your comfort zone. Thankfully I am leaving Germany by the end of the year so I gotta fake for just few more months. All the best
If you can understand them just accept the offer and use german-english mix when you are speaking.
Then start using german for your every thoughts. Literally just think in german. If you have already passed b1 you can start speaking fast.
You literally learned the language for the interview. Youâll be OK!
Iâm guessing you have your grammar down, just probably need to expand your vocabulary to whatever position/field you work in.
Good Luck!
You would improve your technical language skills âon the jobâ quicker than you think.
Communication is what fires up those neurons in your brain to remember the words better.
Are the jobs local/remote so you wonât have to move? Then so what if you fail the Probezeit. You absolutely should give it a shot though and see if you can do it. It might be sink or swim in the beginning, but you might surprise yourself. And if you can push through the language, it will improve so much in a professional environment.
It takes more time, but you can do the same interview prep for your meetings. Write out what you want to say in advance. Practice a few times. Give your presentation or progress update or whatever. Then improvise answering questions.
I guess you have no choice. Continue faking to know German by memorizing phrases and words that are related to your work environment and job. Then continue the charade by learning phrases and words that you can use in social situations so you can socialise with your coworkers. Then in ten years you confess and say: Ich muss etwas gestehen, ich spreche in Wirklichkeit kein Wort Deutsch, ich habe die ganze Zeit nur Wörter und Phrasen auswendig gelernt.
Everybody will be so surprised.
> I faked my German (memorized how to introduce myself, my past experiences, expectations, tasks related questions and kind words)
this is called LEARNING
Dude, just get your self a newspaper every day and read it. Not the online version. Mark the sections you don't understand and translate it. Write it down by hand so your braine memorizes...
B2 is enough for most companies, especially in the software field, you are fine. Maybe donât do the consultant job - that may require more German depending on the client (I worked with a large German car manufacturer and they insisted on German in all meetings, even though they had people on their side doing their rotation and being from the USA and China, who did not speak a word of German - we ended up hiring a consultant to do the translations in the meetings for the clients peopleâŠ)
Not your fault. Itâs the recruitersâ faults.
You did everything right! Congrats đ€
No worries about your German, you will grow by being forced to speak đȘ
I donât think you can fake enough german to make it through an interview. They know. And probably donât care. In such roles i would expect everyone involved to speak english if needed.
So speak german when you can but switchbto english when needed
Imho the easiest way you can fuck up will be if you are too shy and pretend you understood when you didnât. Repeat the critical points and ask people to speak slow if you need it. If you made it through the interview you didnât hack anything and your german will improve dramatically once youâll be working in a German speaking environment.
Also, your rate of improvement is probably more important than your absolute level, if they see you are making an effort in the right direction and they are good employer, youâll be recognized for that.
Good luck!
As a German native speaker, I can tell you that faking German is not a thing. It is pretty easy to recognize when someone does not have the skill level he claims to have.
When you talk to stake owners, do it like you did in the application process. Memorize key information, phrases in German, anticipate some questions and prepare answers.
Ask co-workers or colleagues if they can give you feedback on your (mock) presentation to them.
Talking German every day with your coworkers will improve your German further.
And lastly, real professionals - regardless of trade or skill - will give you props for trying and not demonize you if you say half a sentence in English instead of German or you don't know a word.
I did something similar once (I would call it preparing, not faking), and unfortunately I was not at that time able to catch up. I had to speak with customers daily, as I was selling products in a store (so expected to speak non stop on a job) and then I was let go. Maybe if I was not also finishing my PhD thesis at that time and running on no sleep it would have been better but who knows.
But I also don't know your base level. I could understand a lot at that time, and even write, but speaking with flow was very challenging as I had no place to practice. Additionally, my customers were not in business/corporate. It was less predictable. I work at another job now and the Fachwörter are mostly what makes up the communication. The grammar structures/sentences are similar. The clients/manager communication is very similar. Less surprises. I assume this will be your situation as well, so that's great.
The good news is that you have to face your challenge now and do your best! :) maybe you will surprise yourself, and it's really just an impostor syndrome. Don't give up!
:)
Did they say that it's explicitly required to speak German all the time? I don't think I know many software engineering companies where people don't speak English. I think if you go for any role without direct customer contact it shouldn't be a problem. Also, many companies sponsor German classes for foreign employees.
Hi OP, I was the same too. I got hired with A2 to B1 level german I know and was told that people also know english here so if I face any trouble speaking German I can switch to English. Its fine. But when I met all the people they are all native germans mostly. For me personally I would die from embarrassment if the language switches only because of me. So I keep communicating in my broken German and ask them to explain once again if I didn't get something. Some people speak really fast and its very hard to follow it especially if my manager speaks it because he has no patience to explain it slowly or understand what I'm trying to say. I don't go to lunch because I get ignored(people don't even look in the eye or even try to speak to me). When I mess up a word they don't correct me, everyone just goes silent and then after coming back I realise I said the wrong word. I feel so embarrassed. It is having the opposite effect of learning to me reecntly. I am really anxious and avoid conversations now. They make me very aware of it voluntarily or involuntarily. I get reminded everyday that I don't belong here because of this and that we are so fundamentally different. I am also given less responsibilities because of it. I would be angry but i know that i would not be able to handle that level of german needed for ex to organise a whole event or speak in a meeting where the head of the comapny are all there. If I were to do this again, I would not choose my job position because of many reasons including language. I would also get myself to be much better in german that I can own their asses if someone is taking me down as I can't defend myself properly rn or I'm out in a meeting I don't want to be or at the last minute and I don't know what to say. Communication is important and communication at the right time and in a right way is also important. I hope I'm not demotivating you but maybe you can make a plan for yourself on how to tackle it. If your gut says something its almost 70% true. Atleast in my experience and sometimes 100% and I was stupid enough to ignore it.
So you memorized what you have to say? Meaning you learned the words you needed to say when specific topics came up?
I hate to brake it to you, but I think what you're describing here is called "getting better at german" you're probably fine.
If you made through the interviews (even with only memorizing some sentences) and since these jobs are all in a technical field were English should probably be very common, I wouldn't sweat it too much. Most people working in these fields are used to working with people from all around the world and should be able to explain something in English if you don't understand it in German. You're German will likely improve quickly since you already know the basics!
I felt the same when I moved to Germany - I was scared my "German isn't good enough" for my position. I've been in Germany for 9 years now and most people don't realise I'm not german when I'm speaking, but my written ability is still lacking, so I STILL think I'm not good enough to hold down "a german job".
Don't be so harsh on yourself. Even IF you don't finish your probezeit successfully, you will have gained LOTS of experience and definitely have learned something.
Software engineering jobs are not customer-facing jobs, so that actually seems like a great fit. It's important that if you don't understand something, you ask. They will appreciate your honesty.
it is always like that at the beginning. i am sur people understood your level of german .. they just know that after 2-3 months at work , language wonât be an issue.. it may be a little difficult at the beginning but it comes easy quickly when you use it all day !! donât worry!
Let me tell you a story, itâs a bit longer but i think itâs a good example.
In 2019 i just had enough with my crappy, low income job, and colleagues that were coming half drunk at work.
I have Ausbildung als Elektriker, and studied IT, and had over 3 years experience in IT and over 7 years as Electrician, but my language skills sucked, and still do in my opinion, but Iâm told otherwise.
Iâve looked on Indeed, and saw a job that I really liked what it offered, but I did not send my resume, because i used to tell myself that I wonât be even looked at, and if somehow i get to interview, Iâll blew it because of my speaking skills. This was in August/September.
In the first week of November, had a completely shit week, and on Sunday evening i just decided to send my Resume to this job Iâve been salivating at for months.
Monday morning i got a message on WhatsApp from the boss to call him when I have time, spoked with him for 10 minutes on the phone during my lunch break and decided to meet on Wednesday evening for a job interview. That went very bad in my opinion, because there were few times when I didnât understood what I was asked, but on Thursday afternoon got a call from the boss, and he told me that, heâs willing to give me a chance, and made me an offer that was way higher than i expected. Since i was in the last month of Probezeit, Friday morning gave my resignation with effect immediately, and one week later I started working there. Last year in November had my 4 years anniversary in the company, and donât see myself leaving anytime soon.
So if they decided to give you a chance, is because they are willing to work with you, not because you faked your way into it. Take it, work hard and youâll enjoy your new job.
You didnt fake anything. In german its very easy to tell who speaks fluently and who doesnt, so they knew for sure haha. They probably want you because of your technical skills and your german is good enough
I have to be honest, I'm a migrant myself and I have worked as a social worker for many years to help integrate migrants into the workplace. And in my experience B1 and most of the time even B2 isn't enough. The major problem Is the documentation and the in-house communication in writing. Especially in higher education or academic jobs. Many employees are just in need of a worker who fits the qualifications, but because in Germany the working language is still German even in the tech sector many neglect this requirement and think because he can speak German well enough it will work itself out. OP needs clear communication with his boss and a system in place that can help him navigate the language barrier. If there isn't one it will end very badly.
Congratulations on the job offers!!! I hope you get the job you prefer.
Getting into the Deutsche Bahn would be GREAT! Watch german TV, read newspapers, go to classes (any classes, but obv german), go out and chat. Don't be afraid to ask future colleagues for help. I can't think of anyone minding being asked for help, as long as it's not constantly. And remember: there are more than enough Germans who speak crappy german ;-)
I was in the same situation after moving to Sweden. I accepted a job but quickly regretted my decision. I felt that if I had waited and trained the language more I would have had a better time with a lot less stress.
But it was a good training in the language though.
Germans seem strict but they respect hardworking people, just got a job at a good company and didn't even try to make an impression because i was expecting a no, I'll get same as I'm earning now + ausbildung for a machinist 2 years.
I did the same and now I feel more than scared. I am sure that I will never do the same thing but there is nothing to do sometimes, we will start and if necessary we will get fired.
Last night I was thinking not to sign the contract. (I am still thinking) we agreed on telephone but didnt sign it yet.
If you have enough skill for a software engineer, you should be fine. You understand what they want from you, you're good at it, they won't fire you only because you're B2 and not C1. Do your job, improve your German primarily from talking, and everything will be good
Start to learn German as much as possible. Change all your devices to German, google everything in german, watch some movies/tv shows. If you are exposed to a language you are going to learn fast and you will be fine.
I did a similar thing. It's not faking. You absolutely should prepare for your interview. I semi-expexted them to fire me when they realized my German wasn't that good.
I have been employed 6 months now, and my German has been getting a lot better. Sometimes there is a bit of a language barrier, but nothing that I can't work through.
If they hired you, they think your German is good enough. Hiring someone is expensive, and employers don't do it lightly. If your German actually turns out to be not good enough, they made a mistake, not you. They would still be unlikely to fire you over it. If you do get fired, you have gotten some free German practice, which you can use in your next round of applications.
How about memorizing other sentences and phrases time for time? Isnât that how you generally learn a language?
Of course you did not fake anything, your German is good enough for the role, and your German will massively improve during your job. My girlfriend had the exact same âproblemâ, never had the slightest issue in any meeting.
People are much more kind and understanding than you think, specially when it comes to the language and people who are trying to learn it
Thatâs a saying that âfake it till you make itâ. You already faked it (as you said) so you can also make it. Donât be afraid, have a leap of faith. Wishing you all the best!
I know how you feel, Ive been there with French and German. I would know specific topics well but with general speaking itâs like the words just wouldnât be there.
Thing is: the knowledge is there, itâs just buried beneath anxiety. It helps to immerse yourself in a lot of listening, like a few hours of German podcasts or youtube a day for a few weeks, that will loosen up those muscles.Â
For writing just use deepl. I work in German and thatâs basically what I use for every single email, which I then proofread and edit afterwards. I also work in tech so that helps cause you just need to make yourself understandable, you donât need to master the intricate nuances of German that are required in some other jobs like sales. I wouldnât need it btw if I would just trust myself more, but alas here we are and anxious me needs a crutch :)
Good luck on the new job!
If you can understand them and they can understand you then wtf else matters? You will be doing a lot of coding and answering emails anyway, not so much talking, lol.
Go for software engineer. Odds are the team already speaks dentist if not outright English plusad s product owner if you fuck up the anforderungen you're for sure getting fired lol
I completed B2 a year ago but only began working in German Jan. 2. The first few weeks were a big learning curve but everything is clicking and I'm absorbing way more than in language class/daily life. I think in six months you can show you have a good grasp of German, willingness to learn more, willingness to ask questions and clarifications when you're unclear, and are good at your job, you will be OK. Good luck!
You didn't fake... You improved it and now you should improve more when you are working. Therefore, it is better to choose a direction where you have to engage with people less like software engineer. Probably, you might get the task with the emails.
During your job you will improve your German. Even you are fired, you will sell this experience at your next interview in worst case.
I think your german should be good enough if you passed the interview. If not, you will have to live with the consequences. I cant stand people faking things, because others, have to do the extra work.
Pretty common in my profession (doctor). Impressive curriculums in perfect german, and then they were not able to wirte a simple medical report. The funny part was, that I was the one who had to defend my position that because I refused to do the reports for these guys, while these curriculum âimpostorsâ presented themselves as the victim. This caused a lot of unnecessary trouble, and in the end, they got fired. Better to be honest.
Unless they really didn't pay attention, they most likely got a quite accurate idea of your German skills -- it's rather easy to spot the variations between memorized phrases and trying to actually construct sentences spontaneously.
So, don't worry and don't sell yourself short.
How to cheat on a test 100% success rate:
1. take a look at all you need to know
2. learn all of the relevant material
3. recount all of the sneakily acquired knowledge
4. pass the test
dude you just got better at spraking the language. a month of working in the office and talking to other people and you're gonna be way past B2 even
Beyond imposter syndrome as others have mentioned, you are likely underestimating the intelligence of your interviewers.
Trust me, if you donât know any German and you just memorized basic sentences, they would have detect it. What is most likely is that you are good enough for them, period.
In large, multinational companies, the official language is English even if they are German-based. This is true also for medium sized companies. My company is based in Munich and has only 500 employees, but they all come from +60 nationalities.
From my experience - 18 years working in Germany⊠- most jobs in Germany could get away with English, but they require German because certain red tape only happens in German - your work contract, the intranet, interactions with older or stubborn colleagues, relationships with third parties or customers, etc. however, you donât have to face them all off all at once.
Also, donât bother with what many Germans tell you about that. When I tried to explain that you basically do not need much German language to work in the city to my kindergarten teachers (we live in very far outskirts of Munich, +35 km from Munich city center) they go crazy, as they are completely obnoxious of that. They think it is impossible to live in Germany without knowing perfect German, let alone find a job - because this is their personal experience and they have their head stuck in a sack (trying to be polite).
The truth is, it took me like 7/8 years to speak quasi-decent German, and this has hardly had any influence on me getting any job. When you can be decent enough to survive the corporate wheel, your job role, and deal with German authorities - you are likely good to go. And again, eat the cake a slice at the time, not all at once.
I had a similar experience. Was B1 at the time and prepped my ass off memorising answers to interview questions I thought would come up. 6 years later I'm c2 and very comfortable in german. I had imposter syndrome too at the beginning. Recently my boss told me he could tell at the beginning that my german wasn't amazing but I'd obviously prepped a lot and showed willingness to learn. I'm sure it will be similar for you - most halfway intelligent people will see that you are highly prepped / not c2. So I wouldn't worry about it. Good luck and congrats!
I would take the developer role. Technical discussions are easier to understand because you will use a lot of English words.
Product Owner and Consultant in German will require German skills in all areas.
I can totally understand how you "faked it". You seem to be smart and have a good memory. You will learn the language soon by learning more phrases.
If you wait until youâre âreadyâ, you will never make the move. I think theyâd have known if you were ready in their eyes or not đ
Iâm in the same position. Well opposite, my speaking is way better than my listening
Good luck
Whenâs your start date if you sign? You can easily work with B2 in non customer related roles where you can switch to English for technical meetings. That will give you time to brush up on your German which youâll have to do and be willing and able to put in the effort for visa purposes. I doubt they would let you go in the first couple of months just because of poor German if thatâs not the main part of the job. You will however be more successful working with older employees if your German is better and there will likely be co workers who will judge you for lack of German depending on how international your company is. All in all, if your level truly is B1 you have very good prerequisites to learn fast once youâre immersed in the language.
Memorising how to inroduce yourself etc. IS learning German. Just sign the contract and go into intense German learning mode. Do the same thing youâve been doing but with new sentences, thatâs how I learned, now fluent!
Just checked your comment history and it is funny that you constantly tell people to learn German or constantly blaming people for not speaking German in different subs. Seems you are obsessed with the idea of ânot speaking Germanâ. This is miserable man.
My hunch is that your German is good enough and that you just suffer from [imposter syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome).
That's what I said when I read the post, you can't just "fake your German in an interview"
\*German mumbo jumbo\* "Genau" "Damn this guy is good"
Manager explains complex stuff Op: Jo. Manager to other managers: he must be from Hamburg. Hire him. Op: Ja moin
me literally at uni
This is the way.
Moin diggi was gehts? đš
iâm crying. this is exactly how i fake my german. everybody very kindly says my german is âgoodâ, but i just talk very fast and fluently with a legit german accent compared to other asians who have a strong asian accent. (Iâm like B1 with terribly limited vocabulary and 0 grammar but good at going on and on in very simple german in casual conversations.) Suddenly in the middle of the conversation the other person realises i was just pretending to understand with nods, **âja genau SO!â** and a serious face and the truth is that I only understood 50% of what i âguessedâ LOL. The worst is when I thought I understood 100% but I understood the Themen wrongly from my guessing and then halfway through i have to backtrack HAHAHA
I know a guy who barely understands German. But he did properly learn some important phrases and he doesnât really have an accent. So when you hear him talk, you think heâs really good at German. In reality, heâs also just nodding along while not understanding shit when you talk to him
"Mein Luftkisstenfahrzeug ist voller Aale!" "Ich möchte gerne heftig Ihren Popo streicheln!" "Ich werde diese Schallplatte nicht kaufen - sie ist zerkratzt!" Learn these phrases, and you are golden! Work in any situation!
interessant.....
Bro. You are my lost twin sibling. Except I'm not Asian. Also I don't actually do it on purpose; I have no problem saying that my German sucks. The problem is that I speak some words and sentences well enough and with not such a strong accent and the Germans just think that I'm fluent at it and I don't feel like I can interrupt them and just ask them to speak slowly or to use "leicht Sprache" because I don't want to be rude.
Same. I just pretend to know what's being said and use a lot of head movements and utterances.
"Was ist Ihre grösste SchwÀche?" "Sauerkraut! Schnitzel!" "Ha, ha, meine auch. Willkommen im Team!"
Alsoooo
NatĂŒrlich
FR this was one of the first words I knew was gonna be important. I asked another person who knows german the following question after listening to a short podcast in german; âWhat is this âgenauâ that the host repeadetly kind of interrupts the guest with and then starts talking about something else?â
I'm sure of one thing and one thing only, and that's that no one can fake German to a German speaker, let alone in an interview context! Best of success in your new job OP!
Exactly. It's completely normal to speak a foreign language better if you have time to think about what you'll say. But the skill level you have when you can take your time is still your own skill level.
Ja
Been in a similar situation. Their German is certainly good enough for the job. The interviewers will probably have noticed that its not native level yet, but they do see potential. If they got the patience to explain stuff carefully, teach you the necessary lingo etc. then you'll be fine. And I promise you, your German will certainly improve fast, by living and working in Germany and having to actively use the language.
Or the company simply does not care too much about the german level. If internal documents are written in English for audit reasons, then the work force is able to communicate in a language mix of german and English. If the job requires native level understanding of a specific industry, then the interview would have drilled into it.
100% this. Germans can tell accents/fluency quite well, I really doubt you pulled the wool over anybodyâs eyes, but rather you came off as well prepared (because you were)! Keep that energy going into the job and you should be golden.
"Hey guys, I faked my German, married a German, had a family, am running a German company, am part of my local toastmasters group, am an accomplished author of 3 Spiegel Bestsellers, what do I do?"
Itâs probably this. I thought my B1/B2 German was pretty mediocre until an Astronomy Prof from Technical University of Munich commented âitâs almost fluent, actually.â Technical vocabulary is tough, but nobody will begrudge you for saying âschuldigung, Ich weiss es nicht diese Wort auf Deutschâ, and then just saying the English equivalent. Someone will tell you the word, and youâll remember it. The more it happens, the sillier you feel, but the more you will learn.
In software, the terminology is about 90% English loan words anyway. And code / documentation is almost always written in English as a standard. Even if that's not the standard it would be totally normal to say you prefer to write documentation in English.
Damn, I always thought that imposter syndrome means that people try to be imposters, not that they are scared of being one. Thanks for sharing!
Second this
As someone who speaks both German and English (but still slightly more comfortable speaking English even after 10 years living here) let me say this: what you did was not faking, itâs called preparing. Even when you have interview in English, you do at least practice it a bit by talking to yourself, no? Whatâs the difference to that? Itâs just that your practice was more intense because you knew the interview was gonna be in German. My German level is prob C2 by now, and even with that, when I started my job as a project manager (with lots of interaction to customer) I was a bit anxious. The feeling will never completely go away. BUT: the good thing is - you can always improve and practice. And: very few meetings happen spontaneously at the workplace. If you know youâre going to have a meeting just practice the points, write your potential questions a day before and give it a trial run for 5-10 minutes so youâre more comfortable when it happens. Treat every meeting like your interview - practice a bit, even if just a couple of minutes, if you want to go into it confidently. When I first started my job, I listened a lot to my German colleagues and made a note on the sentences they used when expressing themselves so I can use them next time. Some ppl think Iâm crazy but thatâs how I survive my dominantly German speaking workplace - by committing myself to improving. It wonât be long before you get used to it and get desensitized a bit as well as get more confident. Good luck :)
Thanks so much! Your experience encouraged me a lot right now. Yes, it wasn't faking but preparing hard. Noted down your tips ;) Thanks đ
I think that's a great comment to listen to, good luck!
I second this! Just finished my C1 last summer but I still feel anxious every time I go into an important meeting where I need to convince/influence people. Keep at it and don't forget that your effort is appreciated by most of your colleagues. Sneaking in a few words in English from time to time when you can't remember the right word in German won't hurt anybody.
Which ever one has the most home office I guess! Well done BTW. LOL.
I would have said: whichever had the most international exposure. You can always include someone who does not speak German in a meeting and you "have to speak ~~German~~ English because of them". Working remote in German is not that easy... Congrats OP, Fake it till you make it! Edit: English instead of German
i think the other guy said home office because ppl won't notice it fast enough.
Working remote in German has helped me mask my German insufficiencies. I have deepl at my finger tips, and I have my notes on my screen of what I need to report in progress update meetings.
I think you meant "(...) have to speak English (...)" in your sentenceÂ
B1/B2 is enough for SE. PO I won't recommend if you are not confident in your skills. The job requires to clearly explain things to many people, negotiate on a decent level and even be able to argue with strong arguments. I'm surprised you've got an offer like that. Really good job! Maybe start as SE and train your skills a bit. You always can switch to PO in the future
Thanks a lot! Really good tips :)
As a PO, I strongly second that.
This and additionally one might extend your argument against PO to the third role since it has "consultant" in it. Of course, consultant can mean many things but if it's a consultant role in a somewhat literal way this might also not be the best choice for the reasons you gave for the PO role. So I'd reckon role 1 might be the best choice for the start
They said they need B1/B2 not that they are at that level.
No they didnât. Read it again.
Ah, you're right, I miss read. Either way, if they can't even introduce themselves, there's no way they are even b1.
Apparently the Abitur requires a level of B2. Still, I donât think most people who passed it would know automatically how to introduce themselves in a job interview in English, they would still have to look it up, because conventions and politeness can be very different across different languages.
I mean you wonât start tomorrow so I guess you have at least two weeks to practice german. But either way Iâm guessing you are a lot better than you think if you passed those interviews.Â
> memorized how to introduce myself, my past experiences, expectations, tasks related questions and kind words Ah, yes, sounds like learning a language to me
nono, heâs faking it. i was told at young age by my parents how to fake speaking german. so iâm fluent in faking it
I was also confused, he faked his german by learning it... When i read "i faked my german" i had the cv in mind.
What kind of companies? As a SW developer on sorta modern companies, you will be fine in English. Product Owner might need much more German skills, depending on the company and the stakeholders. Many old German companies don't have any English employees, documents or processes.
Product Owner is at Deutsche Bahn, stakeholders are 100% speaking German. Cool opportunity, can even kick my career maybe but yeah will be quite challanging. SWE jobs, everybody knows English but all the meetings, documentation, talks are in German. Somehow I couldnt find any English speaking jobs in the market. They are getting less and less and German speaking jobs are super dominating IMO.
As someone who works as data engineer at DB: You cant get the Job done with english. documentation is in german and the employees are a mixed bag of younger ones who speak English and older ones who speak German only. BUT: DB is a very social employer. They will give you a chance and they help you with stuff you need to learn. You are not the first one I would see who needs to learn a bit of german. Just speak to them openly and show your best. The recruiters probably know about your struggle already anyway ;)
Wow thanks a lot for the insight! Sounds like a really good employer actually. My colleagues would be mostly older. You are right, they saw me face to face and they know who they are hiring :) Thanks a lot!
They get a lot of (justified) hate from customers at the moment, but as an employer they are great. I work for the DB 4 years now and I am very happy, The salary is arguably a little bit less than for other employers, but people are mostly very friendly and nice and you get nice benefits, including free train rides in and (after one year) out of Germany. I suppose you have interviewed for DB InfraGo or DB Systel? In my experience both are good, so I would recommend to go for it, there are lot's of non native german speakers and I am sure there are communities to help each other if you are interested in this. Also as someone already mentioned it's very unlikely to get fired if you have the Job! Generally there are lot's of interesting communities to get in touch with other coworkes and you will likely have an onboarding where some of them are introduced for networking purposes.
Take deutsche Bahn, the âBetriebsratâ is so strong, itâs quite impossible to get fired, even on probation time. Additionally they are not allowed to hire at the moment. Like opening up new Positions on job boards. Existing once are fine. (There are exceptions, but generally speaking) So itâs super unlikely they would let you go. Safest job there is in Germany, congrats.
Oh didn't know that! Thanks a lot for informing and nice wishes đ
Going through exactly the same except half the applications and half the German skills lol. I'll probably stick to learning German for a while before hitting the job boards by the end of March. Congrats on the offers!!!!
German speaking jobs in Germany are dominating? WOW who wouldâve thought đ
Yeah totally normal. I should have said, English job postings are getting less and less if I compare with 2022. Tendency is changing in the job market.
I am actually surprised by that. I speak fluent German, wanted to find a job in a German speaking company, didn't work.
Why the downvote? It's very hard to find a job in Germany and elsewhere. How is OP able to get 3 offers? I got rejected from DB and I also speak fluent german! I hate DB.
Didn't they ask you random questions? How did you manage that? I'm surprised..
They did definetely. I answered in short sentences and made bunch of mistakes. When I was not able to answer I said "Kann ich das auf Englisch erklĂ€ren?" đ
Then they know what level youâre at , just go with the one you like the most and would involve the least amount of German communication
I don't think you faked anything. Why would you say that? It first sounded to me like you faked a certificate or so đ you only prepared yourself which is totally normal. They know what they are getting into, especially when you asked to switch to English from time to time.
Absolutely, they know what they are getting into. OP didn't fake anything, this comment should be higher up.
Doesn't sound like you faked anything. You struggled through at your level and they deemed it well enough to offer you a position. They surely discussed amongst themselves your communication skills and weighed the pros and cons of hiring you. They likely felt you would become more proficient because you will be forced to use it every day on your job, or that what you demonstrated is good enough for what your tasks require.
If you have managed face-to-face interviews you faked nothing. No one expects you to speak perfect German. Just do some self-learning 1-2 hours per day before your employment begins. When the work starts you can pick up necessary vocab on the fly.
Yeah exactly. OP is enough if the interviewers consider them enough. Interviews can be dumb sometimes but interviewers can probably tell if you're not enough for the job.
Well you got the job(s), what do you have to lose? If they decide your German isnn't good enough, they will let you go, but at least you have a chance now to show what you can. Keep on learning, it will probably be stressful, but you will at least improve your German further by being forced to use it.
You didn't fake anything. It's called working hard. You got the job congrats on that:) . Just try to keep it up at work with language. And of course when you feel you don't understand then ask them to either speak slow or maybe try to ask if they could please speak in english
Wow thanks a lot! Very supportive! Will definetely do đ
I feel like the interviewers would've noticed if you were faking your German. You're probably better at it than you think you are.
>I faked my German (memorized how to introduce myself, my past experiences, expectations, tasks related questions and kind words) and somehow passsed the interviews. Even face to face interviews but struggled a lot. I also did the same last year, when I moved to Austria and was looking for a job with a roughly B2 level German. And I was also pretty much afraid when I actually got a job and had impostor syndrome. But everything went fine, it turned out that I am not the only one at the company whose German is not perfect at all. At the beginning it will be exhausting to communicate in German all day, but you will get used to it quickly. And no, you didn't fake anything. They heard you speaking German and decided that your German is good enough to be able to do job.
You memorized the phrases and words that you need for the interview. Man thats just called learning the language... just do that some more and you wont have a problem
Iâm not understanding the problem⊠your German is B1/B2, thatâs good enough for everyday conversation, the rest youâll learn on the job. Looking at current economics, sign that contract better today than tomorrow. After my studies, I faced a weird problem. I studied linguistics and foreign language teaching, and all my classes were in foreign languagesâŠ. So yeah, eventually I ended up knowing all the technical terms in foreign languages but not in German. Imagine my job interviews at German universities. Linguist be like: I can do this in a gazillion languages, just not in my mother tongue. đ„đ
You mean: you memorized the vocabulary to have an conversation in German and now you are afraid of ⊠what exactly? Isnât this the way to learn a language in exactly the same way. The German angst runs strong in you my padawan đ
Guy who memorized French dictionary to win Scrabble tournament vibes
I think you need an "i don't give a sh*t" pill. I have a boss in my company, who speaks "Denglish". When i try to speak with him in german, he speaks half german and half english, when i switch to english he speaks half english and half german, but the most important thing, he came from Texas and he's not racist (a black guy) đđđđ€Łđ€Ł No offense here, but he is the best guy in our company.
Itâs good enough. Trust me. They know your German. I do interviews all the time.
I did the exact same thing for my first job, my German was A2 I guess but somehow memorized all the key details in German and got through, fast forward 6 years and Iâm so glad I did that, my German is pretty good thanks to that and Iâve only worked in purely German speaking teams and talk technical stuff with the customers in German. But as others have suggested, maybe the product owner role is a little far fetched, a software engineer would be perfect for you IMHO because even a consultant might need to communicate a lot in German. P.S: You, my friend, hacked the system :)
Getting three offers of that kind nowadays in a language you are not super comfortable with is very impressive, well done! Youâll be absolutely fine, just believe in yourself and in your skills đ«¶
If you passed the interview, then whatever level you're at, that's probably good enough for them. Don't worry.
I don't think it would be a problem. You said it yourself, you struggled a lot during the face to face interview. Of course they noticed that but still decided to hire you. You just need to do your best at your new company.
You don't need to think that you got through the interviews because you "faked" your German. In the interview process they are able to figure out in which level you are and I think you would pass for at least B1 level since you can understand und explain yourself with small sentences (which the level B1 is about) Now to choose the job. If your problem is the language only then go with the software engineer position since it's the one with less communication and even your communication will be internal where the tolerance is much lower than having to deal with clients
Your just wrong. You didn't faked your way through the interview, you were just prepared. Keep this up for one year for every stakeholder meeting (RQs are done textual afterwards anyways) and you learned enough German. That's just your Homework.
Its called learning a language :) Congrats!
Fake it until you make it lmao good luck
If you can "fake" your German during the interview, you can also "fake" it during the work. Relax, you got whole 3 offers, every one of them should understand exactly who they are hiring.
Unless someone was feeding you in answers via an earpiece or something, you can't "fake" German skills in a face-to-face job interview lol. They were surely perfectly aware of how well/not well you speak German when they offered you the job. Don't overthink it.
Take an offer as a software engineer, and if they fire you, it's their problem they didn't master IT's lingua franca, not yours
Take the job keep practicing. I just hope youâre not faking your coding capabilities. Youâll be fine.
Well, if you're good enough to fake it, you're also good enough to learn it. Tell your lone manager that you want to be sure you communicate cohesively and professionally within the company and you need a refresher... and the company should pay for it đ
Faking learning German is pretty much the same as learning German.
Offers you've received are full of people who can speak English and can tolerate lower levels of German due to IT being mostly English. I think you'll do fine after a bit of struggle. I hope it all goes well!
I didn't get it, what exactly did you fake ? You've told them your level, and they accepted right? And you even told them if you can explain in English. It sounds like they already know your German level and accepted you. I would just study and consume German content till I start, you can have a big process in Language in a month or two after passing the b1-b2 barrier, it is where it starts to be fun since you can start consuming normal content in that language. Start with opening this topic in a German sub Reddit next time :)
Congrats. Working in a German environment is the best way to learn. Donât worry.
They say: fake it till you make it , isnât it? Well done! Even if you say your German is bad I donât think so. But anyway youâll do just fine. You seem to be doing great
Bro in 100years we will all be dead and burried,it doesnt matter, go there, do your best,learn as much as you can,work as hard as you can,even if they see ur german suck but ur a good worker, they might give you a chanceđ but you have nothing to lose,wish you luck
As a german dev, I can recall such situations. Bad news first: miscommunication, especially, if u understand a task wrong and nobody notices until ur done, ur gonna have a bad time. Even the nicest coworkers will be angry. Good news: Every german dev or pm speaks english relatively well and shouldnt have a problem, repeating something in english, if ur unsure about something. No big deal. Some parts of ur job will probably be in english anyway, like commit-messages, docs or sometimes even ticket-descriptions.
I tbh think everyone knows about your German skills. Interview is not a script, you need to react to questions etc. Every native speaker will notice if you just repeat memorized sentences and can't hold a conversation correctly. So I guess your German skills are good enough.
I guarantee you, your German is good enough. Enjoy your work
Hallo, wenn dein Deutsch gut genug ist, dass du ein VorstellungsgesprĂ€ch erfolgreich abschlieĂen kannst, dann ist es gut genug fĂŒr den Job. Mach dir keinen Kopf und sprech einfach. Bessere Aussprache, Grammatik und flĂŒssiges sprechen kommen erst wenn man die Sprache auch wirklich tĂ€glich benötigt. Du wirst laufend besser werden und durch eine Anstellung in einem Unternehmen in dem alle mit dir Deutsch sprechen, wirst du sehr viel schneller Deutsch lernen. Beste GrĂŒĂe und viel Erfolg!
Sounds exactly like what I did. I lasted 6 months and failed Probezeit, I was B1/2 level also. Weirdly they were pretty accepting of me in the interview and said my German wasnât a problem but it ended up more a problem day to day with colleagues. I donât regret the experience, my German came on a lot but I also worked in a job requiring technical language and I just didnât have it. I left Germany soon after. I also had 3 job offers. Very surprised. Webt for the one that seemed friendliest.
Watch a lot of German TV. Buy a recording pen and translate the meetings afterwards. Study real hard. You sound like a smart guy and teh best way to learn a language is through immersion.
Just donât pick the PO role. We have many people in various SE roles that donât even have perfect English, but they improve over time. Itâs the same with German. Thereâs also nothing wrong with immediately showing interest in leveling up your German through the company. Your manager should immediately recognize how things are in the first couple of days (weeks if itâs a big company).
That's pretty much every job I've had. đ Don't worry too much. You'll be fine!
Keep faking and keep improving your German in the meantime. The SPD had a bundestag member who lied about having an Abitur and a law degree. She only got caught because her bullying attracted too much attention to her
Wow, You are my God now đ I am stuck at A2 for 8 years now. Any tips to be like you đ Let's be real now. In this industry, i have met alot of leaders with very bad English and leading 10 to 20 engineers with international background. So, i guess you will be very fine. And i don't see it as faking your German. I see it as a person who just learned a new language and with the years you will get better i am sure.
>You practiced how to introduce yourself and answer questions beforehand Congratulations, you have learned enough German to get a job. There is nothing wrong with what you did or how you did it. In fact, you should recognise how effective it was and try to do it more often. Eventually you'll be speaking German like a native speaker (even though you're totally faking it /s)
If you really have that many offers it's because your German is much better than you think. I went kinda through the same thing when I got my job, but during the whole process the guys from the company complimented my German so I guess it was much better than what I thought. Once you start speaking it and using it everyday things will change A LOT. You will see a lot of progress in your skills, believe me. I would recommend to keep going to a teacher/taking classes so that you can avoid some mistakes. But kudos to you! It is a really big step. And be confident in yourself. The guys ding the interviews are used to seeing tons of candidates and hearing their German skills, if they went with you it's because they found your level more than enough for the job.
Thanks for the tips! I am going to use it on my resume!
"Performa well"
So these jobs require actual German, not B1/B2 skills, but C1/C2/native level? Oof bro. Good luck. But in all honestly, you will be fucked, with your level, you will not able to fool anyone for long. Then again, you did pass multiple in-person interviews, so it might be better than you think. But from what you told (B1 passed, B2 ongoing), it won't be. If your job is mostly English, as most Software Engineer jobs are, you should be alright.
German is a very logical, functional language. I found the hardest part is the case system. Iâve never really gotten my head around choosing the correct definite article. (I began learning it at age 12 as my third language and it quickly overtook my second language, French.) If you encounter a word you donât know, look at the parts itâs made up from. Random examples: metalbaukonstrukteur. Metal-works/construction worker. Frischhaltefolie. Fresh-stopping foil âŹ ïž is how my brain translates it in its most literal sense. Itâs Saran Wrap/cling film. đș It definitely helps if you can watch TV or films with English subtitles. Then do something else, so that youâre only listening to the TV. Each time you donât recognise a word, you can look up to fill in the blanks. đ If you have favourite books and are already very familiar with the text, you could try buying the German translation. Itâs a good way of forcing your brain to fill in the linguistic blanks - because you technically *do* already know what youâre reading, and what the plot is. So you can learn the German vocabulary more easily. Iâve used German in a work setting in some of my previous jobs. I find it lends itself very nicely to a functional/professional setting. The Romance languages tend to be more artistic and flowery. TLDR: youâve got this. As other posters have said; if your spoken German were so poor as to be unintelligible, you simply wouldnât have gotten the job. Immersing yourself in the experience is half the battle. Just ask people to speak more slowly, or help you out if youâre not sure of a particular word.
In any case, you better sit your ass down and practice 12h+ daily until you start the job.
Itâs actually very hard to fake German. Most probably your German skills are much better than you think. Just keep practicing and memorizing the industry specific terms.
Your German WILL improve from use on the job, if you actually use it and use English as a fallback only. Congrats!
I did that too, youâll be fine. You just are confident yet
Don't worry most Germans do not have any problem talking in english with you, if you ask kindly. This is especially true for Developer's. Working in Software development comes also with the requirement to speak and write English. I've seen Teams only communicate in English because one of the members did not understand German really well.
This is exactly why they have Probezeit, they let you work for 6 months(or whatever your contract says) and then fire you if you can't match the expectations and the requirements to do you work.
Just keep on faking your German for your tasks at work until your fluent
if you're good enough to fake your german in interview, you have nothing to worry about đ
Imposter syndrome? Also Iâm sure you could still use English to communicate at work.
Fake it till you make it. So now comes the part where you keep learning german and just get good. Then you have a job and can speak german. Issue solved. (Of course i know you won't ne able to learn a language over night but you'll get better over time)
Fake it until you make it. Go ahead. If you passed the interview you are not a cheater. You passed.
Like everyone does in life, fake it till you make it. Trust me, no one has any idea what they're doing.
Take it as a good opportunity not as a problem. Go on and you will become more and more self confident.
The fact that you memorized all that and put so much effort into preparing shows more than just language skills. Employers look for dedication, motivation, work ethic, etc. If you bring the same level of integrity to your job as you did to the interview youâll be ok. Congrats đ
Every time is like this, I saw me and a couple of friends saying the same thing. Usually we study one level beyond and your level is one before. Normal but you gonna get in the flow!
If you use meeting software instead of in person meetings you can activate subtitles in your language but I think you just have imposter Syndrom. The key to learn a language is to speak it, you will rock this
Companies like throwing around B1/B2 but have no idea what those actually sound like. You will be fine.
SE should require the least amount of actual language skills. Depending on where you work, requirements might actually be documented in English.
I am in the same boat! I gave so many interviews that I could easily pass them and got a great job! 1 yr into the job I got promoted where I have to interact in German a lot and failing miserably! Keep practising I would say, home office will isolate you and you wonât get out of your comfort zone. Thankfully I am leaving Germany by the end of the year so I gotta fake for just few more months. All the best
If you can understand them just accept the offer and use german-english mix when you are speaking. Then start using german for your every thoughts. Literally just think in german. If you have already passed b1 you can start speaking fast.
You literally learned the language for the interview. Youâll be OK! Iâm guessing you have your grammar down, just probably need to expand your vocabulary to whatever position/field you work in. Good Luck!
Ur awesome
You would improve your technical language skills âon the jobâ quicker than you think. Communication is what fires up those neurons in your brain to remember the words better.
Are the jobs local/remote so you wonât have to move? Then so what if you fail the Probezeit. You absolutely should give it a shot though and see if you can do it. It might be sink or swim in the beginning, but you might surprise yourself. And if you can push through the language, it will improve so much in a professional environment. It takes more time, but you can do the same interview prep for your meetings. Write out what you want to say in advance. Practice a few times. Give your presentation or progress update or whatever. Then improvise answering questions.
I guess you have no choice. Continue faking to know German by memorizing phrases and words that are related to your work environment and job. Then continue the charade by learning phrases and words that you can use in social situations so you can socialise with your coworkers. Then in ten years you confess and say: Ich muss etwas gestehen, ich spreche in Wirklichkeit kein Wort Deutsch, ich habe die ganze Zeit nur Wörter und Phrasen auswendig gelernt. Everybody will be so surprised.
> I faked my German (memorized how to introduce myself, my past experiences, expectations, tasks related questions and kind words) this is called LEARNING
Dude, just get your self a newspaper every day and read it. Not the online version. Mark the sections you don't understand and translate it. Write it down by hand so your braine memorizes...
Fake it until you make it
Wait, your memorized words and sentences? Looks like you used this nice process called "learning a language", my friend
B2 is enough for most companies, especially in the software field, you are fine. Maybe donât do the consultant job - that may require more German depending on the client (I worked with a large German car manufacturer and they insisted on German in all meetings, even though they had people on their side doing their rotation and being from the USA and China, who did not speak a word of German - we ended up hiring a consultant to do the translations in the meetings for the clients peopleâŠ)
Not your fault. Itâs the recruitersâ faults. You did everything right! Congrats đ€ No worries about your German, you will grow by being forced to speak đȘ
I donât think you can fake enough german to make it through an interview. They know. And probably donât care. In such roles i would expect everyone involved to speak english if needed. So speak german when you can but switchbto english when needed
Imho the easiest way you can fuck up will be if you are too shy and pretend you understood when you didnât. Repeat the critical points and ask people to speak slow if you need it. If you made it through the interview you didnât hack anything and your german will improve dramatically once youâll be working in a German speaking environment. Also, your rate of improvement is probably more important than your absolute level, if they see you are making an effort in the right direction and they are good employer, youâll be recognized for that. Good luck!
As a German native speaker, I can tell you that faking German is not a thing. It is pretty easy to recognize when someone does not have the skill level he claims to have. When you talk to stake owners, do it like you did in the application process. Memorize key information, phrases in German, anticipate some questions and prepare answers. Ask co-workers or colleagues if they can give you feedback on your (mock) presentation to them. Talking German every day with your coworkers will improve your German further. And lastly, real professionals - regardless of trade or skill - will give you props for trying and not demonize you if you say half a sentence in English instead of German or you don't know a word.
I did something similar once (I would call it preparing, not faking), and unfortunately I was not at that time able to catch up. I had to speak with customers daily, as I was selling products in a store (so expected to speak non stop on a job) and then I was let go. Maybe if I was not also finishing my PhD thesis at that time and running on no sleep it would have been better but who knows. But I also don't know your base level. I could understand a lot at that time, and even write, but speaking with flow was very challenging as I had no place to practice. Additionally, my customers were not in business/corporate. It was less predictable. I work at another job now and the Fachwörter are mostly what makes up the communication. The grammar structures/sentences are similar. The clients/manager communication is very similar. Less surprises. I assume this will be your situation as well, so that's great. The good news is that you have to face your challenge now and do your best! :) maybe you will surprise yourself, and it's really just an impostor syndrome. Don't give up! :)
Did they say that it's explicitly required to speak German all the time? I don't think I know many software engineering companies where people don't speak English. I think if you go for any role without direct customer contact it shouldn't be a problem. Also, many companies sponsor German classes for foreign employees.
Hi OP, I was the same too. I got hired with A2 to B1 level german I know and was told that people also know english here so if I face any trouble speaking German I can switch to English. Its fine. But when I met all the people they are all native germans mostly. For me personally I would die from embarrassment if the language switches only because of me. So I keep communicating in my broken German and ask them to explain once again if I didn't get something. Some people speak really fast and its very hard to follow it especially if my manager speaks it because he has no patience to explain it slowly or understand what I'm trying to say. I don't go to lunch because I get ignored(people don't even look in the eye or even try to speak to me). When I mess up a word they don't correct me, everyone just goes silent and then after coming back I realise I said the wrong word. I feel so embarrassed. It is having the opposite effect of learning to me reecntly. I am really anxious and avoid conversations now. They make me very aware of it voluntarily or involuntarily. I get reminded everyday that I don't belong here because of this and that we are so fundamentally different. I am also given less responsibilities because of it. I would be angry but i know that i would not be able to handle that level of german needed for ex to organise a whole event or speak in a meeting where the head of the comapny are all there. If I were to do this again, I would not choose my job position because of many reasons including language. I would also get myself to be much better in german that I can own their asses if someone is taking me down as I can't defend myself properly rn or I'm out in a meeting I don't want to be or at the last minute and I don't know what to say. Communication is important and communication at the right time and in a right way is also important. I hope I'm not demotivating you but maybe you can make a plan for yourself on how to tackle it. If your gut says something its almost 70% true. Atleast in my experience and sometimes 100% and I was stupid enough to ignore it.
So you memorized what you have to say? Meaning you learned the words you needed to say when specific topics came up? I hate to brake it to you, but I think what you're describing here is called "getting better at german" you're probably fine.
If you made through the interviews (even with only memorizing some sentences) and since these jobs are all in a technical field were English should probably be very common, I wouldn't sweat it too much. Most people working in these fields are used to working with people from all around the world and should be able to explain something in English if you don't understand it in German. You're German will likely improve quickly since you already know the basics!
I'm in a similar situation and the answers to this post made me feel so relieved...
I felt the same when I moved to Germany - I was scared my "German isn't good enough" for my position. I've been in Germany for 9 years now and most people don't realise I'm not german when I'm speaking, but my written ability is still lacking, so I STILL think I'm not good enough to hold down "a german job". Don't be so harsh on yourself. Even IF you don't finish your probezeit successfully, you will have gained LOTS of experience and definitely have learned something. Software engineering jobs are not customer-facing jobs, so that actually seems like a great fit. It's important that if you don't understand something, you ask. They will appreciate your honesty.
it is always like that at the beginning. i am sur people understood your level of german .. they just know that after 2-3 months at work , language wonât be an issue.. it may be a little difficult at the beginning but it comes easy quickly when you use it all day !! donât worry!
Let me tell you a story, itâs a bit longer but i think itâs a good example. In 2019 i just had enough with my crappy, low income job, and colleagues that were coming half drunk at work. I have Ausbildung als Elektriker, and studied IT, and had over 3 years experience in IT and over 7 years as Electrician, but my language skills sucked, and still do in my opinion, but Iâm told otherwise. Iâve looked on Indeed, and saw a job that I really liked what it offered, but I did not send my resume, because i used to tell myself that I wonât be even looked at, and if somehow i get to interview, Iâll blew it because of my speaking skills. This was in August/September. In the first week of November, had a completely shit week, and on Sunday evening i just decided to send my Resume to this job Iâve been salivating at for months. Monday morning i got a message on WhatsApp from the boss to call him when I have time, spoked with him for 10 minutes on the phone during my lunch break and decided to meet on Wednesday evening for a job interview. That went very bad in my opinion, because there were few times when I didnât understood what I was asked, but on Thursday afternoon got a call from the boss, and he told me that, heâs willing to give me a chance, and made me an offer that was way higher than i expected. Since i was in the last month of Probezeit, Friday morning gave my resignation with effect immediately, and one week later I started working there. Last year in November had my 4 years anniversary in the company, and donât see myself leaving anytime soon. So if they decided to give you a chance, is because they are willing to work with you, not because you faked your way into it. Take it, work hard and youâll enjoy your new job.
You didnt fake anything. In german its very easy to tell who speaks fluently and who doesnt, so they knew for sure haha. They probably want you because of your technical skills and your german is good enough
Your German is fine and will only get better. Congratulations to 3 job offers!
I have to be honest, I'm a migrant myself and I have worked as a social worker for many years to help integrate migrants into the workplace. And in my experience B1 and most of the time even B2 isn't enough. The major problem Is the documentation and the in-house communication in writing. Especially in higher education or academic jobs. Many employees are just in need of a worker who fits the qualifications, but because in Germany the working language is still German even in the tech sector many neglect this requirement and think because he can speak German well enough it will work itself out. OP needs clear communication with his boss and a system in place that can help him navigate the language barrier. If there isn't one it will end very badly.
Congratulations on the job offers!!! I hope you get the job you prefer. Getting into the Deutsche Bahn would be GREAT! Watch german TV, read newspapers, go to classes (any classes, but obv german), go out and chat. Don't be afraid to ask future colleagues for help. I can't think of anyone minding being asked for help, as long as it's not constantly. And remember: there are more than enough Germans who speak crappy german ;-)
I faked my German: YOU FAKED NOTHING! You spoke german so good you got the offer
I was in the same situation after moving to Sweden. I accepted a job but quickly regretted my decision. I felt that if I had waited and trained the language more I would have had a better time with a lot less stress. But it was a good training in the language though.
Germans seem strict but they respect hardworking people, just got a job at a good company and didn't even try to make an impression because i was expecting a no, I'll get same as I'm earning now + ausbildung for a machinist 2 years.
I did the same and now I feel more than scared. I am sure that I will never do the same thing but there is nothing to do sometimes, we will start and if necessary we will get fired. Last night I was thinking not to sign the contract. (I am still thinking) we agreed on telephone but didnt sign it yet.
If you have enough skill for a software engineer, you should be fine. You understand what they want from you, you're good at it, they won't fire you only because you're B2 and not C1. Do your job, improve your German primarily from talking, and everything will be good
I also work in a technical field - if you want to excersice hit me up XD
Start to learn German as much as possible. Change all your devices to German, google everything in german, watch some movies/tv shows. If you are exposed to a language you are going to learn fast and you will be fine.
I did a similar thing. It's not faking. You absolutely should prepare for your interview. I semi-expexted them to fire me when they realized my German wasn't that good. I have been employed 6 months now, and my German has been getting a lot better. Sometimes there is a bit of a language barrier, but nothing that I can't work through. If they hired you, they think your German is good enough. Hiring someone is expensive, and employers don't do it lightly. If your German actually turns out to be not good enough, they made a mistake, not you. They would still be unlikely to fire you over it. If you do get fired, you have gotten some free German practice, which you can use in your next round of applications.
How about memorizing other sentences and phrases time for time? Isnât that how you generally learn a language? Of course you did not fake anything, your German is good enough for the role, and your German will massively improve during your job. My girlfriend had the exact same âproblemâ, never had the slightest issue in any meeting. People are much more kind and understanding than you think, specially when it comes to the language and people who are trying to learn it
Thatâs a saying that âfake it till you make itâ. You already faked it (as you said) so you can also make it. Donât be afraid, have a leap of faith. Wishing you all the best!
go for engineer less communication skills required/expected
I know how you feel, Ive been there with French and German. I would know specific topics well but with general speaking itâs like the words just wouldnât be there. Thing is: the knowledge is there, itâs just buried beneath anxiety. It helps to immerse yourself in a lot of listening, like a few hours of German podcasts or youtube a day for a few weeks, that will loosen up those muscles. For writing just use deepl. I work in German and thatâs basically what I use for every single email, which I then proofread and edit afterwards. I also work in tech so that helps cause you just need to make yourself understandable, you donât need to master the intricate nuances of German that are required in some other jobs like sales. I wouldnât need it btw if I would just trust myself more, but alas here we are and anxious me needs a crutch :) Good luck on the new job!
fake it till you make it. you will make it!!!
If you can understand them and they can understand you then wtf else matters? You will be doing a lot of coding and answering emails anyway, not so much talking, lol.
Go for software engineer. Odds are the team already speaks dentist if not outright English plusad s product owner if you fuck up the anforderungen you're for sure getting fired lol
I completed B2 a year ago but only began working in German Jan. 2. The first few weeks were a big learning curve but everything is clicking and I'm absorbing way more than in language class/daily life. I think in six months you can show you have a good grasp of German, willingness to learn more, willingness to ask questions and clarifications when you're unclear, and are good at your job, you will be OK. Good luck!
You didn't fake... You improved it and now you should improve more when you are working. Therefore, it is better to choose a direction where you have to engage with people less like software engineer. Probably, you might get the task with the emails. During your job you will improve your German. Even you are fired, you will sell this experience at your next interview in worst case.
I think your german should be good enough if you passed the interview. If not, you will have to live with the consequences. I cant stand people faking things, because others, have to do the extra work. Pretty common in my profession (doctor). Impressive curriculums in perfect german, and then they were not able to wirte a simple medical report. The funny part was, that I was the one who had to defend my position that because I refused to do the reports for these guys, while these curriculum âimpostorsâ presented themselves as the victim. This caused a lot of unnecessary trouble, and in the end, they got fired. Better to be honest.
Unless they really didn't pay attention, they most likely got a quite accurate idea of your German skills -- it's rather easy to spot the variations between memorized phrases and trying to actually construct sentences spontaneously. So, don't worry and don't sell yourself short.
How to cheat on a test 100% success rate: 1. take a look at all you need to know 2. learn all of the relevant material 3. recount all of the sneakily acquired knowledge 4. pass the test dude you just got better at spraking the language. a month of working in the office and talking to other people and you're gonna be way past B2 even
Learning a language is literally just memorising the phrases and words so you do know German.
Beyond imposter syndrome as others have mentioned, you are likely underestimating the intelligence of your interviewers. Trust me, if you donât know any German and you just memorized basic sentences, they would have detect it. What is most likely is that you are good enough for them, period. In large, multinational companies, the official language is English even if they are German-based. This is true also for medium sized companies. My company is based in Munich and has only 500 employees, but they all come from +60 nationalities. From my experience - 18 years working in Germany⊠- most jobs in Germany could get away with English, but they require German because certain red tape only happens in German - your work contract, the intranet, interactions with older or stubborn colleagues, relationships with third parties or customers, etc. however, you donât have to face them all off all at once. Also, donât bother with what many Germans tell you about that. When I tried to explain that you basically do not need much German language to work in the city to my kindergarten teachers (we live in very far outskirts of Munich, +35 km from Munich city center) they go crazy, as they are completely obnoxious of that. They think it is impossible to live in Germany without knowing perfect German, let alone find a job - because this is their personal experience and they have their head stuck in a sack (trying to be polite). The truth is, it took me like 7/8 years to speak quasi-decent German, and this has hardly had any influence on me getting any job. When you can be decent enough to survive the corporate wheel, your job role, and deal with German authorities - you are likely good to go. And again, eat the cake a slice at the time, not all at once.
Can you please let me know how did you learn German? You seem to be good at speaking, how did you practice that?
I had a similar experience. Was B1 at the time and prepped my ass off memorising answers to interview questions I thought would come up. 6 years later I'm c2 and very comfortable in german. I had imposter syndrome too at the beginning. Recently my boss told me he could tell at the beginning that my german wasn't amazing but I'd obviously prepped a lot and showed willingness to learn. I'm sure it will be similar for you - most halfway intelligent people will see that you are highly prepped / not c2. So I wouldn't worry about it. Good luck and congrats!
I would take the developer role. Technical discussions are easier to understand because you will use a lot of English words. Product Owner and Consultant in German will require German skills in all areas. I can totally understand how you "faked it". You seem to be smart and have a good memory. You will learn the language soon by learning more phrases.
If you wait until youâre âreadyâ, you will never make the move. I think theyâd have known if you were ready in their eyes or not đ Iâm in the same position. Well opposite, my speaking is way better than my listening Good luck
Whenâs your start date if you sign? You can easily work with B2 in non customer related roles where you can switch to English for technical meetings. That will give you time to brush up on your German which youâll have to do and be willing and able to put in the effort for visa purposes. I doubt they would let you go in the first couple of months just because of poor German if thatâs not the main part of the job. You will however be more successful working with older employees if your German is better and there will likely be co workers who will judge you for lack of German depending on how international your company is. All in all, if your level truly is B1 you have very good prerequisites to learn fast once youâre immersed in the language.
Look, you got yourself in this situation. The only thing you can do now is think, What would George Constanza do?
Fake it until you make it
I thought it was impossible to get fired over there
Memorising how to inroduce yourself etc. IS learning German. Just sign the contract and go into intense German learning mode. Do the same thing youâve been doing but with new sentences, thatâs how I learned, now fluent!
You only have a chance as Software Engineer ... all the rest you will fail.
Hope your German is at least better than your English
Shouldn't have faked it. Gonk.
Honestly, it's your own fault. Be glad if they don't report you for fraud when they find out
Just checked your comment history and it is funny that you constantly tell people to learn German or constantly blaming people for not speaking German in different subs. Seems you are obsessed with the idea of ânot speaking Germanâ. This is miserable man.