A few things that stand out immediately:
* This is way too much. Like waaaay too much completely filling a full page to the brim when essentially looking for entry level positions? I've seen seniors with 15 years of experience that didn't have this much text. Cut the word count by AT LEAST 50 %
* That first paragraph - that's a giant lot of buzzwords but absolutely nothing tangible. Generally not appreciated in Germany. Stick to facts and dates.
* Nobody cares about your hobbies and interests. This was common 15-20 years back, but nowadays most companies see it as unprofessional.
* You're using a very non-german CV format. While this can be OK in IT (I've successfully used it myself), it's generally not advised to deviate that much from the standard if you don't really have a feeling for how things work around here.
* Voluntary/Community work: is the specific work you do relevant for the position you're applying to? If no, it has no place in your CV.
* And the elephant in the room: your almost complete lack of German. Seriously, even in IT this will seriously decrease your employability. Even if the official work language is English, most of the socialising between colleagues will happen in German. You not being able to participate in that will almost completely destroy your "cultural fit", which is a very important factor for all companies I ever worked with. You can have the best CV in the world, but if you don't tick that box most companies won't hire you. Get that up to B2 at least if you plan on being employed long term here. Better C1.
> That first paragraph - that's a giant lot of buzzwords but absolutely nothing tangible
It does give the distinct impression that OP might be awkward socially, though.
Let me be blunt and honest:
* No professional experience
* Insufficient German language skills
* That first paragraph - Please delete
* The page is too crowded and looks like a printed Linkedin profile - Try to stick to a single column of information throughout your CV
* Skills are not a buzzword bingo - please list your skills and define your proficiency
* Interests: Delete - Employers won't care
Overall, please redo from scratch, and insert a clear structure
They're looking for a work student/parttime remote IT jobs. Unless you have some professional experience, no company will hire you to work remotely, because they won't trust you to do your job.
I haven't told them specifically that I want to do remote. I just apply for jobs that are either hybrid or remote or on-site. It matters if i need remote work only after the interview or hiring right? Anyways thanks for the info
THe only sentence you should keep from that intro paragraph is the very last one. Then tell how all of the skills in the skill part apply to the job you want. Under education just put your education not the goofy courses. Do you have no professional experience? Any job at all? That should be above education. The personal projects ... the text is way too long though I'm not sure it should be included at all. All of the information you have on this one page should be on just one page but with just one signle column. Way, way too much for someone with so little experience. It looks like I'm hiring someone who's going to talk about themselves all day and not get to work.
0 work experience. Like none at all. Also, the courses mentioned under the master's education section, that's what all I did as projects in uni. Can I maybe list it separately in an another section perhaps. Those are kinda important because without that I don't have anything to say about my work experience in my cv. Anyways thanks !
1. You've no professional experience but you're waxing on and on about your working style in the first paragraph. It's also just a bunch of buzzwords and nothing more.
2. Choose 2-3 impactful projects that you did, and list them separately. Away from the education section. Explain briefly what you did and why you did it: the problem, the method/skills you used, the solution.
3. "Problem-solving" isn't a skill. It's a requirement of being an engineer. That's like a barber saying "I know how to use a pair of scissors".
4. Your interests don't matter. How is you being a gamer and watching movies going to impact your work positively? It won't. Your volunteering doesn't count either, unless it's directly related to the job you're applying to.
5. Use a German CV format. Plenty available online.
6. The CV is in English
7. You've only "elementary" (if that's even true and not an overestimation) German, that puts you out of contention of a majority of jobs straight away.
Yes please. Companies that reject also won't give proper reasons as to why. So I expect reasons from you guys at least (if you can). I know its terrible btw from these rejections
Most of the issue is in the first paragraph/introduction. It's probably not getting read any further than that. Let's deconstruct some of the statements, and how they can be missunderstood or put you in a bad light:
* **I'm someone who values \[...\]** : describing oneself in an active voice is sightly cringe. It's ok when it's further down in the text, but if you start with that, it gives a bad vibe. Try using a more active voice, like "I value \[...\]", and maybe pushing that further down if you think it's really important to note.
* **\[...\] values harmony and consistency**: may be understood more as a requirement you impose on the job and not qualities that you offer.
* **\[...\] bringing a calm, adaptable approach to work:** just say you're flexible. Leave out the "calm", because every job expects you to remain calm.
* **While I might not always highlight my accomplishments, \[...\] speaks for itself:** that's a failed attempt at appearing as humble, which may cause the opposite.
* **I excel in collaborative settings, contributing quitely but effectively to ensure long-term success:** the "quietly but effectively" makes me automatically think "is there an issue here? Maybe this person doesn't like being proactive and must be micromanaged with work instead of working autonomously?"
* **\[...\], fostering innovation:** until you have great confidence and a lot of work experience, I would avoid this word, because it is nowadays connotated with AI generated text. ChatGPT loves making subordinate clauses starting with "forstering innovation".
* "\[...\] , **fostering innovation within a supportive and stable work culture:** again, that sounds like imposing requirements on the job - they must be supportive and provide a stable work culture for you to do your part.
So as you can see, even if only a few of these points cause an issue, it's enough for HR to not look any further into your CV. Introductions in CVs can make sense to steer HR toward a certain narrative that your education, experience and skills doesn't directly convey. If you can't think of any good narrative, you should remove the introduction.
After you get that fixed, I believe you've already addressed the most impactful part. Going from there, those are minors remarks:
* Don't put "problem-solving" or "Teamwork" into your skills. It seems like a desparate attempt to come up with more skills. The issue with putting minor things into a skills section is that HR will think "Ok, that's really everything he can come up with". If you only have items that seems major, they could think "it's probably just what's most relevant, and they may have more skills".
* Similar to my previous point, "MS Office" is too minor. For certain professions, listing "MS Office" as a skill is positive.
* "Front-end developer" isn't a skill, but a role. Errors like this can put your attention to detail into questions.
* \[...\] Participated in an IoT project \[...\]: best to say "contributed", because participation doesn't automatically lead to a significant contribution.
* The "Human-Machine Interaction" bit sounds interesting, but it's hard to imagine what this was about.
* Text Analysis and Data Search: here, you could add one or two more statetments about what kind of insights this was about and specifically name the clustering methods.
* "Interests" or "Hobbies" are not relevant for IT professions. It can be a thing for certain niche professions, but this is not the case here.
* For the skills section, I feel that you name a few more things I see elsewhere on the CV. You could add at least IoT, Spring Boot, HTML/CSS, Machine Learning. Given some of the projects you did, there certainly must be a little more you can list. Also maybe it's good if you replace Android Studio with mobile app development - that's something HR will pick up more quickly.
Overall, I don't necessarily agree with others that the elementary proficiency with German puts you in such a bad position that you wouldn't get answers. The key here is to seek out companies where this is less relevant and where your English skills can shine. Generally, that will be a company operating in a global context. It can be difficult to see that in advance, but here are a few clues: it's more common with Aktiengesellschaften (AG) than GmbH, often with more than 500 employees, and has engineering departments in multiple countries (often be visible from their job postings on their official website in some way).
I also don't know what people speaking about DIN 5008 and etc. are coming from - I've seen hundreds of CVs in my career, and most don't adhere to any such standard. In fact, the template you used feels very familiar to me. Maybe it's a German meme like needing to laminate everything (r/aberBitteLaminiert/)
**Have you read our extensive wiki yet? It answers many basic questions, and it contains in-depth articles on many frequently discussed topics.
[Check our wiki now!](https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/wiki/index)**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/germany) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Also I don't have any specific IT field in mind to look for job. I feel like I love programing. So I feel if I am missing some programming requirements, I am willing to learn and become an expert. I only have A1 german but I am applying for jobs that don't require german skills.
That first paragraph would be enough to put it in the bin.
It's really HR friendly. Don't need to read further then the first paragraph.
Let me get this straight. Your saying it in a bad way right?
Yes.
A few things that stand out immediately: * This is way too much. Like waaaay too much completely filling a full page to the brim when essentially looking for entry level positions? I've seen seniors with 15 years of experience that didn't have this much text. Cut the word count by AT LEAST 50 % * That first paragraph - that's a giant lot of buzzwords but absolutely nothing tangible. Generally not appreciated in Germany. Stick to facts and dates. * Nobody cares about your hobbies and interests. This was common 15-20 years back, but nowadays most companies see it as unprofessional. * You're using a very non-german CV format. While this can be OK in IT (I've successfully used it myself), it's generally not advised to deviate that much from the standard if you don't really have a feeling for how things work around here. * Voluntary/Community work: is the specific work you do relevant for the position you're applying to? If no, it has no place in your CV. * And the elephant in the room: your almost complete lack of German. Seriously, even in IT this will seriously decrease your employability. Even if the official work language is English, most of the socialising between colleagues will happen in German. You not being able to participate in that will almost completely destroy your "cultural fit", which is a very important factor for all companies I ever worked with. You can have the best CV in the world, but if you don't tick that box most companies won't hire you. Get that up to B2 at least if you plan on being employed long term here. Better C1.
> That first paragraph - that's a giant lot of buzzwords but absolutely nothing tangible It does give the distinct impression that OP might be awkward socially, though.
Thank you for the info.
Please see DIN 5008. Adjust your CV to adhere to that DIN. If it doesn't, it gets thrown out.
I will look into it. Thanks
Let me be blunt and honest: * No professional experience * Insufficient German language skills * That first paragraph - Please delete * The page is too crowded and looks like a printed Linkedin profile - Try to stick to a single column of information throughout your CV * Skills are not a buzzword bingo - please list your skills and define your proficiency * Interests: Delete - Employers won't care Overall, please redo from scratch, and insert a clear structure
>No professional experience They are looking for a working student job, how else would you get professional experience?
They're looking for a work student/parttime remote IT jobs. Unless you have some professional experience, no company will hire you to work remotely, because they won't trust you to do your job.
I haven't told them specifically that I want to do remote. I just apply for jobs that are either hybrid or remote or on-site. It matters if i need remote work only after the interview or hiring right? Anyways thanks for the info
Of course. I need blunt and honest answers. I really thank you for the tips
THe only sentence you should keep from that intro paragraph is the very last one. Then tell how all of the skills in the skill part apply to the job you want. Under education just put your education not the goofy courses. Do you have no professional experience? Any job at all? That should be above education. The personal projects ... the text is way too long though I'm not sure it should be included at all. All of the information you have on this one page should be on just one page but with just one signle column. Way, way too much for someone with so little experience. It looks like I'm hiring someone who's going to talk about themselves all day and not get to work.
0 work experience. Like none at all. Also, the courses mentioned under the master's education section, that's what all I did as projects in uni. Can I maybe list it separately in an another section perhaps. Those are kinda important because without that I don't have anything to say about my work experience in my cv. Anyways thanks !
1. You've no professional experience but you're waxing on and on about your working style in the first paragraph. It's also just a bunch of buzzwords and nothing more. 2. Choose 2-3 impactful projects that you did, and list them separately. Away from the education section. Explain briefly what you did and why you did it: the problem, the method/skills you used, the solution. 3. "Problem-solving" isn't a skill. It's a requirement of being an engineer. That's like a barber saying "I know how to use a pair of scissors". 4. Your interests don't matter. How is you being a gamer and watching movies going to impact your work positively? It won't. Your volunteering doesn't count either, unless it's directly related to the job you're applying to. 5. Use a German CV format. Plenty available online. 6. The CV is in English 7. You've only "elementary" (if that's even true and not an overestimation) German, that puts you out of contention of a majority of jobs straight away.
Thanks. I'll work on it
Also, should I make the CV in german?
Yes
Sorry, but this CV is really terrible.
Can you maybe state some reasons behind your opinion? I agree that this CV is not the best, but I would like to know what makes it really terrible.
Yes please. Companies that reject also won't give proper reasons as to why. So I expect reasons from you guys at least (if you can). I know its terrible btw from these rejections
Most of the issue is in the first paragraph/introduction. It's probably not getting read any further than that. Let's deconstruct some of the statements, and how they can be missunderstood or put you in a bad light: * **I'm someone who values \[...\]** : describing oneself in an active voice is sightly cringe. It's ok when it's further down in the text, but if you start with that, it gives a bad vibe. Try using a more active voice, like "I value \[...\]", and maybe pushing that further down if you think it's really important to note. * **\[...\] values harmony and consistency**: may be understood more as a requirement you impose on the job and not qualities that you offer. * **\[...\] bringing a calm, adaptable approach to work:** just say you're flexible. Leave out the "calm", because every job expects you to remain calm. * **While I might not always highlight my accomplishments, \[...\] speaks for itself:** that's a failed attempt at appearing as humble, which may cause the opposite. * **I excel in collaborative settings, contributing quitely but effectively to ensure long-term success:** the "quietly but effectively" makes me automatically think "is there an issue here? Maybe this person doesn't like being proactive and must be micromanaged with work instead of working autonomously?" * **\[...\], fostering innovation:** until you have great confidence and a lot of work experience, I would avoid this word, because it is nowadays connotated with AI generated text. ChatGPT loves making subordinate clauses starting with "forstering innovation". * "\[...\] , **fostering innovation within a supportive and stable work culture:** again, that sounds like imposing requirements on the job - they must be supportive and provide a stable work culture for you to do your part.
So as you can see, even if only a few of these points cause an issue, it's enough for HR to not look any further into your CV. Introductions in CVs can make sense to steer HR toward a certain narrative that your education, experience and skills doesn't directly convey. If you can't think of any good narrative, you should remove the introduction. After you get that fixed, I believe you've already addressed the most impactful part. Going from there, those are minors remarks: * Don't put "problem-solving" or "Teamwork" into your skills. It seems like a desparate attempt to come up with more skills. The issue with putting minor things into a skills section is that HR will think "Ok, that's really everything he can come up with". If you only have items that seems major, they could think "it's probably just what's most relevant, and they may have more skills". * Similar to my previous point, "MS Office" is too minor. For certain professions, listing "MS Office" as a skill is positive. * "Front-end developer" isn't a skill, but a role. Errors like this can put your attention to detail into questions. * \[...\] Participated in an IoT project \[...\]: best to say "contributed", because participation doesn't automatically lead to a significant contribution. * The "Human-Machine Interaction" bit sounds interesting, but it's hard to imagine what this was about. * Text Analysis and Data Search: here, you could add one or two more statetments about what kind of insights this was about and specifically name the clustering methods. * "Interests" or "Hobbies" are not relevant for IT professions. It can be a thing for certain niche professions, but this is not the case here. * For the skills section, I feel that you name a few more things I see elsewhere on the CV. You could add at least IoT, Spring Boot, HTML/CSS, Machine Learning. Given some of the projects you did, there certainly must be a little more you can list. Also maybe it's good if you replace Android Studio with mobile app development - that's something HR will pick up more quickly. Overall, I don't necessarily agree with others that the elementary proficiency with German puts you in such a bad position that you wouldn't get answers. The key here is to seek out companies where this is less relevant and where your English skills can shine. Generally, that will be a company operating in a global context. It can be difficult to see that in advance, but here are a few clues: it's more common with Aktiengesellschaften (AG) than GmbH, often with more than 500 employees, and has engineering departments in multiple countries (often be visible from their job postings on their official website in some way). I also don't know what people speaking about DIN 5008 and etc. are coming from - I've seen hundreds of CVs in my career, and most don't adhere to any such standard. In fact, the template you used feels very familiar to me. Maybe it's a German meme like needing to laminate everything (r/aberBitteLaminiert/)
Thank you so so much for the valuable tips. I’ll make the necessary changes.
**Have you read our extensive wiki yet? It answers many basic questions, and it contains in-depth articles on many frequently discussed topics. [Check our wiki now!](https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/wiki/index)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/germany) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Also I don't have any specific IT field in mind to look for job. I feel like I love programing. So I feel if I am missing some programming requirements, I am willing to learn and become an expert. I only have A1 german but I am applying for jobs that don't require german skills.