How to Write a German CV That Gets Read
A German recruiter reads a CV in a fixed order and notices what is missing. Our CVs landed roles at EY, Salesforce, BCG, Allianz Global Investors and Siemens. This guide covers:
- The format, and every section in order
- The photo, and what the AGG says
- The mistakes that cost interviews
LEBENSLAUF · BERUFSERFAHRUNG
The line a German recruiter reads first: the dates in their own column, then the role, newest first.
2 pages
the most for a German CV; one is ideal early in your career
3 months
about the gap recruiters start to ask about; name it in one line
A1–C2
the CEFR scale every language level belongs on
§ 7 AGG
no applicant may be rejected for what a photo shows: age, origin, religion
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Tabellarisch: your career as a table, newest first
- Dates on the left in their own column, as MM/YYYY; the entry on the right.
- Newest first in every section: the role you hold now sits at the top.
- One to two pages. Older roles shrink to a line each rather than disappear.
- Plain, scannable layout. A recruiter looks for the dates and the last role first.
- seit 03/2022
- Data Analyst · Zalando SE, BerlinBuilt the weekly sales dashboard used by 40 category managers
- 01/2020 – 02/2022
- Junior Analyst · Otto Group, HamburgAutomated the returns report, from two days to two hours
- 10/2016 – 09/2019
- B.Sc. Statistik · Universität HamburgAbschlussnote 2,1
Every section, in the order a recruiter reads it
Persönliche Daten
Name, address, phone, email, LinkedIn. Date of birth and nationality only if you choose to.
ProfilOptional
Two or three lines on who you are and what you bring to this role.
Berufserfahrung
Every role, newest first: dates, title, employer, city, then three to five lines of what you achieved.
Ausbildung / Studium
Degrees and school, newest first, with the grade if it helps you and the thesis topic if it fits the job.
Weiterbildung & Zertifikate
Courses and certificates with the year: language certificates, cloud, project management.
Sprachen
Every language with its CEFR level, A1 to C2, or Muttersprache.
Kenntnisse
Software and tools, grouped, with how well you know them.
InteressenOptional
Two or three that say something about you. Welcome, never required.
Ort, Datum, UnterschriftOptional
Traditional at the end of a printed CV; optional for most online applications.
Applying in English? The same order works; the headings become Personal details, Work experience, Education and so on.
A photo is common, never a condition
If you add one: a recent, professional headshot, neutral background, top right of the first page.
The law: §§ 1 and 7 AGG forbid rejecting you for your age, origin, religion or anything else a photo can show.
- Many German CVs still carry a photo, and Make it in Germany calls one welcomed but not obligatory.
- The federal anti-discrimination office treats application photos as a discrimination risk, and some employers now ask for applications without one.
- A headscarf on the photo is no lawful reason to reject an application, the same office says.
- No good photo? Leave it out. A missing photo costs less than a holiday snap.
Name every gap in one line: the lückenloser Lebenslauf
German recruiters read the dates closely. A gap is ordinary; a silent one raises the question you are not there to answer. From about three months on, give it one line:
| What happened | What you write |
|---|---|
| Parental leave | Elternzeit |
| Looking for work | Berufliche Neuorientierung / Jobsuche |
| Learning German before moving | Intensivsprachkurs Deutsch (B1), Goethe-Institut |
| Relocating to Germany | Umzug nach Deutschland, Anerkennung des Abschlusses |
| Travel or a personal break | Auszeit / Reise durch Südostasien |
| Caring for family | Pflege eines Angehörigen |
Illness needs no detail: Auszeit aus gesundheitlichen Gründen is enough, or simply Auszeit.
Keep your degree’s real name, and give every language a level
The original title
Write B.Tech, not Diplom-Ingenieur. Add the German equivalent in brackets if you know it; employers check equivalence in anabin.
The grade, converted
A 3.8 GPA can be misread as a German 3,8, close to the lowest pass. Give the German equivalent with the Bavarian formula.
Levels, not adjectives
Write B1, not “conversational”. A vague word reads as a lower level than you have.
Back it with a certificate
Goethe, telc, ÖSD or TestDaF: name it under Zertifikate, with the year.
Not at B1 yet? The German course goes from A1 to B2.
The mistakes that get international CVs filtered out
Three or more pages
Two at most. Cut older roles to one line each instead of deleting them.
Skills first, dates hidden at the end
Chronological, newest first, with dates in their own column where they are read first.
Years only (2021 to 2023)
Month and year (03/2021 – 06/2023), so nothing reads like a hidden gap.
A silent gap of half a year
One honest line for every gap over about three months.
"Conversational German"
A CEFR level: B1, and the certificate if you have one.
A degree title translated into a German one
The original title, with the German equivalent in brackets if you know it.
A holiday photo or a selfie
A professional headshot, or no photo at all.
Marital status, religion, parents’ jobs
Leave them out. Nobody expects them any more.
Skip the checklist. The German CV Builder lays every section out this way and its CV score flags gaps, missing levels and length while you type.
See the builderFrequently asked questions
- Should my CV be in German or English?
- Match the language of the job advert. If the posting is in German, send a German Lebenslauf; if it is in English, as is common in tech, research and international companies, English is fine. When in doubt, German is the safer choice for a German employer. The format stays the same either way: newest first, dates in their own column, your German level on the CEFR scale.
- Does a German CV still need a signature?
- It is traditional, not required. A printed Lebenslauf used to end with the place, the date and a handwritten signature, and many applicants still add them. For an online application through a portal, most recruiters no longer expect one. If you add it, keep the date current for every application you send.
- Do I have to give my date of birth, nationality or marital status?
- No. Older German CVs listed all three and many templates still do, but none is required. Leave out marital status and religion; they belong to a previous era. Date of birth and nationality are your choice. Nationality can help when a recruiter will wonder about your work permit; in that case a line on your residence status says more.
- What is the difference between a Lebenslauf and an Anschreiben?
- The Lebenslauf is the CV: a tabular, reverse-chronological record of your work and education. The Anschreiben is the separate cover letter of about one page that argues why you fit this specific role. A complete German application (Bewerbung) usually contains both, plus your certificates and references (Zeugnisse).
- How long should a German CV be?
- One page early in your career, two once you have several years of experience. Make it in Germany puts it the same way: no more than two pages, ideally one. Beyond two pages, cut your oldest roles down to a single line each rather than deleting them, because an unexplained gap costs more than a short entry.
The AGG read on gesetze-im-internet.de in October 2026. This is guidance from experience, not legal advice: if you believe you were rejected for what your photo showed, the Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes advises for free, and a claim under § 15 AGG has to be made in writing within two months.
Sources
Every rule on this page comes from one of these; a statute link lands on the paragraph itself.
Law, read on gesetze-im-internet.de
Official guidance
- Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes: Fair in den Jobphotos as a discrimination risk in hiring, anonymised applications
- Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes: headscarf at worka headscarf on an application photo is no ground for rejection
- Make it in Germany (federal portal)CV order, photo welcomed but not obligatory, two pages at most. The page sits behind a bot check; quoted as indexed
- Europass CV (European Commission)the EU CV format and the language self-assessment grid
- anabin (Kultusministerkonferenz)how German employers and authorities check a foreign degree
Related on Ankommo
German CV Templates
All ten Lebenslauf designs, and which suits your field.
German CV Builder
This format, filled in as you type, scored before you send it.
Job Hunt Guide
Where the CV goes next: portals, recruiters and applications.
German Grade Converter
Your foreign grade on the German scale, for the Ausbildung line.
Your Lebenslauf in this format, tonight
Pick a design, fill it in, and download a PDF or Word file a German recruiter reads in the right order.
Build My German CV FreeFree for one CV · PDF and Word · No card needed