The success rate for every individual and profile will be different. Having said that, one has a “better” scope of landing a job in Germany on JSV IF the following is done :
Understand the country : Do not equate working in Germany to working in your home country.
German working culture is quality and efficiency focused.
High quality results within agreed timelines is the focus.
Depth of the skills is more important than generalist knowledge,
Germany is an export oriented economy, driven primarily by engineering products. Technical skills are more in demand and valued than general skills,
Communication needs to be precise and clear, even when conveying bad news about a project or unexpected roadblocks, (unforeseen challenges might come up, technical issues etc)
Germans like to be informed and updated - they dont like surprises
Long hours in office are seen as a sign of an in-efficient employee.
In exceptional times, long hours might be necessary e.g. fund raising rounds, peak sale times etc,
Work life balance is very important, which means that no one stays long hours in office,
Managers appreciate it if you have a hobby, as it reflects that one is taking care of their well being, (I had colleagues who were doing stand up comic in their personal time OR going for week long hikes),
You own your work - there is negligible to no micro management at work. This means, that you own the success and the failure of your deliverable,
Assess the relevance and the suitability of your profile and skills sets when planning to even apply for JSV. For those who are in non technical role, read the following before even taking a JSV appointment.
Learn the language : This point alone can tremendously increase the probability of you landing a job in Germany. Be aware of the following, when planning to move to Germany :
English jobs exists in Germany, BUT
They are probably only 5% - 10% of the total jobs,
As a JSV applicant, NOW PICTURE THIS :
- People from EU (28 countries) can or do come to Germany to work,
- Most of them also don't speak German language (exception being those from Austria and parts of Switzerland),
- Then there are people from other non EU countries coming to Germany - US, Canada, Russia, Australia, Latin America, UK etc,
- Again, most of them don't speak German,
Now, there are some coming from Asia - China, India, South East Asia, Japan, Korea etc,
All of above are competing for those 5%-10% of the English speaking jobs in Germany.What do you think your chances are of landing a job in Germany with JSV? (limited to 6 months),
NOTE : Under the Work Holiday Visa, nationals of some countries can stay in Germany for up to 12 months. NOW, consider the remaining 90% of the jobs in the German market that ONLY German speaking professionals are aiming for.
Who do you think will find a job easily - those competing for English jobs or German jobs?
By the way, the German speakers can also compete and do the English speaking jobs.
Useful read : What one thing secretly destroys people's career?
Quality Network : A quality professional network goes a long way in building up a successful professional career. One can do the following to build up a network in Germany, while not being in the country :
Create a profile on Linked In,
Be active on your Linked In profile (you can view - Arun Mahajan's profile ),
Connect with professionals in your domain,
Write a personal message to all those you send out the Linked In and XIng invitation to,
Publish posts and articles on your domain on these networks,
Comments on articles and posts relevant to your interest, domain or hobbies,
Become an subject matter authority on your domain, topics of interests,
Offer support & guidance to those professionally junior to you,
Be a mentor to those you can spare time for,
Create an interactive environment on your professional network,
Introduce those who you can help even if they are not from your domain (I am from finance, and have connected IT professionals and those seeking guidance on Masters or Phd in Germany),
Share your personal stories of success, best practices and failures with your network (you never know who it might help),
Share the pitfalls to look out for in a professional environment,
Build up a rapport with the German professionals.
After putting in the above work, mail to the German professionals seeking guidance and mentorship. Build a rapport with your network, do not try COLD calling (especially if you are not a sales professional)
Snapshot of some messages that I get on daily basis (sometimes within 10 minutes of connecting on Linked In). Please DO NOT do this :
Finance professional from one of the Big 4's :
Another one from a Big 4 :
Not the best of the first steps to build up a quality professional network.
Stay in Germany : Before landing in Germany, focus on the following so that you are based in the best possible professional location for jobs search :
which city is apt for your profile,
where are most of your target companies based,
how far out is the commute from your base city in Germany to other potential opportunity cities,
what is the calendar of of job fairs and career events in different cities,
how active is the networking scene in those cities,
what is the recommendation of cities from the local German network that you have built up,
do you already have some interviews lined up before you land in Germany,
which city has your family, friends or references that you can rely on during your initial stay,
are you going to research jobs - when you reach, before you reach OR ideally, even before you apply for JSV?
Doing all of the above should improve the success rate for you to land a job in Germany. These are my learning from personal experiences and from interacting with those who were/are in Germany on JSV.
Keep in mind, a lot of factors need to come together to land a job in any foreign country. You might as well work for those factors that you can influence and then trust your luck/destiny to carry you through.
Best wishes for your career.
It always helps to have a mentor, who has worked and lived in Germany for some of the best brands. For personal consultation with Arun Mahajan, book a time with him.
Not for Reproduction without authorisation