Where should expats look for work in Berlin?

Start with startups

Where should expats look for work in Berlin?

You don’t always have to be an entrepreneur to move to a new city – anyone with good skills and a lot of determination can still find steady work upon arrival, especially when that city is Berlin. The German capital has one of the most thriving startup scenes in the world, and there are a vast amount of positions and opportunities to apply for when you arrive.

It’s easy enough to find a company in Berlin which matches your passions or interests, so we thought we’d list our top five companies in a range of genres.

Fashion – Zalando

Starting out in 2008 as an online retailer specializing in footwear, Zalando has since skyrocketed in the e-commerce world and now sells essentially any clothing or accessory under the sun. A respectable name amongst the startup community, Zalando’s workforce ranges from online content and marketing, all the way to garment design, customer care, and engineering.

Music – SoundCloud

Since 2007, SoundCloud has been one of the premier online audio distribution platforms for musicians and music lovers alike. With three major departments to choose from and plenty of regular new positions, anyone with the right talent could find themselves in SoundCloud’s Berlin office.

You can even watch a whimsical video made by the SoundCloud team about life in the Berlin office.

Travel – GetYourGuide

Providing quick and easy access to book tours and activities for destinations around the world, GetYourGuide is rapidly becoming the go-to option for tourists to save time and money before they reach a city.

As well as sales, tech engineering, customer service, etc., GetYourGuide also have a strong content department, as so much of the website relies on quality descriptions of the tours and activities. It’s not just English speakers that they require either, as the website caters for German, Spanish, French, Italian, and much more.

A quick tip for anyone wanting to enter the content department: These types of job descriptions will often ask for writing samples, as well as a CV, therefore it is a good idea to set up an online portfolio. Directing potential employers to check out your latest creative work via your own website is a vital step in today’s competitive job market, as this could be one big act of professionalism that GetYourGuide and others are looking for. Start here  if a custom-made website sounds like your thing to show off your creative abilities.

Gaming – Wooga

If you love playing mobile games, then it’s possible that you’ve already played a few developed by Wooga. The gaming company has a slew of available positions, especially for those in the fields of art and engineering. Animators, artists, and designers are all called upon to help keep Wooga one of the most prominent mobile gaming developers in the world.

Languages – Babbel

Despite Berlin being a place where it’s easy to get by in English (it’s often the official workplace language for startups), the city is still teeming with languages from all over the world. Helping new expats get to grips with German is Babbel, but it’s also a place where expats could find themselves employment as well.

Engineering is a majorly sought-after field in Babbel, as a quick scan at their vacancies will show job descriptions for Android engineers, backend developers, full-stack software engineers, frontend engineers, and so on. However, operations, customer service, HR, and marketing employees are also sought-after, and that someone could well be you.

Further reading

Does this article help?

Do you have any comments, updates or questions on this topic? Ask them here: