How to write a German CV (Lebenslauf) that recruiters actually read

Lebenslauf is the German word for CV. It is the core of every application in Germany and, at many companies, the only document read during the first screening. German CVs follow a well-established convention: a tabular layout, dates in the left column, details in the right column and reverse chronological order (most recent first).

A German recruiter usually spends only a few minutes on the first read. They look for three things quickly: whether your experience matches the role, whether your career path makes sense without unexplained gaps, and whether you have the language skills and formal qualifications required. Anything that makes that read easier works in your favour.

An order that works for most fields:

• Personal details (Persönliche Daten): name, address, phone number with country code, email and, optionally, your LinkedIn URL.
• Professional summary (Kurzprofil): three or four lines on who you are professionally and what you are looking for. Optional, but helpful for international applicants.
• Work experience (Berufserfahrung): job title, company, city/country, period (month/year) and three to five bullet points with concrete results.
• Education (Ausbildung / Studium): degree, institution, period and, where relevant, your final grade or thesis topic.
• Languages (Sprachkenntnisse): each language with its CEFR level (A1 to C2), naming a certificate where you have one.
• Skills (Kenntnisse / IT-Kenntnisse): tools, technologies and certifications.
• Interests (Interessen): optional; only include them if they say something relevant about you.

Germany's General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) discourages selection based on age, origin or appearance, so a photo is not mandatory, and large employers — especially international ones — increasingly ask for CVs without one. Even so, photos remain common at many mid-sized and family-owned companies. If you include one, use a professional headshot with a neutral background and clothing that fits your field.

Date of birth, nationality and marital status used to be standard and are now optional. For international applicants, nationality can be useful when you already have the right to work in the EU (for example, EU citizenship) — in that case, state it clearly, because it removes the recruiter's biggest question about visas.

The most common mistake is listing responsibilities only ("responsible for reports"). Recruiters want to know what you delivered. Use action verbs and, whenever possible, numbers: volume, time frames, savings, team size, number of clients.

Briefly explain companies that are not known in Germany. A line such as "retailer with 300 stores in Brazil" or "payments start-up with 50 employees" helps the reader understand the scale of your experience.

• Weak: "Responsible for inventory control."
• Better: "Reorganised inventory control across 3 distribution centres, cutting stock-outs by 18% within six months."

German recruiters pay attention to periods without activity. You do not need to hide a break, but you should explain it in one line: language course, family care, personal project, international move, study sabbatical. An explained gap is rarely a problem; an unexplained one raises questions.

• One to two pages is ideal. More only makes sense for very senior or academic profiles.
• Always send a PDF with a clear file name (for example, Lebenslauf_Maria_Silva.pdf).
• Use a readable font and a clean layout. Highly graphic templates with "skill level" bars are often misread by applicant tracking systems (ATS).
• Write in the language of the job ad: an ad in German calls for a CV in German; an ad in English accepts a CV in English.
• A date and signature at the bottom used to be tradition; today they are optional, especially for digital applications.

A generic CV sent to dozens of jobs tends to perform poorly. Re-read the ad, pick out the keywords in the "Ihr Profil" (your profile) and "Ihre Aufgaben" (your tasks) sections and make sure your most relevant experience appears first and uses the same vocabulary. That helps both the human reader and automated screening.