How to write a perfect cover letter to apply for jobs in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Europe

September 16, 2020No Comments

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For your application in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and all other European countries:

These tips will make every cover letter perfect!

HR managers usually only need a few seconds to assess an application. As an applicant, you want to be convincing, so a clearly structured CV includes an individually written cover letter.

In the following, we will reveal what is customary for a cover letter in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and all other European countries. These are the most important tips what you need to pay attention to:

Cover letter tips 1: The successful preparation to inspire HR managers in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries.

Tip 1: The successful cover letter preparation to inspire European HR managers

If you are applying in a foreign country, you should first of all study the customs of language and communication, as well as spelling and grammar. Different terms are used in Switzerland (attachments are called “Beilagen” in Switzerland, etc.). There is no “ß”, instead you write: “ss”. The section “References” must be included at the end of the CV.

Then it is extremely important that you know your potential employer well. If you have dealt with the products or services of this company or its presentation as an employer, you will usually find it easier to target them. This will help you to get to grips with the subject matter and find out what stands out most and most positively for you in the researched information.

This could be, for example, the following points:

The modern production facility fascinates you.
You can identify well with the philosophy of the company.
The good employer ratings speak for themselves.
The flat hierarchies and the open communication are exactly what you would expect from your new employer.

Research the potential employer so that you can address him individually in your cover letter.

Cover letter tip 2: Designing successful cover letters for applications in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries

Different practices for applications in Switzerland:

Instead of “ß” use “ss”
No comma after the salutation
Section “References” at the end of CV

Tip 2: How to design successful cover letters to get jobs in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries

Make sure that the text is clearly and legibly laid out, has a clear structure and is visually appealing. The text image should be reader-friendly and clear and direct the eye to the appropriate places. Insert blank lines into your text so that it becomes “airy” and write left-justified. Inserting subheadings such as “My interest in your company” or “My personal strengths” as well as bullet points loosens up the text image.

The font and font size are also often decisive at the first quick glance as to whether the application will be viewed more closely and evaluated in terms of the vacancy.

Classics are Arial or Times New Roman. New fonts such as Sans-Serif or Roboto are currently in vogue. There is no standard – but it should never be a decorative typeface or a typeface with curlicues, as these are tiring to read.

The application letter should should be no longer than one page (known in Germany as DIN A4 – a standardised paper format measuring 210 mm × 297 mm (DIN 476/ISO 216). If the text does not fit on one page, you can reduce the font or line spacing. However, the font size of the continuous text should be not smaller than 10 points.

A clearly structured cover letter is more appealing to the reader. Choose a font size and size that is easy to read. The cover letter should not be longer than an A4 page.

The right content for cover letter you need to apply for jobs in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and other European countries.

Tip 3: The right content of European cover letter

A letter of application, which is common in Germany, should encourage reading, not be too long and convincingly present your skills and your added value for the company.

The structure is summarised as follows:

Introductory sentence stating where you found the job advertisement.
Make a reference to the company.
Make reference to the job descriptions and requirements.
Present your professional qualifications in relation to the job advertisement.
Explain your personal strengths with regard to the job advertisement.
Indicate the date of joining the company and, if required, the salary expectation.
Final wording with the invitation to get to know each other.

Present your skills and your added value for the company in the cover letter.

Tip 4: The most common mistakes in European applications

A cover letter should be grammatically and orthographically correct and should not contain any typing or spelling mistakes. When writing a letter, especially in the copy and paste process, a typing error can easily find its way into the text.

Typical mistakes in a covering letter are, for example, a misspelled name of the contact person or spelled letters (“Bewrebung” instead of “Bewerbung”). In this case, the application is sorted out directly, as this indicates that the applicant is not investing much time in his or her application or has concentration problems.

Don’t just trust your computer’s spell checker, but read the completed cover letter carefully after a break with a cool head or have another person check the whole thing for mistakes.

Under no circumstances should your cover letter contain spelling errors! Have someone else read it before you send it off.

Cover letter tip 5: the perfect writing style to apply for jobs in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries.

Important:

Keep the upper limit of 20 words per sentence in mind when writing.

Tip 5: Recommended writing styles for content letter to apply for jobs in Europe.

First and foremost: formulations should sound polite and positive. Abbreviations should be avoided. Expressions or smileys in young people’s language are taboo. It is important to have an authentic writing style that suits your language and your wording. So don’t use lofty phrases or foreign words if this is not your style of expression.

Long, complicated sentences: The short-term memory works in 3-second intervals, i.e. information can be gathered in these 3 seconds, everything else is not perceived. During this time most people can record about twelve syllables. Tip: Read your cover letter out loud. If you run out of breath during a sentence, it is definitely too long.

Boxed sentences: Sentences that never seem to end, that take a turn just before the longed-for conclusion, before they get to the actual point four insertions later. Such sentence structures tire the reader, tend to lack clarity and therefore often lead to misunderstandings.

Passive sentences: Phrases should always be actively written, because passive sentences seem uncertain and above all dependent. Phrases such as “I have given knowledge in…” (in german: “mir wurden Kenntnisse in … vermittelt”) should better read as follows: “I have acquired extensive knowledge in …” (in german: “dabei habe ich mir umfangreiche Kenntnisse in … angeeignet”).

Subjunctive: A company usually wants self-confident employees. False restraint is therefore out of place. Too much trumped up against it is untrustworthy. One of the most important application tips is therefore to avoid the subjunctive in your cover letter. formulations with “would have”, “would”, “could” should be avoided if possible. The concluding sentence “I would be very happy to be invited for an interview” stands out particularly negatively. This indicates that you do not expect to be invited yourself. Better is: “I am very pleased about the invitation to the interview” (in german: ” Ich freue mich über ein persönliches Kennenlernen.”)

Exaggerations: We all have our strengths, but you should keep your professional skills and personal strengths down to earth. Phrases such as “the born leader” or an “absolute team player” can quickly appear arrogant and unsympathetic.

Do without such superlatives and prove your qualifications and qualities by means of short, meaningful sentences and examples.

An authentic and easily understandable writing style is important in the cover letter.

Cover letter tip 6: the individuality of writing an application for getting jobs in Europe

Tip 6: The right individuality you need to write a modern cover letter

A german cover letter is convincing if it is written individually for the company and the job advertisement and does not sound like a standard letter. It should therefore not be like a “mass letter” and, if possible, should not contain sample formulations from the Internet.

German HR professionals place particular importance on finding out more about yourself through your cover letter than can be gathered from your CV anyway. The cover letter should also explain what you like about this company and why you are a suitable candidate.

What qualifies you and how can you contribute your strengths to the company? In this context, back up your statements with facts – for example by providing evidence of professional success. If you can now show the personnel decision-maker the added value that your recruitment brings to the company, you are well on the way to a convincing letter of application.

Go into each individual point in the job description and the requirements in the job advertisement. Qualifications that are not required but which you bring with you will not be listed in the cover letter. You may be able to find this out from your CV.

Formulate clearly and precisely, avoid vague, interpretable statements about personal strengths, as in this example: “As Head of marketing, I have excellently positioned the product group XY in the market and doubled sales by actively developing marketing strategies”.

Each application letter must be created individually for the respective company. Copy-and-paste applications usually have no chance.

About the author:

Carolin Krohmer is a German experienced application coach and owner of the „Bewerber Service Carolin Krohmer“.

With professional competence and sound experience as a long-standing personnel decision-maker, she accompanies her clients in all aspects of job applications, jobs and careers.

As an advisor and facilitator she supports you exactly where help is needed to take the right career step. Her portfolio includes the creation of tailor-made application documents or meaningful profiles at Xing, LinkedIn or Experteer. She prepares for an upcoming job interview or writes meaningful job references, letters of reference or recommendation. You can also rely on her know-how for individual services.

Fotoquellen: Titelfoto: 123fr.com Dean Drobot 107729122, Beitragsbilder: 123rf.com olegdudko 82554238, konstantynov 47407495, Jan Hruby 29643836, microone121462632, Roman Samborskyi 82769605, amasterpics123 87728067

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