CV in German with Europass 2023: How to fill in step by step

The Europass CV is one of five documents that makes up the European Skills Passport:

The Europass CV – Your Ticket to Europe

As many other people, you may have ambitions or studying, working or doing an internship abroad. Living abroad brings you closer to other cultures, helps you learn or refresh existing language skills and creates great opportunities for personal and professional development. But what is the easiest way to apply to an international university or company? The Europass CV.

Europass

Before we take a look at the Europass CV, it’s helpful to understand what Europass is as a whole.

In line with the principle of free movement of persons, goods and services within the European Union, Europass is an initiative which seeks to simplify the process of studying or working abroad for European jobseekers. With the understanding that no qualifications are the same in each country, Europass makes it easier for employers to compare and evaluate qualifications and for jobseekers to present their skills and experience in a clear and transparent way.

While Europass is a handy tool for creating your CV, the layout is very basic. On the other hand, Jobseeker offers more options for a nice layout. You also have the option to create your CV in multiple languages. If a job description specifically requests a Europass CV, then you will need to use the official website to create one. Otherwise, it is not necessary.

The European Skills Passport

The Europass CV is one of five documents that makes up the European Skills Passport:

• Europass CV
• Europass Language Passport
• Europass Mobility
• Europass Certificate Supplement
• Europass Diploma Supplement

Europass CV

The Europass CV is a template consisting of standard CV sections: personal details, the position you’re applying for, professional experience, education and training, skills, and additional information (publications, presentations, projects, awards and honours,

This structured layout saves you having to look up the CV conventions for different countries and getting your qualifications recognised by different authorities.

To create a Europass CV, go to the Europass website, and create a Europass profile. Once you’ve completed this step, you can create your CV in as many languages as you wish. However, you’ll still need to translate the body of your CV yourself.

Europass Language Passport

The Europass Language Passport is a self-assessment tool to assess and evaluate your language skills, and to present these skills and language qualifications in a way that is understandable to employers.

Based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), the European Language Passport is a useful way to explain to employers the different skill levels for the languages you speak: listening and reading, speaking and writing. Letters are used to describe language proficiency at six levels:

A1 – Breakthrough or beginner

A2 – Waystage or elementary

• B – Independent user

B1 – Threshold or intermediate

B2 – Vantage or upper intermediate

• C – Proficient user

C1 – Effective operational efficiency

C2 – Mastery or proficiency

Breaking down your skills this way helps them understand whether you are able to use your language skills in a professional environment.

You can also list language courses you’ve taken or any intercultural experience which may have boosted your language skills. If you’ve had a bilingual upbringing, taken part in language tandems or even just lived with a bilingual housemate, it can be difficult to showcase the skills gained in a standard CV. This is where the Europass Language Passport helps.

Bear in mind that the European Language Passport is now integrated into the Europass CV in a section called ‘Language Skills’.

Europass Mobility

If you’ve studied or worked in a European country, you can request a Europass Mobility report from the academic institution or employer. This is a document that captures and communicates the skills and knowledge acquired from studying or working abroad.

It is not possible to create this document yourself. You will need to ask the academic institution or company organising the placement to register with the National Europass Centre in your country. The host partner (school or organisation) will also need to register and complete the necessary information. Both parties will also need to provide an electronic signature.

Europass Certificate Supplement

The Europass Certificate Supplement helps employers to understand vocational qualifications (practical, work-based qualifications) which can be challenging to explain. It provides information on:

• the course content
• the level of the qualification and how the grading system works
• the education system in which the qualification was issued
• the institution that issued the qualification

Note that this document does not replace official certificates. For further information on which institutions can issue the European Language Supplement, contact your National Europass Centre.

Europass Diploma Supplement

The Europass Diploma Supplement describes the knowledge and skills if you have graduated from higher education (higher professional education or university). It expands on official degrees and diplomas, making them easier to understand by employers or teachers abroad.

As with the Europass Certificate Supplement, the Europass Diploma Supplement is not intended to replace official degrees or diplomas.

It is important to note that some universities and awarding bodies issue both supplements automatically while others do so on request. Some may not even issue them at all. To be on the safe side, always request a Certificate or Diploma Supplement before you complete your course as you know when you might need it.

CV in another language

Do you want to create a CV in a language other than English, but haven’t specifically been asked for a Europass CV? Let Jobseeker help you. With the click of a button, you can change the section headings to another language. However, bear in mind that you’ll still need to translate the body text of your CV yourself.

Professional translation

If you speak the language fluently, you can write your CV in the respective foreign language yourself. On the other hand, if your grammar is a little shaky if you’re feeling none too confident about your language abilities, the better option is to have your CV translated by a professional translator or a native speaker. Whichever language you’re applying in, it’s essential that there are no spelling, grammatical or lexical (vocabulary mistakes).

While there are various translation tools available online, these are usually only helpful for translating a word here or there or for translating from a foreign language into your own language to get the gist of a text. However, as far as translating whole sentences into a foreign language goes, they’re not 100% accurate, they ‘learn’ from other people’s translations – good or bad.

CV in German with Europass 2023: How to fill in step by step

If you are looking for a job in Germany, you should apply with a CV in German with Europass. This is the standard form for CVs in Europe and is widely accepted by employers in Germany.

This article is a step-by-step guide on how to complete a Europass CV in German.

Topics in this article

How can you find a German CV template online?

It is best to go directly to the Europass where you will find a sample CV in German .

The first message you will see will be a notification asking you to either register – Registrieren – or continue as a guest – Als Gast fortfahren.

I usually prefer not to register and fill in as a guest.

The downside is that after 48 hours, all your data will be deleted from the database.

How to write your CV in German? Main steps to complete the European CV in German online

Step 1: Personal information (Meine persönlichen Angaben) for your CV in German

Before you start filling in the form, you need to decide in which language you want to fill in your CV. – Entscheide bitte, in welcher Sprache du dein Profil anlegen möchtest.

I recommend German language – Deutsch.

Datumsformat auswählen – you can also choose the date format

You will then start entering your personal details.

Required fields

Vorname(n) – first name

Nachname(n) – last name

Geburtsdatum – date of birth

Geschlecht – gender – Here you have to choose from the list:

• männlich – male
• weiblich – female
• divers – diverse
• keine Angabe – No details (you have the right not to give details)

Staatsangehörigkeit – citizenship – Search i.e. rumänisch (Romanian)

Here you can enter more than one citizenship by clicking on the + Hinzufügen

Contact details

E-Mail-Adresse – email address

Telefonnummer – phone number – you can choose

• Privatwohnsitz – landline phone at home
• Beruflich – work phone
• Mobiltelefon – mobile phone
• Sonstige (others)

Important: Don’t forget the country code and area code.

Address

Typ – Address type

You can choose from:

1. Privatwohnsitz – residential address
2. Beruflich – work address
3. Sonstige – other address

Straße und Nummer – street and number

Land – country – when searching for country in German, look for i.e. Rumänien (Romania)

Once you have finished filling in all your personal details, click on Weiter (i.e. continue).

Step 2: Professional experience (Berufserfahrung) in your CV in German Europass

In the CV template in German language you have the possibility to enter details about previous jobs and your current job.

And here you can enter more than paid jobs.

It is recommended to introduce internships, voluntary work, training courses and more.

How to get started?

Important: start with your current job – or the most recent job you had.

What details are required?

1. CV in German: occupation or position held at the respective workplace (Beruf oder Funktion)

If you don’t know the exact name of your job or position, look up in an online dictionary.

2. Details of the company where you were or are still employed (Arbeitgeber) in your CV in German

In this section you must enter:

• name of company/employer (Name)
• the name of the city where the employer is based (Stadt)
• country (Land)

3. The period you were employed at a particular job in the German CV template

• from (von) – until (bis)
• Day (TT or DD – from Tag), Month (MM – from Monat), (DDYYY or YYYY – from Jahr)
• if you are still employed at the most recent job listed on your CV (which you should start with, by the way), write the date you started (von) and then click the Laufend button (current job).

4. Details of main tasks and responsibilities (Wichtigste Tätigkeiten / Zuständigkeiten angeben)

Please note: this is the most important section of the CV in German. Therefore, you should also give it maximum importance.

How to write in CV in German about tasks and responsibilities?

• First, make a list of your activities and responsibilities at work.
• Of these, choose the three or four most important – don’t forget: the CV in German should not exceed 2 pages
• find the best translation.

Because I know it’s not always easy to translate into German, here’s what I found for you:

If you need inspiration in writing activities and responsibilities in German, I recommend looking on Berufenet Arbeitsagentur. Here you will find job descriptions and responsibilities for many professions, jobs and positions in German.

You have two search possibilities on Berufenet Arbeitsagentur:

• you can enter the search word in German
• look in the lists of professions, trades or occupations: Berufsfelder sau Tätigkeitsfelder

Examples of job descriptions in German for CVs

German language job description for logistics assistant – Assistent/in – Logistik

• Transport-, Umschlag- und Lagerprozesse (TUL-Prozesse) organisieren, vom Versand über den Umschlag bis hin zur Lagerung von Waren
• TUL-Mittel zur Verfügung stellen
• Gütertransport- und Lagerleistungen abwickeln und kontrollieren
• Ladungen sichern und überwachen
• bei der Kommissionierung mitwirken
• logistische Prozesse dokumentieren, Informationen auswerten und verarbeiten

Job description for Laboratory Chemist in German – Chemielaborant/in

The full job description can be found at Berufenet Arbeitsagentur Chemielaborant/in

• für den Laborbetrieb erforderliche Chemikalien, Geräte und sonstiges Laborzubehör bestellen und bereithalten
• Laborgeräte, -einrichtungen sowie Laborcomputer bedienen und pflegen
• Versuchsabläufe planen, Apparaturen aufbauen
• organische und anorganische Stoffe hinsichtlich ihrer qualitativen und quantitativen Zusammensetzung sowie Struktur analysieren
• Feststoffe zerkleinern, sieben, filtrieren, destillieren
• fotometrische Bestimmungen vornehmen, d.h. Messung der Lichtstärke
• volumetrische und gravimetrische Bestimmungen durchführen
• Stoffe reinigen, identifizieren und charakterisieren
• …

Job description for a mechanical engineer in German – Ingenieur/in – Maschinenbau

The full job description can be found at Get in Engineering.

• Maschinen, Maschinenteile, Anlagen wie Produktions- und Fertigungsanlagen oder Windkraftanlagen projektieren und konstruieren, Simulationen durchführen, Prototypen entwickeln
• Produktionsverfahren und Produktionsmittel optimieren, Schwachstellenanalysen durchführen – z.B. durch den Einsatz von Toleranzmanagement in den Entwicklungs- und Planungsprozessen
• …

Would you like to find the job description in German for your specialisation? Go to Berufenet Arbeitsagentur .

5. Add a new work experience (Berufserfahrung hinzufügen) in the Europass German CV template

Step 3: Education and training (Allgemeine und berufliche Bildung)

My advice: Before you start filling out this section, go to a certified translator and ask them to translate your diplomas into German.

Do this for two reasons:

• you will know how to translate into German the qualification you have obtained or are about to obtain
• you will be able to scan and attach to your European CV in German your diplomas and their certified translation

What details are required?

Start with the last school or course you completed. In general, this is enough.

You do NOT necessarily have to write all the schools you have completed, from primary school to university.

1. Title of certificate or diploma obtained (Bezeichnung der erworbenen Qualifikation)

2. Educational institution/training provider (Bildungseinrichtung) and its address – write in Addresszeile

3. Website (Webseite)

4. Period of study or schooling:

• from (von) – until (bis)
• day (TT or DD – from Tag), month (MM – from Monat), year (DDYYYY or YYYY – from Jahr)
• if you are still attending a school or college, indicate the date you started (von) and then press the Laufend button (currently)

5. Further details (Weitere Einzelheiten)

If you want to add more details, you can do so by ticking the box next to the text above: Weitere Einzelheiten

6. Add another type of education (Neuen Eintrag hinzufügen)

Click on the blue field where the text above appears to enter another education course you have taken.

Step 4: Personal skills (persönliche Fähigkeiten) in the CV template in German language

In the online European CV in German you can give details of the following personal skills:

• mother tongue(s) – Muttersprache(n)
• other known languages – Weitere Sprache(n)

What are your personal skills?

1. Muttersprache(n) – mother tongue(s)

Here you can choose from the list mother tongues / languages learned in the family, if applicable.

2. Weitere Sprache(n) – other known languages

The first thing to do here is to choose a foreign language (Sprache): e.g. German.

You then move on to Self-assessment – Sebstbeurteilung, i.e. you show how well you understand, speak and write a foreign language.

The important thing is not to overestimate yourself. Once at the interview, the potential employer will realise how good you are in that language.

3. Digitale Kompetenzen – digital skills

CV – digital skills in German

The employer is interested, in this case, in seeing how proficient you are in using computers, the internet and mobile apps for:

• Data processing – Daten-Verarbeitung
• Communication – Kommunikation
• Content creation – Erstellung von Inhalten
• Security – Sicherheit
• Problem solving – Problemlösung

Within each category you will have to select the option that suits you best.

On the right hand side you already have choices that you can draw in the left field.

If you struggle to understand the German text, you can also open the English version of the European Europass CV online.

Step 5: How to save a European CV in German

1. When you have finished filling in the personal skills section, click on Weiter, bottom right.

2. You will now be able to view your German Europass CV.

3. Next, click the Beenden – Finish button (End), top right.

4. You will now be able to see your account as a whole. At the bottom left, you will need to click on the Lebenslauf erstellen – i.e. “Create a CV”.

5. Choose Europass-Lebenslauf-Importieren – i.e. import your Europass CV

6. Choose where you want the file to be saved

Mein Gerät means My device (computer, laptop, phone etc.)

Congratulations! �� You have completed the online German CV template.

Let’s recap how to complete a CV in German Europass

First condition: go to the Europass website, where you will find a European CV template in German.

Step 1: Personal data (Meine persönlichen Angaben)

Step 2: Work experience (Berufserfahrung)

Step 3: Education and training (Allgemeine und berufliche Bildung)

Step 4: Personal skills (Persönliche Fähigkeiten)

Step 5: How to save a CV in German Europass

How to hire someone to write your CV

If you still need help writing your CV in German, I can recommend an option I have used several times. Namely, to hire a German CV writing specialist on Fiverr *.

Or you can hire someone just to proofread your CV in German.

Fiverr * is an online platform where a lot of freelancers offer their services. You can search by the word BEWERBUNG (job application).

Then you contact the person in the ad and within a few days you have a professional CV.

Conclusion

A great place to find a German CV template is on the Europass website.

There you will find a CV template in German which you can fill in with:

• Personal information
• Information about your professional experience
• You can also fill in information about your education and training
• Data about your personal skills

You can then save your European CV in German as a PDF.

If you still find it difficult or don’t have the time, I recommend hiring someone to write your CV on Fiverr.

* The links that are marked in this way are affiliate links and indicate that we receive a small commission if you decide to buy the products or services offered by our partner sites. But for you, it won’t cost you anything extra.

How to Create a Europass CV (Tips and Example)

The Europass CV is great for applying for jobs within Europe — here’s everything you need to know!

• Nikki Vivian Careers Coach and Writer

When it comes to writing a CV, there are so many templates and formats to choose from that it can get confusing. Do you choose a chronological or a skills-based format? Do you keep the design simple or use a fancy template? The choice can be overwhelming.

To keep things simple, if you’re applying for a role within Europe, you can overcome the confusion by using the Europass CV. Rather than worrying about what type of CV to choose, working with a Europass CV template means your CV will be easy to put together and easily recognisable by EU employers and educational institutions alike.

In this article, you will learn what a Europass CV is, what to use it for and how to put one together with our top tips, as well as see an example in action.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• What is a Europass CV?
• Pros and cons
• How to create a Europass CV
• Writing tips
• Europass CV example

What is a Europass CV?

The Europass CV is one of the best-known résumé formats within Europe. Like a standard CV, its purpose is to present your work history, education, skills and other important information to potential employers.

It is part of the online Europass platform, an incentive set out by the EU to help create some uniformity and transparency of experience and qualifications so that they’re clearly understood by employers throughout Europe.

As well as offering an online CV editor, the Europass platform provides four other tools:

• The cover letter editor, which helps you create a structured cover letter from different templates.
• The Diploma Supplement, a document that describes the skills and knowledge you acquired through a higher education degree.
• The Europass Mobility document, which records any skills and knowledge you acquired through work placements, traineeships and internships in another country.
• The Certificate Supplement document, which details the skills and knowledge you acquired through vocational training.

Pros and cons of a Europass CV

While the idea of having a uniform system for assessing candidates has been praised, others find the process very restrictive. There are different views on its effectiveness. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of the Europass CV.

The pons

Those who support the Europass CV believe it holds many advantages over a less structured CV approach, including:

• It’s free: Creating a Europass CV is as easy as creating an account and inputting your details. It doesn’t cost anything, so no need to pay a résumé writer or fork out for expensive CV templates.
• It’s easy for employers to compare: If everyone applying for a role uses a Europass CV, it’s easy for an employer to compare candidates and data. When different CV formats are used, and information is presented differently, it can take a long time to pick out relevant achievements and skills to score candidates against each other.
• It can be used outside of the EU: The Europass CV can be used by anyone and is available in 24 languages, regardless of where you’re from or where you’re applying to work.

The cons

While Europass has support and is widely accepted, it does have its disadvantages, such as:

• It’s harder to stand out: While being uniformed has some advantages, it makes it very difficult for candidates to stand out from their competition. It doesn’t allow you to add sections for things that may be unique for you, and the overall look of the CV is bland and clumsy.
• It lacks flexibility: Along the same lines as above, the Europass CV is so structured that information needs to be input into the appropriate sections, even if it isn’t relevant. This can make for a very long CV, lacking the creativity of combining sections. The structure also often gets split across two pages, making sections difficult to read, so vital information could be missed.
• Website errors are common: There have been reports that the Europass CV builder is very buggy and in need of some review. Dates often get changed, and if an error is presented, the website doesn’t allow you to change it. All of this can be very frustrating and makes the process much more complicated than it should be.

How to create a Europass CV

Creating a Europass CV is a fairly simple process, and it can be broken down into four steps:

1. Create your own Europass Profile

Setting up a Europass Profile is completely free. You don’t have to create an account but it’s a good idea that you do so that you can save your information and progress and return to the website later to make any changes. If you don’t create an account, it’s important to note that any information you enter on the platform will be deleted after 48 hours and so you’ll need to start all over again.

2. Add your details

Once you create an account, head over to the Europass CV editor, where you’ll be invited to complete the different sections of your CV, specifically your personal details, a summary, your professional experience, education and training, and skills and competencies. You can also add additional sections language skills, publications, volunteer work, and hobbies and interests.

3. Select a template

When you’ve added all your information to your CV, you can select an appropriate design for it from a selection of templates. In this step, you can also edit your CV’s colour palette, change font size and add page numbers. There’s also an option to remove the Europass logo from your CV here, which is automatically added to the first page.

4. Save and download your CV

All you have to do now is save your CV in your Europass Library or publish it on EURES (a cooperation network of employment services aimed to facilitate employment mobility among EU member states) — provided that you’ve created a Europass Profile. You can also download your CV as a PDF file. (Make sure to give it an appropriate name, like ‘John Smith CV’.)

Prefer to use a CV template? We offer a variety of professionally designed and ATS-optimised templates to help you stand out. Browse CV templates

Tips for writing a Europass CV

As with writing any type of CV, there are certain things you can do to make yours stand out from other candidates and mistakes to avoid making. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Be concise

When describing your experience, make sure that you use short statements — this makes your CV more readable and easily understandable, and it shows that you respect the reader’s time. On that note, it’s a good idea to avoid clichés like ‘excellent problem-solver’ and to start statements with action words like ‘oversaw’ and ‘supervised’.

2. Tailor your experience

Rather than just including everything and anything in your CV, make sure the information you pick is relevant to the role you’re applying for. A good idea here is to look at the job description to identify key words and phrases and any relevant details, and incorporate these into your CV.

3. Use measurables

Make sure your CV highlights your results and achievements with facts and figures. Use percentages to show improvement and numbers to indicate things like how many people you manage, how much money you saved a company and how you scored in an appraisal.

4. Focus on transferable skills

It’s not all about skills that feel very specific to the job you’re applying for. Employers want to know about your transferable skills, too — so, make sure you highlight things like communication skills, leadership abilities and a desire to collaborate.

5. Use the correct tenses

A common mistake people often make with a CV is getting tenses muddled. Your current role should be written in the present tense (although some achievements that have passed may be in the past tense). Previous roles should always be written in the past tense.

6. Proofread

It may sound like an obvious thing to do, but make sure you give your CV a thorough proofread before submitting. A CV with lots of errors will give a bad impression, even if your experience is amazing. It shows a lack of attention to detail or, worse, a lack of effort. Grammar must be checked, as well as spelling and formatting.