Vice President International Affairs and Diversity (VP3)
3. After your studies – the next steps
3.1 Starting a career in Bonn and the Rhein-Sieg district
If you decide to take up permanent employment after you finish your degree, the first step is to look for a job. If you are interested in a specific company, it is a good idea to search the company's website for job vacancies. However, if you are open and flexible with regard to potential employers, your best option is to search online job portals for advertised job vacancies that match your qualifications and the job you are looking for.
Websites such as the “Stellenwerk” job portal offered by Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, the “Berufsstart” job portal offered by the University of Bonn and the job boards of the “Studierendenwerk” student support association and the Federal Employment Agency can help you on your search for a job. You can also search for a job and actively approach companies at the career fairs mentioned above (see 2.2).
Stellenwerk
H-BRS job portal
https://www.stellenwerk-bonn-rhein-sieg.de/en (only H-BRS)
Berufsstart
Job portal of the University of Bonn
https://www.jobportale-bonn.de/ubcc/ (only Uni Bonn)
LINKS
Overview of numerous German job portals with their areas of focus:
http://www.berufszentrum.de/artikel_0804.html
Detailed information about careers, admission requirements, descriptions of work and job prospects:
http://berufenet.arbeitsagentur.de/berufe
You can use the JOBBÖRSE to make targeted searches for jobs in Germany and abroad, look for training vacancies, create and maintain an applicant profile, put together an entire application folder and apply for jobs online:
http://jobboerse.arbeitsagentur.de
3.1.1 Your application
Once you have found a job advertisement or a company which you could see yourself working for, the first step is to prepare your application documents and submit them to the company.
The PDF file linked below contains information on the best way to create a good set of application documents.
In Germany, written applications are sent digitally by e-mail or uploaded to the company's website in PDF format. Nowadays, application folders are only rarely sent by post. Get all the information you need about the application process in advance from the website of the company you would like to apply to.
In general, you should consider the following in your application and CV:
Checklist
- Cover letter including your reason for applying and your signature
- CV including your education and career path to date, a photo, your signature and the date
- Certificates and references (copies only); copies must be certified and translated into German if necessary
- Correct name of the company and contact
- No typing errors
- Professional-sounding e-mail address (forename.surname@...)
3.1.2 The interview
If the potential employer likes your application, the custom in Germany is to invite you to an interview. Being invited to an interview means that you have a good chance of being appointed and that the company is seriously interested in you as a potential employee. Good, thorough preparation is therefore essential. Take plenty of time to prepare yourself and find out about the company. The PDF file linked below contains a few tips on how best to get ready for your interview.
LINK
Here you will find a PDF file which tells you what you need to consider in your application, interview and assessment centre if you are to be successful:
https://www.h-brs.de/files/related/leitfaden_fuer_eine_erfolgreiche_bewerbung_deutsch.pdf
3.1.3 Assessment centre
In some cases, companies may use assessment centres when recruiting staff. Assessment centres often last a whole day or even several consecutive days.
The company’s main goal when holding assessment centres is to find out more about your personality and expertise by having you perform various exercises and tasks. They also want to find out how you behave towards other people and how you deal with stressful, challenging situations.
LINK
Application tips for the German job market:
http://www.berufsstart.de/personalsuche/medien/Berufsstart-Bewerbung.pdf
3.2 Doctoral studies
The doctorate is the highest academic degree that a university can confer. In Germany, there is a wide range of excellent opportunities to study for a doctoral degree. Doctoral studies require intensive focus on a specific topic or research project. In principle, a distinction is made between individual doctorates and structured doctorates.
Before applying for a doctoral post, you should therefore consider which of these suits you best: an individual doctorate guided by a doctoral supervisor or a post as a doctoral student in a structured doctoral programme.
You should also contact the university of your choice in good time to find out about the application process, how your doctoral project will proceed, and the formal requirements for obtaining a doctorate. Besides receiving supervision at a traditional university, it is also possible to work on a doctoral project at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg or other universities of applied sciences. As well as cooperating with a university partner on your doctoral project, it will also be possible to obtain a doctorate through the doctoral college for applied research in NRW, in which H-BRS will also be involved.
If you are interested in doctoral studies, you can contact the Dean's offices, the doctoral offices, the international office or the graduate centres at the universities for advice.
Doctoral studies are usually funded by grants, subsidy programmes or employment opportunities at the university.
LINKS
Bonn Graduate Center:
https://www.uni-bonn.de/research/argelander-program/about-the-bonn-graduate-center?set_language=en
Graduate Institute of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences:
Graduate School for Applied Research in North Rhine-Westphalia (PK NRW):
Research in Germany:
https://www.research-in-germany.org/en/jobs-and-careers/info-for-phd-students.html
DAAD:
https://www.daad.de/en/study-and-research-in-germany/phd-studies-and-research/
3.3 Starting a company
In Germany, EU citizens, Swiss citizens and people from countries in the European Economic Area enjoy so-called “freedom of establishment” and “freedom of trade”. If you are a citizen of a non-EU country and want to become self-employed and start up your own company, you can obtain a special residence permit for this purpose. In order to obtain this residence permit, you have to fulfil certain criteria, e.g. by presenting a business plan, providing proof of your language skills and insurance cover, and undergoing a plausibility check to determine whether your business idea is viable.
You are required to submit an application to commence gainful self-employment at the aliens office responsible for your place of residence. If your application is successful, you can put your idea into practice and take the next step of starting your own business. Getting support can be very helpful during the early stages. H-BRS helps its students take their first steps towards becoming self-employed. The following services will help you start up your own company:
BusinessCampus Rhein-Sieg
BusinessCampus Rhein-Sieg is a centre promoting the start-up, settlement and growth of new companies in the Rhein-Sieg district and the science region of Bonn.
It offers business support services for all phases of company development and puts users in touch with regional business contacts. The BusinessCampus also provides access to offices, laboratories and conference rooms.
www.businesscampus-rhein-sieg.de/portraet (only H-BRS)
CENTIM – Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and SME
CENTIM is your knowledge partner for questions relating to starting a company, innovation management and managing SME. CENTIM offers activities for developing practice-oriented academic teaching, research, continuing education and consulting.
https://www.h-brs.de/en/centim(only H-BRS)
City of Bonn – business development office, business service centre
Individual advice for new entrepreneurs, contact Gertrud Hennen
BonnProfits
BonnProfits helps people with skills, knowledge and ideas take their first steps towards becoming self-employed. It offers information, advice and events which focus specifically on start-up entrepreneurs in Bonn who are active in knowledge-intensive areas such as IT and the communications and technology industries. Besides providing individual advice, they also organise events for start-ups or new companies in the development phase, presentations, workshops and network meetings. Offered by the City of Bonn’s business development office and Sparkasse KölnBonn.
Gründungsakademie Rhein-Sieg
Gründungsakademie (Start-Up Academy) Rhein-Sieg aims to encourage people interested in starting their own business, new companies and people who have been self-employed for years to realise their start-up ideas or develop their companies and make them competitive.
www.rhein-sieg-kreis.de/wirtschaft-bildung/wirtschaftsfoerdeung/gruendungsakademie.php
enaCom at the University of Bonn
enaCom is the central service unit which subsidises all transfer activities at the University of Bonn and fosters a transfer culture in all areas university-wide. The “Knowledge Transfer and Property Rights” unit of the Research and Transfer department offers personal initial consultations for staff and students at the University of Bonn
LINKS
This internet platform provides support for international students, academics and professionals who wish to start a business in Germany:
www.wir-gruenden-in-deutschland.de
Information on joining the German job market as a self-employed person for people from non-EU countries:
Information from the City of Bonn on starting a company:
https://www.bonn.de/themen-entdecken/wirtschaft-wissenschaft/existenzgruendung.php
Female entrepreneurs and women in top management positions give advice on starting a company:
https://beraterinnennetzwerk.de/