How to find a job in Austria (Vienna)

Dear all,

I want to give you some information about the Austrian job market.

It's not easy to find a new job in Austria right now. There is a lot of pressure on the job market. There are Austrians, who have got a degree from university and who speak two or three foreign languages and who need several months or even one or two years to find a job.

In the language school where I work, we teach refugees and migrants German. They are looking for a job or want to go to university. I always try to explain them, how the Austrian job market works.

An acquaintance of mine is a job hunter, so I asked him for information. He told me, that normally Protected content 200 people apply for one free job!! The boss does not want to go through Protected content . His secretary will do that. At first she throws away without reading (!!) those job applications, where documents are missing. Normally they ask you to send your letter of application, your CV and different certificates. Austrian bosses love certificates and degrees from university! ;) The best 10 job seekers will have a job interview with the boss and finally one will get the job.

When you are a foreigner, they will expect you to send them your certificates of German language. This head hunter told me, that for example a nurse, a waiter and a shop assistant are expected to have a B2 certificate in German, as they have face-to-face contact with German speaking people. Imagine, even a dishwasher should have a B1 certificate! In the hotel and restaurant industry sometimes there is a lot of pressure and the dishwasher must be able to understand also in stressy situations his boss and colleagues without any problems.

If you work in the fields of IT or engineering, you are lucky. It's easier for such professionals to find a new job. But of course it's always good to know a proper German, because the competition is really high on the Austrian job market.

IT experts, engineers, doctors and nurses have got good chances to find a job in Austria, because we don't have enough professionals in these fields.

Good luck for those, who are looking for a job in Vienna or somewhere else in Austria!

Cheers,
Birgit
(Native Austrian,
journalist and
certified private German teacher)