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Day 23: From Cringe Emails to Career Success: How to Network Your Way into a Job in Germany

I used networking to land a job in Germany without knowing anyone in Europe.

It got me my first tech job with a Silicon Valley founder as a 24-year old kid from the Philippines.

And, it even led to a mentoring relationship with my favorite writer.

If you know the key to getting a job in Germany as an international candidate is networking, but you haven’t started because you don’t know how — this is for you.

Here's how to network without sounding random:

1️⃣ 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆. 

Here’s a screenshot of my first cold email when I was 23. It was cringe, but he ended up becoming my mentor.

2️⃣ 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 (𝗛𝗥 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀). 

Everyone is messaging them, so you’ll get more responses by connecting with others in the company.

3️⃣ 𝗗𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿. 

After 3-5 tries, you’ll actually start to enjoy it. I promise.

4️⃣ 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲: 

Hi [Name], I saw you’ve been working in project management in Germany for [X years]. I’m an American project manager looking to make a similar move and would love to hear about your experience navigating the German job market. Let’s connect?

5️⃣ 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘆 𝟱-𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 

  • 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Briefly introduce yourself. Mention why you wanted to connect with them, highlighting a specific aspect of their career that you admire.
  • 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆. What led you to move to Germany?
  • 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁: How does project management in Germany compare to [previous country/industry]? 
  • 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲: What advice would you give someone in my position? 
  • 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴: Thanks so much for taking the time to share your advice with me. This has been so helpful. One last question: Which companies do you know hire English-speaking project managers?

The best job opportunities for expats in Germany aren’t on LinkedIn Jobs — they’re in people and the conversations you haven’t had yet.

Every message, every connection, every awkward email brings you closer to the offer you’ve been waiting for, so get to it 🙃