Recruiting in Germany

When your company is looking for staff in Germany, be it a Regional Sales Manager, a VP of EMEA, or a local Systems Integrator, try to search for applicants who can successfully bridge the gab between your company’s culture and the environment of your target market. In addition to making sure your applicants are a good fit from technical, industry, and domain perspectives, follow these five screening criteria when evaluating your next German hire:

1. Where did they learn English? Germany’s educational system requires students to take English – usually starting in fifth grade. Unfortunately, the instruction is heavily focused on grammar and vocabulary, and emphasizes short-term memorization versus dialoguing. To make sure you hire a German employee, consultant, or contractor that has a reasonable command of conversational English, check if they have worked or studied in a setting were they had to rely solely on their English skills in order to succeed.

2. The US Slang-Factor. Despite having five plus years of English studies under my belt, when I first came to the US none of the following terms meant anything to me: “What’s going on?” “Do you need a ride?”, or “That stinks”. It was embarrassing and painful to find out what each phrase meant and caused more than a few awkward moments… While it may seem minor, not knowing basic slang can make negotiations, every day business dealings, or simple conversations inconvenient at best. Check if the applicant has spent any extended time traveling, studying, or working in the US. If they have been immersed in a true American setting for at least six months, they will be able to relate to you, and your other employees, with much greater ease.

3. Have they worked for a US company in the past? If the answers is no – even if an applicants seem “ideal” – you are better-off to keep searching. Expanding overseas is a significant venture, which should be executed by local staff that needs minimal handholding and understands how American companies (including American colleagues) operate. Don’t rely on a “new-to-American-business” German hire to make your Germany expansion a success.

4. What’s their time frame? Shortly after you made initial contact with an applicant, ask what – should things cumulate with an offer acceptance – is the earliest date they could start. It is not uncommon for German employees having to give several months notice – sometimes up to 6 months. Knowing their time frame will allow you to better plan the recruiting process and prioritize all available applicants.

5. Test travel commitment and tolerance to time differences during the interviewing process. Most German sales people – especially those having had prior US-related experience – will be used to working across different time zones, taking calls at home in the evening, or getting up in the middle of the night to participate in a conference call. See how responsive they are when you schedule a phone interview at 3PM, which is 9PM in Germany (if you are located on the East Coast). Are they readily available and open to that time slot? If the applicant pushes back, run! Also, when arranging for a face-to-face interview, see how accommodating they are when it comes to meeting you at a location that is a few hours away from their home. Are they willing to jump in their car and “make it work” or do they request a more convenient location? While this is by no means an indicator of future performance, it will give you a sense of how easy/hard it will be to collaborate with this person. At this stage you are looking for clues, for early indicators. Hiring an accommodator, someone that can adapt and “make things work”, is always preferable – it is doubly important when hiring overseas.