Certificates and Work References
In Germany, it is standard to send an attachment with all your certificates and work references together with your cover letter and CV when applying for a job. However, I am astonished again and again about how incomplete and mixed up application attachments are sometimes sent. I often get applications with 10, 12 or even 20 (!) attachments, in the worst cases in different formats (PDF, DOC, DOCX, JPG, PNG…) that I must start sorting when I need to read them. In other cases, the documents are all assembled into one PDF file, but without any recognizable order. And in some cases, documents are even upside down…
And this situation not only makes it difficult for HR Managers to evaluate the attachments. On the contrary: It gives the impression that the applicant is a little bit… well, chaotic, not to say messy – what is, in most cases, not really true. And surely, that is not what you want, is it?
Therefore, if you want to transmit a neat impression and arouse the interest of HR Managers, I urgently advise you to put all your documents in one PDF file together and sort them exactly in the same order as listed in your CV. Put your work references at the beginning of the file, starting with the last one, then your studies and certificates in the same way. If you add a table of content, you will definitely score, but of course, that is only an insider tip and not a must.
By the way, if you don’t know how to merge your documents, I recommend you the „PDF24 Creator“ a program that is very easy to use and that you can download free of charge from the internet. I have been using this program myself for many years now and I am entirely satisfied with it.
If you have already been living in Germany for a while, you might already have learned that in Germany, employers have the habit of issuing a rather detailed work reference that not only certifies that you have been working for them and how long, but also evaluates how you have performed your work and behaved in their company and teams. Therefore, it is important when you leave a job that you request your former employer to issue such a work reference. However, it is equally important to read thoroughly every work reference you get since there are many secret codes hidden in the formulations of employers which may sound positive, but that sometimes also include some negative message for future employers. Of course, this not always occur, but you never know. I have also experienced some employers who wanted to leave a good reference and formulated unknowingly a statement so extremely positive that it had exactly the contrary effect. Therefore, I especially recommend you in case of doubt to have your work references checked by an expert. (By the way, I offer this service too. In case you are interested, please feel free to contact me).
Here, you will find more information about my Services for Job Seekers. And in my Terms and Conditions, you will find a price list for my services concerning the review of your work references.
And here, you can find some useful tips for the other elements for your application:
