German CV example: how to write a Lebenslauf

In Germany the CV is called a Lebenslauf and is almost always tabular: dates on the left, what you did on the right. Reverse chronological — latest job first. One page is ideal, two are accepted for long careers; three are not read.

The "About me" paragraph, objective sentence and adjective list common elsewhere tell a German employer nothing. Use a short Kurzprofil instead: how many years, which field, which certificates, which language level — three lines.

A photo is not mandatory; the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) forbids employers from requiring one. Most applicants in Germany still add a professional photo and it is still customary. If you do: plain background, shoulders up; no selfies or passport crops.

German employers scan the document in a fixed order. Keeping the order matters as much as the content.

• Persönliche Daten — name, address (city and country suffice), phone, e-mail, date of birth (optional), nationality (optional). No marital status, no religion.
• Kurzprofil — three lines: years of experience, specialty, certificates, German level.
• Berufserfahrung — reverse chronological. Each entry: MM/YYYY – MM/YYYY, title, employer, city; two or three bullets of what you did, with numbers where possible.
• Ausbildung — school, field, year. Explain Turkish institutions in German: "Endüstri Meslek Lisesi (berufsbildende Schule), Metalltechnik".
• Kenntnisse — languages with CEFR (Deutsch B1, Englisch A2, Türkisch Muttersprache), IT skills, driving licence.
• Zertifikate — certificates under their official names: EN ISO 9606-1, ADR-Schein, Führerschein Klasse CE.
• Ort, Datum, Unterschrift — in the classic layout: city, date and signature at the bottom. For e-mail applications a typed name is enough.

The example below is an explicitly fictional profile; it exists to show the layout. Use the same skeleton with your own data.

Large companies and staffing firms run applications through software first (ATS). The software often cannot read text inside tables, columns, text boxes or images — and treats a CV it cannot read as empty.

To stay safe: one column, standard headings (Berufserfahrung, Ausbildung, Kenntnisse), PDF format, your name in the file name (Lebenslauf-First-Last.pdf), and the exact title and certificate names used in the posting.

The German CV Kelyvaro generates follows these rules: title and keywords are adjusted per posting, it comes out as a single-column PDF, and a match score is shown.

• Translating your CV word for word: long sentences, adjectives. A German CV is bullet points that start with a verb.
• Writing language level as "good / very good". Use CEFR only: A2, B1, B2. Add the certificate (Goethe, telc, ÖSD) and date if you have one.
• Leaving gaps unexplained. One line for every gap longer than six months.
• Listing certificates under their Turkish names. A "C sınıfı ehliyet" is a Führerschein Klasse C in Germany.
• Sending an English-only CV to a German posting.
• Sending one generic CV to fifty postings. Each posting expects different keywords; the ATS counts them.

A German application usually has two documents: Lebenslauf and Anschreiben (cover letter). The Anschreiben is one page, specific to the posting, and says three things: why this job, why you, when you can start. If you apply from Turkey, state your visa and recognition status in one sentence — it is the employer's first question.

In an e-mail application the Anschreiben can be the body of the e-mail; the CV goes as a PDF attachment. Subject line: "Bewerbung als [title] – [Name]".