Job Interview in Germany: What German Interviewers Ask

A job interview in Germany usually runs in five phases. It opens with small talk, moves to questions about you and your motivation, then the employer explains the job, the hours, holidays and pay. You ask your own questions, and the interview ends with the next steps. Expect the classic questions: describe yourself, why us, your strengths and weaknesses, where you see yourself in five or ten years, and your salary expectations. A good first interview often leads to a second one with management. Questions about pregnancy, religion or other protected traits are not allowed.

The process below follows the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) and Germany's Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency, checked in October 2026. Interview practice is a fixed part of my work: since 2022 I have coached more than 2,000 adults in Germany's career and integration programmes, in German and Russian. Most of them were starting over in a new country.

How a job interview in Germany runs

The Federal Employment Agency calls the interview the classic among selection methods and describes the same sequence in most companies:

If the first interview goes well, many employers invite you to a second one. That round usually includes management and your future direct supervisor, so expect deeper questions about the work itself.

German job interview questions and how to answer them

These five questions come straight from the Federal Employment Agency's list of questions that come up often.

"Wie würden Sie sich selbst beschreiben?" (How would you describe yourself?)

This is your self-introduction. Prepare two minutes: your current or last role, two results you are proud of, and why this job is your next step. Practise it out loud until you can say it without notes. The agency recommends rehearsing it at home so you do not have to search for your own career history under stress.

"Warum wollen Sie gerade bei uns arbeiten?" (Why do you want to work for us?)

Show that you know the company. Name what it does, who its customers are and one thing that connects to your experience. Generic praise ("you are a leading company") counts for little.

"Was sind Ihre Stärken und Schwächen?" (What are your strengths and weaknesses?)

For each strength, give one example with a result. For the weakness, pick a real one that does not hit the core of the job, and say what you do about it. The agency's checklist asks you to prepare that point: which weaknesses you have and how you handle them.

"Wo sehen Sie sich in 5 oder 10 Jahren?" (Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?)

The full question in the agency's list ends with "in unserem Betrieb": in our company. Answer inside the company. Talk about the skills you want to build and the responsibility you want to grow into there.

"Welche Gehaltsvorstellungen haben Sie?" (What are your salary expectations?)

Name one figure, or a narrow range, and know whether it is gross or net and monthly or yearly. Research it before the interview. The agency's Entgeltatlas (opens in a new tab) shows median pay by occupation and region. If you also want to negotiate later in the job, my guide on how to ask for a raise has a section on Germany.

Prepare these too

The agency's interview checklist adds three more points:

• Proven successes. Two or three results with numbers or concrete outcomes.
• Your earliest start date. Check your notice period before the interview.
• Your questions. The agency's 2026 guide suggests something as simple as "How big is the team?"

As a foreign applicant, also prepare a calm answer on your residence permit or recognition status, and on your German level if the job needs German.

Questions a German interviewer may not ask

Germany's General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) protects six traits: ethnic origin, sex, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual identity. The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency says questions about these traits are in principle not allowed in interviews. The question whether you are pregnant is clearly forbidden, and you do not have to answer it, or answer it truthfully.

Many applicants do not know this. In a survey for the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (opens in a new tab):

• 86% of respondents thought questions about age were allowed, and 72% thought the same about nationality or a disability. The agency says employers may ask these only in exceptional cases.
• 39% thought the pregnancy question was allowed.
• 52% said an interviewer had asked their age, 37% their family status and 28% their nationality.
• Interviewers had asked 6% of the women surveyed whether they were pregnant.

If a question crosses the line, you can steer back to the job: "My personal situation does not affect my availability for this role." You decide how direct to be. Some questions have a job-related reason in rare cases, so judge the context.

Phone, video and assessment centre

Many companies now hold a first call by phone or a messaging app before the interview. Treat it as a real interview: find a quiet room and keep your CV and cover letter in front of you.

Video interviews come in two forms, according to the Federal Employment Agency:

• Live video interview. A normal conversation over conference software with HR and the hiring manager.
• Time-delayed video interview. You get a link to software with stored questions. The software fixes your preparation and answer times, and every applicant gets the same questions.

For both, check your internet connection and microphone in advance, and dress as you would in person. Practise once with someone you trust and watch your body language, voice and facial expression.

Large companies with many vacancies often use an assessment centre: tasks under time pressure and role plays that test how you work in a team. Some employers add online tests of logic, general knowledge and concentration, or a case study, a typical task from the job that you solve in the interview or at home.

Interview day checklist

• Research what the company does, who its customers are and any recent news about it.
• Prepare at least one question for the interviewer.
• Check the date, address, route and parking the day before.
• Arrive 10 to 15 minutes early, as the agency's 2026 guide recommends.
• Dress clean and tidy, in the style of the industry and the company.
• Bring your CV, certificates and a pen. Know your own CV line by line.
• For video calls, test the technology an hour before.

If you are still sending applications, start with the paperwork. My guide to the German CV format covers the Lebenslauf, the cover letter and the certificates German employers expect. For the wider search, read finding a job in Germany as an English speaker.

Interviewing in German as a non-native speaker

If the job ad is in German, expect the interview in German. The Federal Employment Agency's international placement service advises waiting until you reach B1 or B2 before you apply from abroad, because recruiters may sort out weaker applications sooner. Below that level, look for jobs advertised in English.

Prepare your five core answers in German word for word, then practise them until they sound like speech rather than a text you learned. If you do not understand a question, ask: "Könnten Sie die Frage bitte anders formulieren?" (Could you rephrase the question?). The agency's career information centres (BiZ) run regular application trainings where you can practise answers to hard questions and your self-introduction.

Practise with a coach

Reading a list of questions is the easy part. Saying your answers out loud, under pressure, in a language you are still learning, takes practice. In my career coaching sessions we practise the questions you fear until the answers sound like you, in English, German, Lithuanian or Russian. If you have an interview coming up, book a call and bring the job ad.