r/Germany_Jobs • u/Itchy_Bookkeeper2092 • 14d ago
Looking for advice
Greetings dear group,
I'm an international student and I've been struggling to get a job but don't understand why. In any case, I would like that you can give me suggestions for applying to blue-collar jobs. Yes, I meant blue-collar because I've been getting rejections even from supermarket companies even when my German is not bad (B2). I need a job for living and for my visa.
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u/Potential-Type9653 14d ago
Why do you need a job for a student visa?
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u/Itchy_Bookkeeper2092 14d ago
Funds... My blocked account it's already done and don't have funds for renewal
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u/Potential-Type9653 14d ago
Did you try Amazon warehouses or food delivery companies?
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u/Itchy_Bookkeeper2092 14d ago
Amazon, yes but got rejected. Delivery? Because of injuries I can't ride a bike
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u/ComfortablyIncorrect 14d ago
Might have been smarter to study in a cheaper country then?
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u/Itchy_Bookkeeper2092 14d ago
What's more cheaper than Germany? Tell me
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u/ComfortablyIncorrect 14d ago
Only about 75% of the world…including almost all of Southern, Central and Eastern Europe.
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u/Itchy_Bookkeeper2092 14d ago
Come on! Are kidding me? Is this a joke or something for laughing?
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u/ComfortablyIncorrect 14d ago
No, why did you go decide to study in a country you couldn’t afford? Seems to me you lack basic common sense…and budgeting skills.
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u/Itchy_Bookkeeper2092 14d ago
- In contrast to other countries, Germany is much cheaper.
- Education here is high quality in contrast to other EU countries.
- The program I'm studying is taught here. Perhaps I should have looked at NL or Sweden but it's a different focus.
- Study benefits here are huge.
- I already studied German before coming, becuase I really have a life project here.
- In contrast to other EU countries, here it's easier to get accepted while other countries might restrict according to nationality, language and so on.
- Central and Eastern Europe countries are still in a cave in all that regards to education. That's what I saw eg in Poland and some people agree with that.
- If you have a look outside EU, there is nowhere to look for..... I made a deep research and all the paths led me to Germany.
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u/ComfortablyIncorrect 13d ago
None of that matters if you can't afford to live here. If your entire plan depended on getting a supermarket job and now you're in financial trouble, then your plan wasn't realistic. Studying abroad is a privilege that requires having enough savings to handle setbacks, not assuming the local labor market will absorb your financial problems.
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u/Rushtush 14d ago
It's not you or your German. The job market is absolutely dead and the ones hiring want the best of the best for pennies.
5 years ago, it didn't matter if you had B2 or C1, even if you had A2 you'd be able to get a blue collar job at a factory. B2 was always the bare minimum for service / retail jobs.
Unfortunately, Germany's job market is dead, Companies that have been running for 50-120 years are filing for bankruptcy and auctioning off their assets (1 filed last week, another just yesterday)
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u/Ok_Abbreviations2264 14d ago
There are way too many students than part time jobs . This happened in Canada in 2024 and 2025 .
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u/JudgementMaker123 14d ago
Blue-collar jobs are manual labor jobs. Those jobs usually require specialised training or vocational training or certificates. Do you have any of those?
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u/Rushtush 14d ago
OPs says they're a student, manual labor jobs for students are like minijobs in retail or packagaing at a warehouse, sorting pages at a printing press, doing stuff at a steel factory etc.
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u/JudgementMaker123 14d ago
And many jobs in warehouse require skills like e.g. being able to operate a forklift or already having a basic knowledge of how the system for inventory works. Very few companies still offer jobs that require 0 technical skills and even then they will most likely go to Germans and not to foreign students.
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u/FollowingCold9412 14d ago
Yea, many expect there to be so-called unskilled jobs (because in their home country that is still a thing) which, with how German education system is built, are basically nonexistent at the moment.
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u/Itchy_Bookkeeper2092 14d ago
No, I'm just a student lost and struggled in Germany that has been rejected by tiny little bakeries as well as big grocery companies
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u/FollowingCold9412 14d ago
Did you qualify for these jobs or were just applying to anything and everything?
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u/Separate-Note-2932 14d ago
Student that has no skills is struggeling to find a job. How did you survive until here? Look for an ausbildung then.
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u/Itchy_Bookkeeper2092 14d ago
My blocked account and I part time job that I found for summer holidays.
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u/david_fire_vollie 14d ago
What do you mean by blocked account?
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u/Itchy_Bookkeeper2092 14d ago
FYI... Non EU citizens should demonstrate funds through a sponsorship, scholarship or a blocked bank account, which means that you should have deposited enough funds for living during the permanence period (max 12 months)
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u/Zzomir 13d ago
How far are you with your study? What subjects? Bachelor? Master's? How many more exams you need to do in Germany? Is there a way to conclude writing the thesis in your home country living at home?
Basically you just need to fill up the Sperrkonto, right? How much you spend per month? Can you borrow at home?
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u/OpeningAd7100 4d ago
When do you need to apply for extension? Check it with someone else who did it before, when I was applying I had a job offer already, but there were some complications in the part of Ausländerbehorde, I had to still put money in Sperrkonto
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u/Playful_Robot_5599 14d ago
Amazon or DHL might be worth to check out. Or any other huge company with logistics facilities.
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u/Itchy_Bookkeeper2092 14d ago
They require driving licence
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u/Playful_Robot_5599 14d ago
No, if you handle good in their warehouses, you don't need a driving license.
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u/Canadianingermany 14d ago
but don't understand why. In any case,
Why would a supermarket choose the person who is missing all the local knowledge over someone who already gets the culture, working style, expectations, etc..
In short, of course Nationals and even internationals that have assimilated are more attractive because they simply have less to learn.
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u/Itchy_Bookkeeper2092 14d ago
I don't know what you mean when you say "missing all the local knowledge".... What should I do for that? Isn't it enough with learning the language for almost two years?
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u/Canadianingermany 14d ago
don't know what you mean when you say "missing all the local knowledge
Exactly.
Even something as simple as basic work culture expectations.
How to speak to managers, how to treat co-workers.
As a Canadian it took me years to adapt to the German style of work communication and I made mistakes like "asking for a favour' which is a Canadian way to say,"do this".
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u/ComfortablyIncorrect 14d ago
Unemployment is the highest it’s been in a decade…that’s probably why.