If you want to attract international specialists and workers or potential trainees, your job advertisement should not only be convincing in terms of content, but should also make your attractiveness as an employer clear.

Remember: you are in international competition for qualified and motivated specialists. This makes it all the more important that you actively highlight your support and integration offers. Describe your corporate culture and emphasize your values. This will help to attract candidates from different backgrounds and win them over to your company.
Be aware of country-specific differences in the application process:
- Applications may differ from German standards. In many countries, for example, it is not customary to include an application photo.
- The scope and form of the application can vary greatly: In some countries short documents are sufficient, in others detailed CVs are common.
- Information on salary, date of birth or marital status is not usual in some countries.
- References and letters of recommendation are sometimes only expected on request or later in the application process.
If you are aware of these differences and respond to them flexibly, you will increase your chances of attracting international specialists to your company.
There are several public job portals that you can use to reach international specialists.
- Let the Federal Employment Agency know about your vacancies.
- In the EURES job portal, the European network for job placement, you can advertise your vacancies throughout Europe.
- The EURAXESS portal is suitable for advertising jobs for scientists from EU countries.
- You can use the Alumniportal Deutschland job exchange to target former international students from German universities.
If you are looking for specialists from a specific country, it is best to use local online job boards in the target country. Job portals of foreign universities and research institutions (e.g. international career services) also offer you the opportunity to search for talent regionally. Translating the job advertisement into the language of the target country or into English can also help to improve visibility.
Industry-specific platforms, publications or blogs are a good way to target specialized professionals.
Many young international talents use well-known social media channels. You can achieve a wide reach on these platforms and have various filter options when advertising your vacancies.
As an alternative to placing job advertisements, you can actively search for applicant profiles of international talent yourself.
- You have the opportunity to access international applicants free of charge via the International Candidate Pool.
- In the EURES job portal, you can view profiles of applicants from EU countries.
- The German Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHK) have an extensive internal applicant database of skilled workers with a German language level of at least B1.
- In the "Hand in Hand for International Talents" project, you can use profile folders to find suitable applicants in the electrical, hotel and catering, IT, metal and mechatronics sectors.
- UBAconnect provides a free matching service for qualified employees in IHK and HWK professions.
- Private, internationally active recruitment agencies also often have their own applicant databases that focus on specific countries or professions. In the ZEFAS recruitment overview you will find qualified service providers with experience in the fair and sustainable recruitment of international specialists and workers.
Neu: Informationspflicht bei der Fachkräftegewinnung aus Drittstaaten
Ab Januar 2026 sind Arbeitgeber verpflichtet, angeworbene Drittstaatsangehörige spätestens am ersten Arbeitstag schriftlich über das kostenfreie Beratungsangebot „Faire Integration“ zu informieren und die Kontaktdaten der dem Arbeitsplatz nächstgelegenen Beratungsstelle weiterzugeben.


