Field notes · Mon May 11 2026 20:00:00 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
What German IT recruiters scan first on a foreign CV
How Lebenslauf structure, photo expectations, and stack placement differ from US or UK CVs when applying to German employers.
German hiring desks still lean on a Lebenslauf that reads like a timeline, not a marketing one-pager. For IT specialists, that usually means listing employers chronologically with clear end dates, naming technologies inside each role rather than in a floating keyword cloud, and stating your notice period or earliest start near the top.
Photos remain common in many industries; in IT the practice varies by company size. We advise clients to mirror the employer’s own careers page: if every portrait includes a headshot, include one; if the culture is photo-free, skip it.
The Anschreiben still matters for mid-size German firms. Keep it under one page, name the team or product you are writing to, and explain one concrete achievement that maps to their opening. Generic enthusiasm letters are easy to spot and easy to reject.