For professionals building a career in Germany
Your CV says B2. The interview will say otherwise.
Almost every international professional in Germany overstates their German by about one CEFR band — not to lie, but because nobody ever measured it. German recruiters measure it in the first four minutes. Find out where you actually stand before they do.
Free. 15 minutes. 30 questions plus one short writing sample. No signup to start.
The reality check
Three things every professional in Germany learns — most of them inside the interview room.
01
German is the filter, not the bonus.
Most German employers do not offer an English fallback. German is tested before anything else — informally, within the first few minutes of a call.
02
Certificates measure knowledge. Interviews measure performance.
A Goethe B1 certificate tells you what you studied. A German recruiter will find out what you can do under pressure. These are not the same number.
03
The gap is almost always exactly one CEFR band.
Small enough to miss on a CV. Large enough to end an interview. And entirely fixable — once you know it's there.
Spiegel
A number you can
actually act on.
Thirty CEFR-calibrated questions covering vocabulary, grammar, reading, and real workplace situations. Then one short writing sample, graded by Claude against the rubric an examiner would use. What comes back is your level and the three specific things standing between you and the next band.
Start the test →Your progress saves as you go. Leave and come back.
Your result
B1.2
27 / 50 · Upper intermediate
What to fix first
Konjunktiv II in professional requests
You default to the imperative. German colleagues read that as blunt. "Könnten Sie…" instead of "Machen Sie…".
Genitive after technical prepositions
"während des Prozesses", not "während dem Prozess". This one signals level instantly in a meeting.
Passive voice for process description
Engineering German runs on the passive. "Das Bauteil wird geprüft" is the register your interviewer expects.
Sample report. Yours is generated from your own answers and writing.
Gehaltscheck
Know your number
before they make one up.
Most international professionals in Germany are offered €6,000–15,000 below their market rate — because employers know they do not know what their role pays. The Gehaltscheck gives you the market rate, your likely offer, and the gap between the two.
Based on StepStone, Bundesagentur Entgeltatlas, and IG Metall data (2024).
Check my salary range →Market rate (Engineering · 3–5 yrs · Bayern)
€63,500 – €80,000 / year
Likely offer at B1.2
€57,000 – €73,500 / year
German level tax
€6,500 / year
The salary arbitrage employers extract when your German is below B2.
The path
Three steps. One unlimited contract.
Start free. Join the waitlist for what comes next — no payment now, early access when we open.
Step 1 · Available now
Spiegel
Your real German level — for free.
- • 30-question CEFR-calibrated test
- • 1 short writing sample, AI-graded
- • Personalised "what to fix" report
- • No signup to start
Step 2 · Coming soon
Apply
Your German Lebenslauf, job-match scoring, and cover letters — at your real level.
- • German Lebenslauf from your existing CV
- • Job-match scoring on any posting
- • Unlimited German cover letters, 90 days
- • Application tracker
- • Calibrated to your Spiegel result
No payment now. Join the waitlist — first access when Apply opens.
Join the waitlistStep 3 · Coming later
Land
Apply plus the parts that decide whether the offer actually shows up.
- • Everything in Apply
- • AI mock interviews in German (voice)
- • Human review on your most important applications
- • Weekly group office hours
- • Private community of professionals on the same path
No payment now. Land opens after the first Apply cohort lands their offers.
Join the waitlistVertrag?
Got an offer?
Understand it first.
German employment contracts are dense and formal. Most international professionals sign clauses they do not fully understand — and discover the consequences months later. The Vertrag Reader explains yours in plain English and tells you what to raise before you sign.
Read my contract →Krankmeldung deadline
You must notify your employer on day 1 of illness. A doctor's certificate is due by day 3. Missing this can lead to a formal warning.
Unpaid overtime clause
"Überstunden sind abgegolten" — up to 15% of your monthly hours may be included in your salary and will not be paid separately.
Non-compete (Wettbewerbsverbot)
If the clause doesn't include compensation of at least 50% of your last salary, it is legally void — but most people sign it without knowing this.
Fixed-term and your visa
A befristeter Vertrag affects your ability to rent a flat, get a bank loan, and renew your residence permit. Worth knowing before you sign.
Benefits not in the contract
Jobticket, meal vouchers, Betriebliche Altersvorsorge, and Vermögenswirksame Leistungen rarely appear in the contract — but can be negotiated.
Annual leave (Urlaubsanspruch)
Legal minimum is 20 days. Market standard is 25–30. If your contract says 24 or fewer, you can ask for more before signing.
Don't guess your German level. Find out in 15 minutes.
The same test that catches "B2 on the CV, B1.1 in the interview." Free. Honest. Built for the room you're actually walking into.
Take the free test →