A small digression: I already completed a 2-year postdoc in Israel, but it so happened that the postdoc was in a new direction for me, which, although it did not coincide with my experience, I really liked, and I decided to find a second postdoc in this particular area to get more experience.
The points. The first two are devoted to search and interviews, the third point is about how I got a job after being invited to a German university.
1. Searching for positions and submitting applications
At this stage, a large number of applicants are eliminated, since having received a couple of refusals, people become depressed and go to feel sorry for themselves. In fact, you need to send a large number of applications. They will not answer you half, most of the answers will be rejected, and perhaps a few will invite you for an interview. It should also be borne in mind that many positions are opened for a specific person, but the rules require placing a position on sites. In general, I sent a little less than 100 applications, I received (still receive) more than 50 rejections. Only 8 organizations were invited to the interview.
I searched for positions on several sites, but in the end ALL the positions I found were duplicated on LinkedIn. Therefore, I see no reason to publish links to these sites - just search on LinkedIn. I tried to send at least one application a day.
The application process differs from organization to organization, but basically you will need:
- Cover / motivation letter A small letter of 1-2 pages. Three main parts. In the first, you write who you are and what position you are applying for, why you chose this organization. In the second part, briefly describe your experience, what you can do, and so on. In the third, you write how your experience relates to their requirements for candidates, what you can offer them in this position, your motivation.
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Sometimes you just send all the documents by email, sometimes you fill out a special form on the site. Always keep a copy of the job ad for yourself, as ads on websites may be removed after the deadline.
Now all European and American universities are equalizing the ratio of men and women in science. If the university lacks male or female scientists, preference will be given to applications from the missing gender. Crazy, but true.
2. Interview
All interviews I went through via zoom or Skype. Prepare a 15-20 minutes presentation on the results of your previous research. Prepare answers to common questions such as
- Why do you want to join their group
- Who do you see yourself in a couple of years
- What can you offer them (give some input on the project and ask them to tell you what you can do on the project)
- What is your motivation
These are not the main questions, but you can get stuck on them, and it is better to prepare.
Your level of language proficiency will also be assessed during the interview.
Find out in advance if you can get a visa to the country from where you were scheduled for the interview. I went through all the parameters to one of the universities in California, but in the end it turned out that due to the coronavirus, obtaining a visa would be delayed, so they invited another candidate who already had a visa.
3. Germany
As I wrote above, I received an invitation to 8 interviews, of which 4 passed.
The first interview was with a laboratory in California, which was successful. But they refused after the invitation because of problems with obtaining a visa. The second - with a laby from Norway, Bergen, but another candidate passed there. Third, with a museum in London, I withdrew my candidacy immediately after the interview (conditions were not satisfied). The fourth was an interview with a laboratory in Stuttgart, Germany. The interview was successful. After the invitation to work, I received 4 more interview offers, but I already refused on my own, as I liked the option with Germany.
Visa
If you are not from Europe, or from another country whose citizens can safely cross the border and work in Germany, you need to get a work visa. Germany has barred entry for many countries, but if you are applying for a postdoc / researcher or PhD position, you will be admitted as a scientist. IT specialists, doctors and other highly qualified specialists are also allowed.
I received a work visa, a family - a visa for family reunification. The duration is 3 months.
To get it, go to the website of the German embassy / consulate of your country, and make an application for a visit. Moreover, if you are planning to move with your family, you need to create a separate application for each family member (even for babies). At the same time, you will have an application for work, for a family under the category of family reunification, and, most likely, you will not be able to submit documents in one day. In my case, the opportunity to apply for a visit to the embassy opened once a week on a date a month in advance, and quickly closed as others made applications for the same day. Therefore, it is best to check the site for the possibility of submitting an application in the early morning.
A specific list of all documents can be downloaded from the site.
I provided:
- Certificate of no criminal record
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Documents not in German or English must be translated and notarized.
Family members also need additional documents (marriage certificate, birth certificate) - these documents must be translated, certified and apostolic.
You do not need to prove your knowledge of the German language. Postdoctoral diplomas also do not need to be checked for compliance with German standards (recognition in Germany).
At the very reception at the embassy, fingerprints are taken. If you are traveling with a family, then when submitting documents for a child, his presence is mandatory.
The deadline for obtaining a visa after submitting the documents was announced to me in one month, but they called a week later and invited me to pick up the visa (you come back to the embassy, hand over your passport and pick it up the next day). You also hand over honey with a passport. insurance for 90 days, including insurance against coronavirus (strange that it is prescribed separately). First, decide on the date of departure, and take out insurance from the date of the intended entry. The visa will be issued from this day. I was almost a month late check-in as flights were constantly canceled due to the pandemic.
Entry
To board an aircraft, a negative PCR test for covid or a vaccination passport is required.
After entering Germany, you must immediately proceed to the place of serving the 10-day quarantine, so you need to look for housing in advance. We rented a 2-room bungalow (a suburb of Stuttgart, next to the university) for 1100 euros, fully furnished, all public services, tv and internet are included in the price. Can be found cheaper, but unfurnished. For one you can find accommodation for less than 500 euros, and if you rent an apartment with someone else, it is even cheaper. We have a one-year contract with deposits in 1 monthly payment. At first, they wanted to request 2 payments (a common practice), but when they found out that I had a contract with the university, they reduced it to one.
Three days before departure, or before departure, you must register for www.einreiseanmeldung.de/# with your details, flight and place of residence in Germany during quarantine. Nobody checked us, but we didn't go out for 10 days. The food was brought by the owner of the bungalow and my superiors.
After entering, it is better to immediately start looking for the local bureaucratic office for registration at the address. In my case, I just sent a completed form and a letter from the landlord to the office email and I was registered. After registration, you need to look for the nearest migration office, and write a letter to them so that you can be assigned a visit. I had a work visa for 90 days, and a contract for 3 years, so I need to get a temporary residence permit at the migration office for the duration of the contract. You need to get to the office before your visa expires. I received a reservation for a visit 2 weeks after writing the letter, for a month in advance. That is, 1.5 months have passed since the letter was written and the physical visit. A residence permit is issued for a long time, 4-8 weeks, but during this time you will be given a piece of paper that replaces a residence permit.The list of documents can be downloaded from their website. I handed in a confirmation of registration, local insurance (also issue immediately upon arrival) for each family member, a contract indicating the salary, a letter from the owner of a bungalow with a square, a child's birth certificate for a child, copies of passports and visas, a marriage certificate for my wife, a photo , completed questionnaires. You also need to pay a fee of about 100 euros per person.
Upon arrival, you should attend to the local SIM card and bank account. I opened an account in N26, since there it can be done completely online, the card is sent by mail without a pincode, which you assign yourself upon receipt in the application. Simka bought in Aldi, also sent by mail.
Apparatus employed
It was always surprising how easy it is to get a job abroad. I filled out a couple of questionnaires online, signed an agreement in one office, sent the requisites for the salary. We constantly had to run around different offices and collect more certificates / documents.
In a lab for 15 people, we have only 5 locals, the rest are a hodgepodge from all over the world. The working language is English. We work mostly remotely, who needs to work in the laboratory - you can, but you can't gather more than 2-3 people in a room. I have a separate office, so you can come at any time.
The salary
Postdocs are usually paid TVL13, less often TVL14. That's just over € 4,000. Less taxes, insurance and other deductions - € 2500. You will be given tax class 1 or 4 if you are married. However, if your wife / husband does not work, or works, but receives significantly less, then you can change the tax class to 3 (wife / husband to 5), and you will receive 2700 after deductions. You won't be able to save a lot if you can save a lot on your own with your family.
A child benefit can be issued for a child of 200 euros (child benefit, not to be confused with child allowance).
Language
I don't speak German, only English. It is difficult to find a person at the university who does not speak at least a little English, so there is no problem with that. In everyday life, it is a little more complicated, but at least somehow you can always explain yourself.
Spending
1100 euros for housing, but can be found cheaper. In our case, this is the price for everything, that is, public services and the Internet are already included in the price. If you are alone, then you can keep within 500 euros or less. Prices vary from city to city.
For food and household expenses, we spend about 100 euros per week (me, wife and child). One, respectively, is cheaper.
Communication - I pay about 8 euros per month for the tariff.
I don’t know the price of the Internet, as the owner of the bungalow pays.
This is, in principle, all that I wanted to share. For mistakes, understand and forgive. There will be questions - I will try to answer.