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One page, four paragraphs, a signature: the Anschreiben

The German cover letter (Anschreiben) is one page in business-letter format: your address, the company's address, a subject line naming the job, four short paragraphs and a signature. Recruiters expect the same structure every time. Here is that structure, with example sentences in English and German.
Written by
Janine El-Saghir
Reviewed by
Erkan Boga
Edited by
Sadie Voss

The German cover letter: at a glance
  • One page in business-letter layout: your address, the company’s address with a named contact, place and date, a subject line with the job title and reference number.
  • Four paragraphs: why this job, what you bring, what the company gains, when you can start. Short active sentences, no “I would”.
  • Closing: “Mit freundlichen Grüßen”, your name and a signature, handwritten on paper or scanned into the PDF.

German recruiters still read the Anschreiben, and they read it for form as much as for content: one page, the right order, a named contact. The template below follows the Federal Employment Agency’s guidance. If the ad asks for a salary expectation (Gehaltsvorstellung), check what the gross figure means net in the salary calculator before you write it down.

The layout

German business letters follow a standard layout, and the cover letter copies it:

  • Sender top left: your name, street, postcode and city, phone, email.
  • Recipient below: company name, the contact person’s name, street, postcode and city.
  • Place and date on the right, in the form “Berlin, 12.03.2027”.
  • Subject line in bold, without the word “Betreff”: the job title as it appears in the ad and the reference number, for example “Bewerbung als Data Analyst, Kennziffer 2027-114”.
  • Salutation with the contact’s surname: “Sehr geehrte Frau Meyer,” or “Sehr geehrter Herr Yilmaz,”. Only if the ad names nobody and a call does not help: “Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,”.
  • Body of four paragraphs, then “Mit freundlichen Grüßen”, a blank line for the signature, your name.
  • Anlagen at the bottom: “Lebenslauf, Zeugnisse”.

The four paragraphs

Structure of the German cover letter with an example sentence per paragraph, in English and German
Paragraph Purpose Example
1. Opening Why this job and this company, and where you saw the ad or who recommended it. No “hiermit bewerbe ich mich”. Your reporting team is moving 40 stores onto one dashboard, and that is the work I have done for three years. / Ihr Reporting-Team führt 40 Filialen auf ein Dashboard zusammen. Genau das habe ich drei Jahre lang gemacht.
2. Fit Two or three experiences and skills that match the ad’s requirements, with results, not adjectives. At Example GmbH I built the monthly reporting for 40 stores and cut the closing time from six days to two. / Bei der Example GmbH habe ich das Monatsreporting für 40 Filialen aufgebaut und den Abschluss von sechs auf zwei Tage verkürzt.
3. What the company gains What you will do for them in the first months, and a soft skill the ad asks for, with an example. I will bring the same structure to your migration and work directly with the store managers, in German and English. / Diese Struktur bringe ich in Ihre Migration ein und arbeite direkt mit den Filialleitungen, auf Deutsch und Englisch.
4. Close Earliest start date, salary expectation only if the ad asks for it, and an invitation to talk. I can start on 1 April 2027 and look forward to a conversation, in person or online. / Ich kann am 1. April 2027 beginnen und freue mich auf ein Gespräch, gern auch online.
Source: Federal Employment Agency, “Das perfekte Anschreiben erstellen” and “Bewerbung schreiben”, retrieved 4 November 2026. The example sentences are our own.

What to cut

  • The subjunctive. “Ich würde gerne” and “ich könnte” sound hesitant to German readers. Write “ich werde” and “ich kann”.
  • Repeating the CV. The letter picks two or three points and explains them. The dates are in the CV.
  • Salary talk the ad did not ask for. Name a figure only when the ad requests it, otherwise leave it for the interview.
  • Anything beyond one page. Cut the paragraph you like least, not the font size.

German or English?

Write in the language of the ad. A German ad gets a German letter even if the job is in English, and a letter written by a friend or a translation tool should be read once by a native speaker before it goes out. An English ad gets an English letter in the same layout: the subject line, the named contact and the one-page rule apply either way.

Sending it

By email or through a portal, send one PDF with the cover letter first, then the CV, then the certificates, and keep the file small. PDF, not Word or image files. Sign the letter by hand if you post it, and insert a scanned signature if you send it digitally. For the documents that follow the letter: the German CV. For where to send it: finding a job in Germany.

Bottom line

Keep to this layout whatever the language of the ad, because German recruiters read for form as much as for content. Have a native speaker read it once, then send it as a single PDF with your CV and certificates.

Part of working in Germany. Next: reading the offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Unless the ad or the portal says “ohne Anschreiben”, send one. Where a portal only offers a CV upload and a free-text field, put a shortened version of paragraphs one and two into the field. A missing letter is read as a lack of interest by many German recruiters, not as modern minimalism.

As a gross annual figure, in one sentence in the closing paragraph: “Meine Gehaltsvorstellung liegt bei 52.000 Euro brutto im Jahr.” German offers and payslips work in gross figures, so check in the salary calculator what the number means after tax and contributions before you write it down.

If you already hold a permit that allows you to work, say so in one sentence in the closing paragraph, because it removes a question the recruiter would otherwise have to ask. If you still need a visa, mention which route applies and when you could realistically start.

The layout, yes. The content, no. The opening paragraph has to name the company and the job, and the fit paragraph has to answer the requirements of that particular ad. A letter that could go to anyone reads as if it did.

Sources and legal basis (as of 4 November 2026)

Sources and legal basis (as of 4 November 2026)

  1. Federal Employment Agency, creating the perfect cover letter: subject line with job title and reference number, salutation with the contact’s surname, date format, opening with motivation, main part, closing with readiness for an interview, “Mit freundlichen Grüßen” and signature (in German).
  2. Federal Employment Agency, writing an application: at most one A4 page, how you found the job, no subjunctive, active short sentences, start date, salary only when asked (in German).
  3. Federal Employment Agency, the 1×1 of application documents: letter standard DIN 5008, one PDF file, order of documents (in German).

Further sources (retrieved on 4 November 2026). The example sentences and the salary sentence are our own. Salary figures: see the salary calculator.

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About the authors
Janine El-Saghir Janine El Saghir is an editor at How-to-Germany.com, where she specializes in the practical aspects of daily life and integration for expatriates. With years of...
Erkan Boga Erkan Boga is the founder and CEO of qmedia GmbH, the publishing house behind How-to-Germany.com. He established the platform with the clear vision of creating... Read more
Sadie Voss Content Lead & Editor Sadie Voss is the Lead Editor for How-to-Germany.com. As an expat who carved her own way into Berlin from the United States, Sadie is deeply... Read more