How to recruit German-speaking job candidates

Most companies prefer multilingual employees over monolingual ones. This is because, generally, multilingual employees have higher cognitive skills and tend to be more efficient.

Although German is a widely spoken language, finding and recruiting sufficiently proficient candidates for your business could be a hassle. Modern-day organizations want to add diversity to their culture, but this has caused a significant rise in the demand for diversity.

Hence, to identify fluent German speakers, you must first understand the communication skills that determine their proficiency level. In doing so, you can define open roles by the level of German proficiency they require.

When you use TestGorilla’s German B1 test, you can rest assured that the candidate you hire will be capable of managing any local and international relations that require German-speaking skills. 

This guide outlines and explains the skills a candidate must possess to be considered fluent in German and the five steps for identifying excellent German speakers.

Why do you need to hire German-speaking employees?

With around 96 million people speaking the language, German is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is recognized alongside English and Spanish as one of the major business languages in the global market.

Its popularity shows how crucial the German language is to many companies. Since a significant portion of the world’s population speaks German, your organization’s success may be subject to how well your employees can relate to German clients.

Striking deals with German clients is easier when you have employees who understand the language. Their language skills enable them to easily engage in professional conversations with your clients and make deals in alignment with your company’s requirements.

This improves your organization’s customer service and public image. Hence, it is safe to say that proficient German-speaking employees can help your business achieve its goals and maintain a good reputation.

Moreover, employees who speak more than one language are more versatile and can adapt to different conditions while staying productive. Therefore, you need to be strategic and deliberate when recruiting German speakers to avoid hiring errors.

What are the communication skills to look out for when hiring German speakers?

Generally, for a person to be considered fluent or proficient in any language, they must possess four basic communication skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.

Each of these skills contributes to effective communication. Therefore, you must consider all of these abilities while recruiting German-speaking job candidates.

Let’s dive into the four communication skills to look out for when hiring German speakers:

Reading skills

For a candidate to be recognized as proficient in German, they must be able to understand German text. They should have the ability to recognize the meaning of German writing and comprehend the main message of a piece of written text.

The applicant needs to be able to read German documents, including briefs or contracts pertaining to clients. Reading comprehension skills will also help them take part in meetings with German clients.

Writing skills

Proficient German candidates can write legibly in German. They have a solid knowledge of the principles of the German language, including how to properly use grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure in writing.

Listening skills

Listening is a passive skill that involves understanding spoken words. It is usually the first skill one gains while learning a language. Nonetheless, it’s one of the essential communication skills. Can your candidates comprehend spoken German and grasp the main message of what someone tells them?

Speaking skills

Fluent German employees can take part in conversations and voice their views on various topics in the language.

Additionally, candidates with good German speaking skills know how to communicate clearly by pronouncing German words fluently and observing intonation correctly.

5 steps to recruit German-speaking job candidates

Once you understand what to look for in German-speaking job candidates, the next step is to prepare a recruitment strategy to guide your hiring. A recruitment strategy is basically a guide that defines your hiring process.

A good recruitment strategy consists of various steps to hire the best candidates for the job role. It also covers how you should assess each candidate’s skill and experience.

Below are five steps you can add to your recruitment strategy to identify excellent German speakers:

Step 1: Determine the level of proficiency you’re searching for

The Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR) classifies language proficiency into six levels that range from beginner to expert fluency: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.

Before calling for applications, you must define the level of fluency you’re searching for. For example, if you want an employee at the B1 level of German proficiency, you must define the job role accordingly to find the right fit.

Step 2: Publish an effective job description

The more information your job description provides about an open post, the higher the chances you’ll find top talent. A good job description informs the candidates about what to expect from the role and the skills they’ll need to succeed in it.

Step 3: Give candidates a skills assessment

After publishing an excellent job description, you can give candidates a pre-employment assessment to test how qualified they are for the post. Since you need to test applicants’ German skills, you should include a German language proficiency test in the assessment.

Adopting this measure will help you narrow down the applicant pool so that you can focus on the most suitable candidates. This, in turn, will make the rest of your hiring process quicker and easier.

Step 4: Evaluate candidates’ results

Once you’ve successfully screened the candidates and examined them for all the skills your organization needs, you must analyze and compare their performance on all the skills tests.

It’s important to evaluate how they did on all the tests to get a complete picture of their abilities. For example, a candidate might perform better than the others on the German skills test but not pass the other tests. By evaluating the applicants’ results, you can identify those who have the skills and traits needed to succeed in the job.

Step 5: Conduct interviews and offer the job to successful candidates

Interviews are the final stage of your screening process. They help you get to know the candidate by interacting with them. In this step, you can find out more about their experience, achievements, and other skills that can be useful to your company.

Once you’ve finished screening applicants and decided who to hire, reach out to the successful candidates and offer them the job as soon as possible. It’s important to hire the most skilled German speakers for your business before another company picks them up.

A pre-recruitment test is the perfect addition to your hiring process

Pre-recruitment tests provide several benefits to your hiring process. They are easy to set up, consume less time, and reduce bias in your recruitment. That’s why many businesses trust pre-employment tests like TestGorilla’s German C1 test.

Our German C1 test will help you find the best German-speaking professionals for your organization without stress. The test evaluates candidates’ German communication skills and their ability to apply them in their daily work.

Using TestGorilla’s test library, you can set up a comprehensive assessment to thoroughly evaluate candidates’ expertise and whether they would add to your company’s culture. To begin, create a free account with TestGorilla today.