Build an Anschreiben that follows German conventions: DIN 5008 layout, address blocks, a bold 'Bewerbung als …' subject line, formal register and one strict A4 page. Free, with no sign-up.
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Sets the paper size, date format, layout and length recruiters in United States expect.
Use United States conventions
Writes the local greeting, sign-off for a cover letter.
Off: an international English letter on United States paper. Turning it on writes the local greeting and sign-off below.
Preview — cover letter
Dear Hiring Manager,
Sincerely,
Add the hiring manager's name to personalise the greeting.
Tone
Measured and businesslike. The safe default for corporate, finance, legal and public-sector roles.
Career level
2–7 years. Leads with ownership and delivered results.
Letter length
240–320 words. The length most recruiters expect. In this market letters usually run 250–400 words.
Layout
Meridian · US & EU
Technology, product, marketing and most corporate roles.
Single column, plain text, no tables or images.
Paste the job description to begin.
Vocabulary
Using the wrong word for the document is the first small signal that an application was not written for Germany. These are the terms you will see in job adverts.
Anschreiben
German
The cover letter itself — literally 'the letter that accompanies'.
Bewerbungsschreiben
German
Synonym used in job adverts and by HR.
Bewerbungsmappe
German
The whole application bundle: Anschreiben, Lebenslauf, Zeugnisse.
The conventions
The German Anschreiben is the most formally specified cover letter in Europe. Its layout is standardised — DIN 5008 describes where the sender block, the recipient address, the date and the subject line sit on the page — and employers still read a badly laid-out letter as a signal about how you work. One A4 page is a hard limit: a two-page Anschreiben is not read as thoroughness.
The structure that follows the layout is equally settled. A bold subject line names the position and, where the advert has one, the reference number. The greeting is formal and, whenever possible, personal: 'Sehr geehrte Frau Alvarez,' for a named woman, 'Sehr geehrter Herr Alvarez,' for a named man, and 'Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,' only when no name can be found. The register is Sie throughout — no contractions, no jokes in the first paragraph, no superlatives.
Two German particularities trip up applicants from other markets. Salary expectations (Gehaltsvorstellung) and the earliest start date (frühester Eintrittstermin) are included only when the advert asks for them; volunteering a number that was not requested is read as either naive or pushy. And the letter never carries the photograph — in Germany the photo, if one is included at all, belongs on the Lebenslauf, and under the AGG an employer may not require it.
At a glance
What recruiters expect
01
Sender block top left (small type), recipient address below it on the left, the date right-aligned, then the bold subject line, then the greeting. The generator's Kontor template lays the letter out this way and switches the address block on automatically for Germany.
02
'Bewerbung als Frontend-Entwickler (Kennziffer 4471)' in bold, without the word 'Betreff:'. Older guidance still shows the prefix; modern practice drops it. For an emailed application the same text becomes the email subject.
03
'Sehr geehrte Frau …' and 'Sehr geehrter Herr …' differ in ending. When you are unsure, 'Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,' is correct and safe — but a named recipient is always better, and the advert usually gives one.
04
Sie-form, no contractions, factual verbs. 'Ich habe die Ladezeit um 42 % reduziert' beats every adjective. German HR readers treat exaggeration as a credibility problem, not as enthusiasm.
05
Include a salary expectation only if the advert asks, and then as a clear annual figure in euro. Give a start date when asked ('unter Einhaltung einer Kündigungsfrist von drei Monaten' if you are in notice). Neither appears otherwise.
06
Traditional applications are one PDF: Anschreiben, Lebenslauf, then Zeugnisse and Zertifikate. Reference the attachments in the closing line only if the advert asks for a specific document.
Paragraph by paragraph
The generator follows this order. You can see it in the preview before you export anything.
Your address block, then the company's address block with the contact's name and title, then the right-aligned date. This is the DIN 5008 order and it is what German HR expects to see first.
Bold, one line, naming the position and the reference number. No 'Betreff:' prefix in modern usage.
Two sentences that are not a cliché: the concrete reason you are applying and the strongest single fact about your current work. Avoid 'Hiermit bewerbe ich mich'.
Your evidence against the advert's requirements, with numbers, in two short paragraphs. This is the body of the letter.
Why this employer, specifically. One or two sentences that show you read what they do; generic praise is spotted immediately.
Availability or notice period where asked, a confident closing sentence ('Über eine Einladung zu einem Gespräch freue ich mich'), then 'Mit freundlichen Grüßen' and your name — no comma after the Grußformel in German.
The shape on the page
Layout only — the generator fills this with your own facts, never with placeholder text you have to remember to delete.
Jane Doe
Friedrichstraße 12 · 10117 Berlin · jane.doe@email.com · +49 151 23456789
Acme GmbH
z. H. Frau Alvarez
Torstraße 100
10115 Berlin
Berlin, 16. September 2026
Bewerbung als Frontend-Entwickler (Kennziffer 4471)
Sehr geehrte Frau Alvarez,
[Einstieg: the concrete reason and your strongest current fact — never 'Hiermit bewerbe ich mich'.]
[Qualifikation: two short paragraphs of evidence against the advert's requirements, with numbers.]
[Unternehmensbezug: why this employer, specifically.]
[Abschluss: notice period or start date if asked, then the confident closing sentence.]
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Jane DoeReady to use
Copy one straight into the letter — the generator already uses the greeting and sign-off for this market when conventions are on.
Named woman
Sehr geehrte Frau Alvarez,
The default when the advert names a woman.
Named man
Sehr geehrter Herr Alvarez,
The default when the advert names a man.
No name found
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
Correct but weaker — search the advert, the team page or LinkedIn first.
Subject line
Bewerbung als Frontend-Entwickler (Kennziffer 4471)
Bold, above the greeting.
Salary, when asked
Meine Gehaltsvorstellung liegt bei 68.000 Euro brutto im Jahr.
Only where the advert requests it.
Start date, when asked
Unter Einhaltung einer Kündigungsfrist von drei Monaten kann ich zum 1. Januar 2027 beginnen.
Only where the advert requests it.
Sign-off
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Standard. No comma follows it in German, and your name goes on the next line.
Closing sentence
Über eine Einladung zu einem persönlichen Gespräch freue ich mich.
Confident and conventional; avoids the hesitant 'Ich würde mich freuen'.
Before you send
Finding the posting
StepStone
The leading German board; adverts usually name a contact and a Kennziffer.
Strong in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg tech and international companies, where English applications are normal.
Indeed.de
High volume, smaller employers; a short formal letter works well.
Company careers portals (SAP SuccessFactors, Personio)
Mittelstand and corporates; the Anschreiben is uploaded as part of one PDF bundle.
Questions
Yes in most traditional industries and always in the public sector, Mittelstand manufacturing, law, finance and engineering. A growing number of tech employers say 'Anschreiben optional' or drop it; follow the advert.
In the language of the advert. An English-language advert from a Berlin or Munich employer usually means an English application is fine; a German advert means German. Writing in German when your German is weak is worse than a clear English letter.
The German standard for business letters: field sizes and positions for the address blocks, the date, the subject and the greeting. Following it is expected in formal industries and costs nothing with the right template.
Only when the advert asks ('Bitte nennen Sie Ihre Gehaltsvorstellung'). Give one annual gross figure in euro; a range is acceptable. Never volunteer it.
On the Lebenslauf, if you include one at all. Under the AGG an employer may not require a photograph, and it never appears in the Anschreiben.
'Mit freundlichen Grüßen', with no comma after it, then your full name on the next line. 'Freundliche Grüße' is slightly less formal and common in email.
Applying elsewhere
Each guide sets the generator up for that market: paper size, date format, layout, length and the local greeting.