Placed through STAV – what next? Here’s how to get in touch with the employment service

Have you received your "Abrechnung" as a PDF? If so, you’ll find the employer’s contact details and the key information about the vacancy on it.

Important: The placement does not yet constitute an employment contract. You must contact the employer yourself within 3 working days. Make sure you follow the application procedure specified. Some employers prefer a phone call, others a brief email, or a CV with a covering letter sent directly.

When you get in touch, mention that you were referred by STAV. It’s best to include the job title as well. Also, pay attention to the language skills required. If the job advertisement specifies good or very good German language skills, you should contact the employer in German. Otherwise, an English message would not meet the requirements of the vacancy right from the first point of contact.

An initial email could look something like this, for example:

"Subject: Referral via STAV – Job ID 12345

Dear Ms/Mr Muster,

My name is [First name Surname]. I have been referred to you by STAV for the position of [role].

I am very interested in the role and would like to introduce myself briefly. Could you please let me know what documents you require and what the next steps are? We are also happy to arrange a time for a brief telephone call or to meet in person.

Kind regards, [First name Surname] [Telephone number]"

If your "Abrechnung" already states that you should send a CV or a covering letter, you should attach these documents directly and adapt the email accordingly.

If you haven’t received a reply after two days, there’s no need to worry at first. Many smaller companies don’t have their own HR department and need a little more time. After about one and a half to two weeks, you can follow up with a polite enquiry. If you have still not received a response after about a month, please inform STAV. Let us know that no employment relationship has been established and that the employer has not responded. We will make a note of this and investigate such cases if they become frequent with a particular employer.

Please also let us know if you have been offered the job, have received a rejection, or have decided against taking the job for any other reason. This enables us to keep our vacancies up to date and improve the quality of our placement service. Under our placement terms and conditions, you are obliged to contact the employer within the specified timeframe and inform us of the outcome. If you fail to get in touch at all without a valid reason, this may result in a temporary suspension of your placement eligibility.

You can find the full regulations in the placement terms and conditions and in our placement procedure for students.