Germany has two major professional networks: the global LinkedIn and the German-born Xing. Until around 2019, Xing dominated the German market. The gap has narrowed dramatically since, but the two platforms serve different audiences and shouldn’t be treated identically.
Where German Recruiters Actually Are
By 2024, most corporate recruiters, tech companies, startups, and multinational companies in Germany use LinkedIn as their primary sourcing tool. Xing is still used heavily by traditional German mid-sized companies (Mittelstand), SMEs, certain industries (accounting, insurance, logistics), and recruiters specializing in the German domestic market.
If you’re targeting international companies, tech, or roles where you’d work in English: LinkedIn is where you need to be active. If you’re targeting German-speaking corporate roles in traditional sectors: maintain both profiles.
Optimizing Your LinkedIn for Germany
Add German as a language (German companies filter for it). Include your degree recognition status if applicable. Specify “Open to Work” with German cities in your preferences. Include a professional photo — German hiring culture expects photos. Connect with recruiters who specialize in your sector: a direct LinkedIn message to a recruiter in your field with a short, specific note converts to interviews at a higher rate than job applications alone.
Xing Profile Essentials
Xing requires a complete profile to appear in recruiter searches. Include: current position, career timeline, education, skills. A premium subscription (€9–19/month) shows you who viewed your profile and lets you message recruiters directly without connections — useful if you’re actively job searching. Without premium, Xing becomes largely passive.
The Recruiter Approach
German recruiters (both internal HR and external headhunters) search both platforms. XING ProJobs and LinkedIn Recruiter are the two tools they pay for. Getting found means: complete profiles, updated current title, and including relevant German keywords (not just English). A German keyword like “Softwareentwickler” in your headline alongside “Software Engineer” doubles your discovery surface.
