Experience
Future employers will also want to know what experience you have and what you have learned. You might have a Saturday job or help a family member in their work. All this is good experience and is worth putting on your CV.
Past experiences
In order to explain what you've done, so that your prospective employer knows what kind of experience you have, you will need to write in the perfect tense, so:
- Ich habe... + the past participle.
Look at these examples:
- Ich habe kopiert. - I photocopied.
- Ich habe Kaffee gekocht. - I made coffee.
- Ich habe Akten sortiert. - I sorted files.
- Ich habe Kunden bedient. - I served the customers.
- Ich habe gespült. - I washed up.
- Ich habe die Regale aufgefüllt. - I filled/stacked the shelves.
- Ich habe getippt. - I typed.
Examples in use
- Ich arbeite samstags in einem Geschäft. – I work in a shop on Saturdays.
- Ich trage Zeitungen aus. – I deliver newspapers.
- Ich helfe meinem Bruder im Frisörsalon. – I help my brother in the hair salon.
- Ich helfe meiner Tante in ihrer Werkstatt. – I help my aunt in her workshop.
- Ich helfe meinem Opa im Haushalt. – I help my grandfather with the housework.
Did you know?
Until 2011 there was compulsory military service – Wehrpflicht – in Germany for young men.
An alternative was to opt for Zivildienst – voluntary social work, for example in an old people's home – in einem Altersheim, with the disabled, in hospitals or with the emergency services.
The practice of Zivildienst has since become popular with female school leavers who often choose to do a Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr (FSJ) – a year of voluntary work – or a Freiwilliges Ökologisches Jahr – a year of volunteering with environmental organisations – as they regard it as being of great value.
