A German Lebenslauf is expected to be chronological, dated, and easy to scan. Put your name, city, phone, and email at the top. Add a short profile of three lines that names the roles you seek and your German language level using the CEFR scale. Avoid emotional framing about displacement; employers need to see what you can do on Monday morning.
List work history with months and years. If gaps exist because of flight, waiting for status, or language courses, mark them briefly as “residence process,” “language training,” or “care responsibilities.” Do not leave blank years. For informal work abroad, describe concrete tasks: warehouse picking, kitchen prep, classroom support, machine maintenance.
Certificates belong in a separate section with the issuing country. If recognition is pending, write “recognition in progress” rather than claiming a German title you do not yet hold. Attach a photo only when the advertisement asks for one; many modern vacancies no longer expect it.
In our application clinic we rewrite CVs with this skim test: if a recruiter cannot find your target role, location, and language level in half a minute, the document needs another pass.