Cover Letter for an Ausbildung: Adapt This German Model to One Vacancy

Open the vacancy you want to apply for and read it once more. This guide turns that one advert into a German cover letter, an Anschreiben, that fits on a single page. You get a complete model to follow, an English meaning for every part, and a way to check that each sentence is true about you.

The model letter below is invented. Amira Kaya, Nordwind Logistik and the Saturday job do not exist. Replace every detail with your own before you send anything.

Check three things in the advert first

Does this employer want a cover letter? Not all of them do. The Federal Employment Agency notes that some companies drop the cover letter for online applications, and the Federal Employment Agency’s international service says the same: many German companies still expect one, documents usually travel as a PDF by email or through the company’s own portal, and the job advertisement is where that is stated. If the advert is silent, phone or email the contact person and ask.

Which language? Make it in Germany, the federal portal for international applicants, says to find out first whether the application has to be in German or whether English is accepted, and to write in German and have a German speaker proofread it if your German is good enough. It also warns against using AI to fake a level you do not have, because the interview will show your real German. Write sentences you could say out loud.

What, where, and by when? The advert normally names the documents, the way to send them, the deadline and a contact person. The Federal Employment Agency’s guide to applying for an Ausbildung tells applicants to read all of that carefully and to ask the company when the deadline or the application method is missing. Copy the exact occupation title and any reference number now; both belong in your subject line. If you have not chosen a start year yet, the Ausbildung application timeline works backwards from an intended start.

The model letter

Here is a complete letter for one invented vacancy: a training place as Fachkraft für Lagerlogistik, a warehouse logistics specialist, starting in August 2027.

Amira Kaya
12 Yeşil Sokak
34000 Istanbul, Türkiye
Telefon: +90 555 1234567
E-Mail: amira.kaya@beispielmail.de

Nordwind Logistik GmbH
Frau Sabine Roth
Hafenstraße 8
20457 Hamburg

15.10.2026

Bewerbung um die Ausbildungsstelle als Fachkraft für Lagerlogistik, Referenznummer 4711-2026

Sehr geehrte Frau Roth,

in Ihrer Anzeige auf der Ausbildungssuche der Bundesagentur für Arbeit habe ich gelesen, dass Sie zum 1. August 2027 eine Ausbildung zur Fachkraft für Lagerlogistik anbieten. Auf Ihrer Website habe ich gesehen, dass Sie Ersatzteile für Werkstätten in ganz Europa lagern und versenden. Genau in diesem Bereich möchte ich meine Ausbildung machen.

Im Juli habe ich das Zertifikat Deutsch B1 bestanden und lerne weiter. 2025 habe ich in Istanbul die Schule abgeschlossen. Zwei Jahre lang habe ich samstags im Lager eines Elektrogeschäfts geholfen. Dort habe ich Lieferungen ausgepackt, die Menge mit dem Lieferschein verglichen und die Waren in die Regale einsortiert. Dabei habe ich gelernt, genau zu arbeiten und Ordnung zu halten.

In Ihrer Anzeige steht, dass Sie mit einem Lagerverwaltungsprogramm arbeiten. Damit habe ich noch keine Erfahrung. Neue Programme lerne ich aber schnell, und ich arbeite gern im Team.

Über eine Einladung zu einem Gespräch freue ich mich sehr. Da ich zurzeit in Istanbul lebe, kann ich das Gespräch auch online führen.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Amira Kaya

Anlagen
Lebenslauf
Schulzeugnis
Zertifikat Deutsch B1

The subject line means “Application for the training position as warehouse logistics specialist, reference number 4711-2026”. The four paragraphs say:

I read in your advert on the Federal Employment Agency’s training-place search that you are offering training as a warehouse logistics specialist from 1 August 2027. On your website I saw that you store and ship spare parts for workshops across Europe. That is exactly the field I want to train in.

In July I passed the Deutsch B1 certificate and I am still learning. I finished school in Istanbul in 2025. For two years I helped on Saturdays in the warehouse of an electrical goods shop. There I unpacked deliveries, compared the quantity with the delivery note and sorted the goods onto the shelves. That taught me to work accurately and keep things in order.

Your advert says that you work with a warehouse management program. I have no experience with that yet. But I learn new programs quickly, and I like working in a team.

I would be very glad to be invited to an interview. As I currently live in Istanbul, I can also do the interview online.

What each part does, and what you change

Your details, then theirs. Your name, address, phone number and email go at the top right of the page, and the date goes on the right as well. Use an email address that is just your name. Give your phone number in international format if you are outside Germany, so the employer can actually reach you. Below your block comes the company name, the contact person, the street and the city, on the left, spelled exactly as the advert spells them.

The date. Use the day you send the letter. German dates run day, month, year, so 15 October 2026 is written 15.10.2026. The Federal Employment Agency’s checklist for the cover letter puts the current date on the right, between the address and the subject line.

The subject line, Betreff. One bold line naming the training occupation and, if the advert has one, the reference number: „Bewerbung um die Ausbildungsstelle als [Berufsbezeichnung]“, meaning “Application for the training position as [occupation title]”. Use the occupation title from the advert word for word, so your letter can be matched to the right vacancy.

The salutation, Anrede. Write „Sehr geehrte Frau Roth,“ or „Sehr geehrter Herr Roth,“ with the real name from the advert, spelled correctly. Only if no name is given anywhere use „Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,“. Two German rules that are easy to miss: there is a comma after the salutation, and the first word of the next line starts with a small letter. That is why the model letter continues with „in Ihrer Anzeige …“ and not „In“.

First paragraph: where you found it, and why this company. Say which advert you are answering and where you saw it. Then name one concrete thing about this employer and connect it to what you want to learn. One detail from their website is enough. The Federal Employment Agency asks applicants to research reasons why this company in particular is interesting, and Make it in Germany asks for an opening sentence that states your interest in the training position and in the company. A sentence that would fit any warehouse in Germany tells the reader nothing.

Middle paragraph: your evidence. Language, school, and what you have actually done. Describe tasks, not a job title. “I unpacked deliveries and compared the quantity with the delivery note” is evidence. “I am reliable and hard-working” is a claim about yourself that anyone can type. The Federal Employment Agency’s advice is exactly this: do not list what you can do, show where you learned it and used it. If your school-leaving certificate comes from outside Germany, name it and the year. Whether it counts as an equivalent German qualification is a separate question, and the official recognition portal is where that is answered, not your cover letter.

Third paragraph: the requirement you do not meet. Name it, in one sentence, and say what you will do about it. Hiding it does not work, because the employer will ask in the interview. Make it in Germany’s warning about pretending applies here too. The level you claim in writing is the level you will be measured against in person.

The closing. Say you would be glad to come to an interview. The Federal Employment Agency’s checklist asks for an ending that is confident, polite and refers to the interview. If you are applying from abroad, offer a video call in the same sentence, and if you know when you could start, say so. Then „Mit freundlichen Grüßen“, three blank lines for your signature, and your typed name. For a digital application, scan or photograph your signature and place it in the gap.

Anlagen, the attachments. List what you are sending, usually your CV, your school certificate and any language certificate. The Federal Employment Agency’s model letter notes that you may list them individually but do not have to. Your CV carries the dates and the full history, so the letter does not have to repeat them; the Ausbildung CV guide covers that document.

Turn the advert’s requirements into your own sentences

This is the part that makes the letter yours. Take the requirements the advert prints, one line at a time. For each one, write down what you have actually done that answers it, then write one German sentence that says it. If you have nothing for a line, write nothing rather than something invented.

For the invented advert above, which asked for a school-leaving certificate, German at B1, care and reliability, and experience with warehouse software:

1. School-leaving certificate. Amira finished school in Istanbul in 2025, so the letter says „2025 habe ich in Istanbul die Schule abgeschlossen.“
2. German at B1. She has a certificate from July, so the letter says „Im Juli habe ich das Zertifikat Deutsch B1 bestanden und lerne weiter.“ The date and the certificate name make it checkable.
3. Care and reliability. Instead of claiming both, she gives the task that shows them: „Dort habe ich Lieferungen ausgepackt, die Menge mit dem Lieferschein verglichen und die Waren in die Regale einsortiert.“
4. Warehouse software. She has never used any, so the letter says „Damit habe ich noch keine Erfahrung. Neue Programme lerne ich aber schnell.“

Four requirements, four sentences you can explain out loud. Now do the same with your advert and your own facts. If you would rather work through it line by line, the vacancy requirement matcher takes each requirement in turn, asks what you have actually done for it, and gives you a sentence for the letter and one for the interview. Two useful sentence patterns while you work: „In Ihrer Anzeige steht, dass …“, meaning “Your advert says that …”, to quote a requirement, and „Dabei habe ich gelernt, … zu …“, meaning “That taught me to …”, to turn a task into what you learned from it.

What is a rule, and what is only preference

The free official checklist from the Federal Employment Agency is the shortest complete list to check your letter against. It checks that your address block is complete and top right, that the company name and the contact person are spelled correctly, that the date is current and on the right, that the subject line is bold and names the occupation, that there is a comma after the salutation and a small letter after it, that the ending refers to the interview, that the letter is signed, and that the attachments are either listed or named. It also sets the page: one page only, margins of 25 mm on the left and about 20 mm on the right, one legible typeface such as Arial at 11 point or Times New Roman at 12 point, and a blank line between paragraphs. Its content questions are the four this article has been answering: why this training place, why this company, what relevant experience you bring, and which school-leaving qualification you have or will have. The Federal Employment Agency also publishes an annotated model letter for an Ausbildung position in German, with the same block order used above.

You will also see advice to format the letter according to DIN 5008. The standard exists, but it is not a rule for applicants. DIN 5008 is a German standard for writing and layout in business and office communication, sold by DIN, and used widely in German offices and taught in commercial training. No federal source tells applicants that a letter is rejected for departing from it. Meet the official checklist and your letter will look right.

Everything else varies by employer: whether a cover letter is wanted at all, whether the portal replaces it, whether English is accepted, and whether they ask for extras. A separate Motivationsschreiben, a longer letter of motivation, is optional unless the advert asks for it; otherwise your reasons for applying belong in the cover letter you just wrote. Creative occupations often ask for work samples. Read the advert; do not guess.

Before you send it

Have a German speaker read the letter. Both the Federal Employment Agency and Make it in Germany ask for this, and it is the cheapest correction you will ever get. A teacher, a tutor or a language partner is enough.

Then check the practical things. Send one PDF unless the portal asks for separate files, and name the file so a stranger can sort it: your surname, the document, the occupation. Reread the company name and the contact person one last time, because a letter still carrying the previous employer’s name is the easiest rejection to earn. Save each version, so you know what you sent to whom. The Federal Employment Agency suggests keeping a simple table of your applications with the company, the date, the contact person and the reply, and notes that asking about the state of a decision is reasonable after about four weeks.

If you are still choosing where to send it, the official training-place searches list vacancies, and the full Ausbildung guide puts the application inside the wider route to a training contract. For a job application in Germany that is not an Ausbildung, the same federal portal has a general application page.

Your letter is also the interview agenda. Whoever reads it will ask you to say more about the sentences in it, in German. Take the three or four claims you just wrote, and practise saying each one aloud with one more sentence of detail. The Ausbildung interview questions guide has the questions those claims usually turn into.