Secret language in German letters of reference

Goal or Problem

What if you were asked by your German employee to write a letter of reference (Arbeitszeugnis)? They are likely to ask you to provide this in a specific format and to include the English equivalent of certain German statements. What is the reason for this?

Idea

In Germany, providing hiring managers your letters of reference (Arbeitszeugnis) from all your previous jobs is serious. Inability to present such letters raises the same suspicion as a gap in the CV.

German employers are legally obliged to issue a letter of reference to every employee. This includes employees who have been laid off for poor performance. Furthermore, the German employer is legally obliged to provide a positive reference, in order “not hinder the career advancement of the employee” even if the employee was lazy or incompetent. The result of these constraints are letters of reference full of friendly-sounding phrases which one must know how to interpret in order to find the true meaning. Below are some typical examples.

Performance

Very good

"Seine Leistungen haben in jeder Hinsicht unsere volle Anerkennung gefunden."
We fully appreciated his performance in every regard.

Good

"Wir waren mit seinen Leistungen immer sehr zufrieden."
We were always very satisfied with his performance.

Satisfactory

"Er hat unseren Erwartungen in jeder Hinsicht entsprochen."
He met our expectations in every regard.

Sufficient

"Er hat die ihm übertragenen Aufgaben zu unserer Zufriedenheit erledigt"
He carried out assigned tasks to our satisfaction

Poor

"Er hat die ihm übertragenen Arbeiten mit großem Fleiß und Interesse durchgeführt."
He has worked on assigned tasks with great diligence and interest.

Unsatisfactory

"Er hat nach Kräften versucht, die Leistungen zu erbringen, die wir an diesem Arbeitsplatz fordern müssen."
He has tried his best to provide the services that we demanded in this job.

Reason for Leaving
Important part of the letter is the information about termination of the contract. Is this part is missing? It is very probable that the employee was laid off.

Sick Leave
“Wir wünschen ihm alles Gute und vor allem Gesundheit”
“We wish him a happy and especially healthy future.”
As health has been mentioned, you can interpret this as “He was often on sick leave”.

Employee Behaviour

• “Für die Belange der Belegschaft bewies sie stets Einfühlungsvermögen.”
  "She always showed empathy for the concerns of the staff."
  This can be interpreted that she was looking for intimate contacts.
• "Durch seine Geselligkeit trug er zur Verbesserung des Betriebsklimas bei."
  "He was highly social and added to the working atmosphere."
  This implies that he was often drunk.
• "Sie war ein gesuchte Gesprächspartnerin."
  "She was a popular conversation partner."
  This suggests that she is a chatterbox and gossips too much.

How can you use this information?

• Ask your German HR colleagues to give their interpretation of the letters of reference.
• Search the web for “zeugnis analyse" to find German companies specializing in analysis of letters of reference.
• Go to a web page that lists the German phrases used to describe different levels of performance (e.g. Geheimcodes - Secret codes). Match the content of the letter with these phrases. You will get some information using this self-help method. However, you won’t necessarily recognise what has been omitted and the implications of this.
• Contact the previous German employers and ask for more information. Of course, there is a chance that you encounter a referee who has limited English.

Whatever conclusions you make, it is wise to exercise due diligence and verify those conclusions during the job interview.

If you are in Germany and your boss asked you to write a letter of reference for yourself, search the web for “Arbeitszeugnis Beratung" to find an agency near you that would wrtie a proper letter of reference.

Limitations and Side Effects

Interpretation of letters of reference is further complicated by the fact that not every German manager is familiar with the formulations and conventions used in the reference letters.

References

Use search terms: zeugnissprache, arbeitszeugnis. Then translate using your favorite on-line translator.

Some good introductory articles:

• Geheimcodes - Secret codes
• Arbeitszeugnise: Zwischen den Zeilen lesen - Letters of reference: Read between the lines
• Die Wahrheit liegt meistens zwischen den Zeilen - The truth usually lies between the lines

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