New year, new job: 5 alternative ways to find happiness in your career
We have only just welcomed the new year and with the beginning of a new chapter, many of us realise that the desire for change, especially in a professional context, is right at the top of our list of New Year’s resolutions. Turning to proven methods such as browsing job portals and company websites seems to be the obvious choice here. But in a time characterised by diversity and innovation, we would like to encourage looking beyond the classic ways of searching for a job.
Job portals and company websites may give us access to countless job opportunities, but in 2025 there are alternative ways of searching for a job, which are just as promising – if not even more successful. In the following, we shed light on five alternative approaches, which provide a new perspective on searching for jobs. The new year is not only a symbol for fresh starts, but also an invitation to explore new paths. Discover your career opportunities!
Job matching platforms
Save yourself the tedious task of reading through job adverts, let AI and algorithms do the work for you! Job matching platforms only suggest jobs that are strongly suited to you and match your skills, experience, qualifications and interests.
You will receive precise job suggestions as well as transparent information about the respective company, save time when applying by automating the process. This helps you to find a job in a more efficient and targeted way. Good examples of job matching platforms are MoBerries and Empion.
Recruiting apps
Do you use apps for banking, shopping or carsharing and browse social networks a lot? Then you’ll love recruiting apps. The concept is very simple: Recruiting apps allow quick, mobile access to job offers and a simple, efficient application process.
You receive personalised job offers directly via push notifications on your smartphone and can send application documents at the click of a button. It is also possible to track the status of your applications in real time with most apps. A messaging function is often used to make the exchange between you as the applicantand the company you are applying to easier. The perfect application tool for anyone whose phone is also their everyday, trusty companion. Our top 3 recommendations for recruiting apps are Truffls, hokify and MeetFrank.
Reverse job boards
Stop looking for jobs and companies – let companies look for you! That is the principle of reverse job boards. You create your profile, filling it out with your skills, experience, qualifications as well as your interests, and employees apply to you with their active job vacancies. Sounds great, doesn’t it? It is.
The advantage of reverse job boards are therefore obvious. Your job search is very efficient as you only need to submit an application once. By doing this, you can invest more time in optimising your profile instead of using it to send applications. If you are contacted by a member of HR, they will have already approved your application documents. You reply only if you like the job offer. Our top recommendations for reverse job boards are Honeypot and Instaffo.
Career networks
With career networks, such as LinkedIn and Xing, you can not only create and maintain professional contacts, but also find a job and apply directly. Many companies use these platforms to share job vacancies and to find potential candidates.
If you decide to use a career network, it is of upmost importance that you fill out your profile completely and professionally. When optimally used, a career network profile acts as a business card, CV, cover letter and portfolio all in one. In this way, you gain the attention of recruiters, who contact you regarding open job positions.
Many companies also publish their job vacancies directly on LinkedIn or Xing. You can find these on the respective company websites. There, you will also be able to see who already works at the company. Network with these people and gain valuable insights into the company. Where else can you get that!? LinkedIn and Xing are available via your browser and can be downloaded as an app for iOS and Android.
Job & career events
A successful career depends on networking And where can you do that better than at job events? Job events are a unique opportunity to get to know companies and their HR personnel directly with no strings attached.
Be it job fairs, such as connecticum, T5 Jobmesse or Sticks & Stones, festivals related to careers, like re:publica or the GreenTech Festival, network events, such as the Tech Jobs Fair or Unicorns in Tech, company open days or applicant days, like Talent meets Bertelsmann, for example – by visiting a job or careers event, you can make contacts, gather information about the company and get advice for making an application, learn everything about current job vacancies and leave a personal impression. Seize the opportunity. It will be worth your while. You can find the latest job events in the region any time in our magazine.
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Are you looking for exciting companies in Berlin to apply to? Then we have five recommendations for you. You can find job vacancies at Berlin and Brandenburg start-ups using the startup-map. The 200 biggest employers in Berlin are listed in the Business Location Center. You will find all companies listed by branch via our subpage Berlin branches. And those looking specifically for a company in Berlin with English as their corporate language will find these here. For all those who are generally looking for a job, we also recommend our meta job portal, which only shows vacancies for the Berlin-Brandenburg region. There are currently more than 10,000 jobs online.
Overall, exploring alternative ways to search for a job shows that the new year is not only a fresh start, but also an opportunity for a profound career change. By allowing yourself to try these alternatives, you can broaden your professional horizons. Start your journey – your dream job could be waiting for you where you least expect it!
