Frequently asked questions

Helping thousands of people every year start their career journey across many different roles means we use a broad range of different recruiting processes. This means we can’t say: “This is the exact sequence of steps you’ll follow”, but some things are almost always the same: 

• Application: Please always apply through our job board and not by e-mail or on paper. This is the fastest way for us to process your application. We will always ask for a CV, but a cover letter is not usually necessary. If we need additional documents, the job ad will mention this. 
• Pre-selection: When we receive your application, typically the recruiter will do an initial pre-selection based on your documents or reach out to you for any missing information. They will then forward a shortlist of candidates to the hiring manager for consideration.
• Selection: The hiring manager will choose candidates to meet at interview - which may be virtual or on-site. While the sequence and type of interview will vary by role, you will almost always at least speak to someone from HR and the hiring manager. They will be looking for technical skills, competencies, team fit and cultural fit for Our FOCUS (For more about Our FOCUS, click here: https://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/about-us/company-culture/our-focus-0).
• We will, of course, let you know if you are invited to an interview or we need more information from you. If we decide not to take your application further, we will also advise you of that. 

You can find all the positions for which we are currently recruiting externally on our global job board. In some areas where there are regular openings, we also accept speculative applications; you can find those on the job board, too. 

If you do not find a position that suits your CV right now, please set up a job alert so that we can update you when a suitable role arises.

Please only apply to positions posted on the job board and do not simply send CVs.

We do our best to respond to applications as quickly as possible; we know how important this is to candidates but, as this is a global site, it is very hard to give an answer that’s accurate for the whole world here. The overall timescale varies according to local procedures and conditions.

Yes, you can apply for several positions at once – and even re-use documents that you have uploaded. But it is important that you are clear as to which jobs suit you and your career goals. If you submit several applications, we might ask you about your preference during the interview.

Sending your application through the system is usually all you need to do. You won’t need to contact your recruiter or hiring manager in parallel to show your commitment and interest. You are of course welcome to reach out on administrative matters, such as re-scheduling an interview appointment or withdrawing your application.

First of all: congratulations on making it to the interview stage! 

Interviews may vary, depending on the role and at which phase of the selection process interviews happen - but if you are unsure how to prepare, here are some tips:

• Read through the job ad carefully and identify the experience and skills that are required there. Are there steps in your career that have helped to build that experience? Or situations where you were able to show those skills? Interviewers will typically ask questions to try and find out if you match the profile described in the job ad. 

The more precisely you can describe situations where you could use a certain skill, your role in that situation, the outcome, and your learnings, the better.

• Make a mental list of the “selling points” that make you the right person for the job. Don’t just count them off one by one; use them as a mental guide to structure your answers and make sure that you can address all the key points you want to make over the course of the interview. 
• Be prepared to walk an interviewer through your CV. Even if they have read it thoroughly, they might ask you to do a quick run-down of your major career steps as a basis for deep-dive questions – or just as a warm-up. Just don’t get too hung up on this. Unless the interviewer says otherwise, don’t spend more than 5 minutes on this.
• Do you know who Boehringer Ingelheim is, what we do, and what our history and culture is? If not, our website, LinkedIn Channel and other sources can help you do some research before the interview.
• Of course, the interview is also a chance for you to learn more about us so, if you have any questions, the interviewer will make sure you have time to ask them. 

You can sign up for our Job Alert, which will notify you automatically as soon as we publish new job opportunities that might interest you. 

1. On the job board, click on sign in and then create a new user. 
2. Accept the data privacy statement.
3. Click on your name and “My Profile”
4. Enter the required information and specify your preferences. 

If you already have a profile on our job board, you can log in and move straight to step 3. 

You will receive e-mails about all positions matching that profile going forward.

To make changes to your Job Alert search profile later, please log in to the job board, click on our name and “My profile,” and navigate to preferences to change relevant locations or job fields. 

You can turn the notifications on and off if you log in and navigate to “My Account”.

You’ll need a CV; we will also ask for some basic information about you as the application process goes on. If additional documents like certificates are required, the job ad will say so.

In general, a CV should be as short as possible, while still containing all the relevant information. In practice, this may mean leaving out details that are not relevant to the job you are applying for, and adding more detail on career steps that are relevant. As a rough guideline, your CV should have a maximum of 2 pages.

As a rule of thumb, it is best to send the application documents in the same language as the job ad. 

A CV and a few basic questions asked upon application are enough. We do not require a motivation letter – though, if you would like to tell us something that is not clear from the CV, you are of course welcome to attach one.

While the system allows different formats, we prefer PDF files. The maximum file size is 5MB. The CV should be in the form of a table.

Yes; if you want to re-use a CV from one application for another one, you don’t need to upload it again. At the end of your application process, you will see all the documents that you have uploaded for all applications with us. Please mark those that you want to be visible for this new application as “relevant”.

Please keep in mind that, if you upload multiple files, they need to have different file names. Uploading a file with the same name as an existing file will replace the older one. 

If you have multiple applications, deleting a file will remove it from all your job applications – please use the "Relevant Files" setting to make it visible or invisible for specific applications.

Yes, we offer part-time positions in most countries – and, for some positions, job sharing too. These are also advertised online and you can even search for them using the “job schedule” filter on our job portal.

The experience you need depends on the position and is explained in the job ad, but Boehringer Ingelheim offers numerous entry level positions for which no professional experience is required.

Boehringer offers summer internships for school and university students who are still in training. Please see job opportunities online in our job portal.

Yes, Boehringer Ingelheim offers dissertation topics. These are also advertised on our job platform.

Boehringer Ingelheim was founded in Germany and roughly one third of its workforce is based there - but we operate globally, and there is no general requirement to speak German. Typically, people speak the language of the country where they work, while we use English as the language for international cooperation and in very international areas of our business. Roles involving global or international activities usually require English language skills.

While the job requirements are obviously different depending on whether you want to become a Technical Services Manager in Animal Health, a Lab Head at a Research Site, or a Payroll Specialist, there are a few behaviors we look for in every employee, regardless of their role.

We call it ‘Our FOCUS‘, and you can learn more about it here: https://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/about-us/company-culture/our-focus-0 

Boehringer Ingelheim offers a wide variety of benefits. We aim to support our employees in a wide variety of life situations in respond to their individual needs. You can find more information about this here.