Job Ads in Three Languages: How Employers Reach More Applicants

A restaurant owner in Frankfurt told us, in essence: "I advertised in German for three weeks — two applications. Then my nephew put the same ad in Turkish next to it. The next day I had nine." We hear stories like this often. They aren't statistical proof, but they show a pattern many small businesses underestimate: the language of the ad co-decides who even finds and answers it.

The topic is delicate because two truths apply at once. First: many roles need good German — the IAB has found that around half of businesses expect at least B2. Second: precisely for that reason you lose applicants who could do the work but fail at a German-only ad — even though the role needs no B2 at all. Advertising multilingually does not mean lowering requirements. It means communicating the right requirement clearly — in a language that lands.

Large corporations have HR departments and reach. The snack bar, the cleaning firm with eight people, the event provider with seasonal needs — they compete for exactly the applicants who are often multilingual, well connected in the community, but underrepresented on classic portals. The DIHK skills report 2025/2026 makes clear that shortages remain a challenge. Ignoring a whole applicant pool just because the ad is monolingual makes the search harder for yourself.

Three effects multilingual ads have in practice:

• More reach: The ad is found by people searching in Turkish or English.
• Faster response: Someone who understands an ad immediately applies today — not "when I have time to translate it".
• Fewer mismatched applications: Clearly worded requirements in the right language pre-sort applicants by themselves.

This is the point where most ads get sloppy. State explicitly which German the job really needs — separately from the language you advertise in.

• Dishwashing, warehouse, cleaning: often "basic German is enough, training provided".
• Service with guest contact: "confident German for orders and guests" — name it honestly.
• Shift lead, documentation, responsibility: "good German required (approx. B2)".

A Turkish ad with the clear sentence "this role requires confident German" is fairer and more efficient than a German ad that doesn't say so at all. You then waste no time on conversations that don't fit — and applicants waste none on a role that overwhelms them linguistically.

Multilingual doesn't mean "longer", it means "clearer in three languages". Stick to the same simple structure, whether TR, DE, or EN:

1. Activity in one sentence. "Dishwashing for Saturday evenings, approx. 6 hours."
2. Place and time concretely. District, days, time, period.
3. Pay transparently. State the hourly wage. Minimum wage 2026: €13.90/hour — below is not allowed, above convinces.
4. What is really required. Experience? Driving licence? Which German? Only must-criteria, not a wish list.
5. What happens next. "Reply via chat, we get back to you the same day."

Short sentences. No phrases like "dynamic environment". People looking for work quickly don't read ads — they scan them. In every language.

The most common objection from small businesses is valid: "I can't write every ad myself in Turkish and English." You don't have to. Vardio is built as a multilingual job platform exactly for this: you describe the role once, and the AI helps you present it cleanly in Turkish, German, and English. You keep control — check, adjust, then the ad runs. It stays your ad; the language is simply no longer an obstacle.

A realistic note on expectations: a platform gives you reach and applicants. You still choose the right person yourself, in conversation, with your gut feeling for your team. Vardio is not an agency and guarantees no hire — but it ensures the people who fit you can even understand your ad.

An ad in the applicants' language sends a message before anyone replies: here I am understood. Especially in high-turnover sectors — hospitality, cleaning, logistics — this first signal is worth more than a tenth benefit in the small print. Those who feel addressed from the start not only apply more readily, they also stay more readily.

Advertising multilingually is not a nice extra. For small businesses with an acute staffing need it is one of the few levers that cost nothing but a little clarity — and that is exactly what most ads lack.