FAQs

Be careful of fraudulent emails and direct messages on social media from people who falsely claim to be Continental recruiters. Continental recruiters have an email address with a Continental domain.

Continental would never offer you a job without a formal interview and we would never ask you to transfer money to be invited to an interview or to get a job, even if the job is in another country and a visa is required.

If you receive such an email or direct message, please do not open any links. If you feel suspicious about the email, but you are unsure, please use our contact form to receive confirmation as to whether the email is legitimate or not.

You can find more information here.

Our selection criteria are generally based on the requirements of the respective position. Basically, the overall profile of the applicants is decisive for us, i.e., their professional experience is just as important as their personality. It is also important for us that candidates identify with our four values: Trust, Passion to Win, Freedom to Act, and For One Another.

Applications can only be submitted to us online for specific advertised positions via our Continental job portal. Please note that we are therefore unable to accept applications sent to us by email or by post, as well as unsolicited applications.  

Please note that we do not accept unsolicited applications. Our job portal lists all vacant positions and allows you to apply for them online. You can also set up a job subscription based on your search criteria. You will then receive newly published vacancies by email.

The entire application process can take approx. 1-3 months. You can check your application status online and keep track of what’s happening at any time. Once you have submitted your application documents, you will receive a confirmation of receipt. We will contact you if any information or documents are missing. Once this has been done, the application process will proceed as shown on the website.

The Continental job portal guides you through the application process step by step. In general, we require the following documents from you:

• Optional: Cover letter
• Résumé
• Certificates of relevant qualifications and training
• References from previous employers
• Proof of further training
• Work samples, if applicable (depending on the position advertised)

Please see here for an overview of the application process.

Your cover letter gives you the opportunity to present your strengths clearly and impress us. The aim of a good cover letter is to explain why you are the right candidate for the advertised position. Briefly describe who you are, where you acquired the required skills and knowledge, and why you are applying for the advertised position.

Consider your résumé as your personal, detailed business card: with this document, we want to gain a first impression of your professional qualifications and suitability for the advertised position. In addition to your personal information, such as name and contact details, the following information should be included (depending on your level of professional experience):

• Your professional career, including apprenticeships and relevant professional experience
• Continuing education and training
• Stays abroad
• Other experience and talents: additional qualifications, language skills, digital proficiency, etc.

On the topic of the online assessment, simply take a look at our related FAQs (see below).

Remember: you’ve already overcome one hurdle! We were impressed by your application documents, which is why we would like to get to know you even better. In a personal interview, which is often with both the HR and specialist departments, we talk more about your professional background, your professional knowledge, and your suitability for the advertised position. We will also go into detail about the advertised position and would like to gain a personal impression of you. Tip: think about what sets you apart and what milestones have shaped your life. Take this opportunity to impress us – the stage is yours.

For telephone interviews, we use MS TEAMS. If you don’t have a camera, we then use the telephone. A video is, of course, very welcome. You should test your technical equipment beforehand. Please note that this may take some time.

Try to concentrate fully on the telephone interview. Since it is a bit more difficult to “read” the other person than in a face-to-face conversation, it is important that you are fully focused.

Be careful of fraudulent emails and direct messages on social media from people who falsely claim to be Continental recruiters. Continental recruiters have an email address with a Continental domain.

Continental would never offer you a job without a formal interview and we would never ask you to transfer money to be invited to an interview or to get a job, even if the job is in another country and a visa is required.

If you receive such an email or direct message, please do not open any links. If you feel suspicious about the email, but you are unsure, please use our contact form [link to new contact form] to receive confirmation as to whether the email is legitimate or not.

You can find more information here.

Please note that we do not accept unsolicited applications. Our job portal lists all vacant positions and allows you to apply for them online. You also have the option of setting up a job subscription based on your search criteria. You will then receive newly published vacancies by email.

The entire application process can take approx. 1-3 months. You can check your application status online and keep track of what’s happening at any time. Once you have submitted your application documents, you will receive a confirmation of receipt. We will contact you if any information or documents are missing. Once this has been done, the application process will proceed as shown on the website.

Professionals from other fields are also welcome at Continental. Our recruitment policy is based solely on the professional and personal qualifications of the applicants.

We offer our employees flexible working models around the world – across all hierarchical levels. In concrete terms, this means that our employees are free to choose where they work – on the train, in a café between two appointments, or from home. In principle, every employee is allowed to work remotely if this is compatible with their duties. We also offer sabbaticals, working in other European countries, and part-time and flextime models. Find out more  here.

In Germany, Continental offers its employees the ContiPLUS program as a company pension plan. We recommend that you think about a comprehensive retirement plan right from the start of your career. With ContiPLUS, we support our employees in securing their retirement financially.

Please note that we do not accept unsolicited applications for our trainee programs.

The entire application process can take approx. 1-3 months. You can check your application status online and keep track of what’s happening at any time. Once you have submitted your application documents, you will receive a confirmation of receipt. We will contact you if any information or documents are missing. Once this has been done, the application process will proceed as shown on the website.

A trainee program not only prepares you for your future role and the business area in which you will be working, but also enables you to develop a holistic understanding of different areas of the company. This will allow you to acquire a wide range of skills and knowledge and create a solid foundation for building your personal network and career. Of course, you can also join the company directly after your studies. However, unlike a trainee, you will not be able to gain any experience in advance for the position you are applying for at Continental.

Yes, because our trainee programs cover several areas. We are also looking for applicants with a wide range of educational backgrounds.

It depends on how intensively you worked with a company when you earned your doctorate. If you have had the opportunity to gain work experience, you can apply for jobs that require work experience – similar to a young professional.

In principle, the trainee programs are open to all applicants. However, some require local knowledge or fluency in the local language. Trainees are employed at the respective location in accordance with the country’s customary contracts.

If the program is offered in different locations within a country, you only need to apply once and can state your location preference in your cover letter. In some cases, certain positions within a trainee program are tied to a location that cannot be changed.

The trainee programs are aimed at graduates with internship experience who are currently completing or have completed a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral thesis.

Yes, in order to apply for a trainee program, you must meet all requirements.

Our assessment centers (ACs) consist of individual and team tasks, presentations, interviews, and practical situations from the trainee programs. At the AC, you will receive detailed information on the tasks. We recommend that you find out about Continental, our vision, values, divisions, and, most importantly, our products and services in relation to your future career, as well as innovative trends in the automotive industry. Be yourself, show motivation and interest in the program, and concentrate. The assessment center will be held in English.

In general, you can apply for any program and any position. However, you can increase your chances if you pay close attention to the requirements of each program and apply only to those for which you are best suited. We recommend reapplying for the same program only if Continental had already filled all of the trainee positions before your application was received or if your qualifications have changed, for example because you have obtained a higher degree. You are welcome to apply for another program if your qualifications also meet its requirements.

Participants in the trainee program receive a permanent contract that includes full-time employment.

In general, Continental offers internships and theses for students of almost all degree programs. However, the following areas are of particular interest to us:

• Software engineers/developers
• Engineering/mechanical engineering
• STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)
• Economics

Please note that we do not accept unsolicited applications. You can find all the vacancies in our job portal and apply for them online. You also have the option of setting up a job subscription based on your search criteria. You will then receive newly published vacancies by email.

Detailed information on the respective vacancies can be found on our job portal. Here, you can filter your search results by location.

That depends on the requirements of your university. As a rule, the duration of a thesis is between three and six months.

An internship is not a general requirement – but a successfully completed internship is, of course, an advantage for you.

In Germany, we only offer internships to students who are enrolled at a university within the European Union. Please note that applicants may require a special visa.

Some locations offer vacation jobs, e.g., in production. However, where these positions are published varies from one location to another. We recommend checking vacancies in our job portal on a regular basis (possibly with the help of a job subscription) and contacting the local HR departments.

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions you can make for your future. For this reason, you should invest some time researching in advance to identify training or study programs that both suit your interests and offer good prospects.

On our website www.continental-corporation.com you will find a wealth of information about our company, our products, and the training and degree programs on offer. Information about career fairs and other events is also available on the site. On our various social media profiles we will keep you up to date on the latest topics and answer your questions directly.

All apprenticeship and dual study places can be found on the Continental application portal (de). Various filter options take you to the job of your choice and the corresponding application form. Our online system guides you through the process step by step. A cover letter is optional – so you can apply quickly and easily. Additional documents, such as certificates of completed internships or references, can be attached to your application in PDF or MS Office format.

Grades alone are not everything. Above all, we want to get to know you as a person and find out what motivates you. So be yourself.

In the interview, tell us about your interests and which school subjects you enjoy and we will see together whether it matches. Have you already done an internship or a vacation job? Great, please tell us about it.

Continental currently employs around 1,200 trainees and dual-study students.

Payment depends on the collective-bargaining agreement drawn up with the trade unions. This agreement varies from site to site.

Depending on the apprenticeship profession, there are various prerequisites, which can be found in the respective job advertisements. In principle, the high school diploma is not everything: we want to know that you are passionate about the advertised position, have an honest interest in the training topics, and are eager to develop and learn.

For a dual study program – i.e., the ContiBachelor program – the general university entrance qualification (Abitur or equivalent) is required from the cooperating universities.

Simply use our job portal to submit your application. In each job advertisement you will find the individual requirements for your apprenticeship or dual study program.

In addition, it is important that you have a certain knowledge of German in order to successfully achieve your degree. You need a German language level of C1 for a dual study program and B2 for an apprenticeship. The second requirement is a residence permit with a working permission for Germany. 

We look forward to receiving your application!

Some locations offer vacation jobs, for example in production. Certain prerequisites, such as the applicant being of legal working age, may have to be met. Where such positions are published, however, varies from one location to another. We recommend checking vacancies in our job portal on a regular basis (possibly with the help of a job subscription) and contacting the local HR departments.

Some locations offer school students the opportunity to gain an insight into the working world of our company for a few weeks. To find out more about school internships in a particular location, please use the contact form on our website. Please let us know your preferred location and approximate time frame for the internship. 

Online assessments are a reliable and valid method for assessing the suitability of candidates for Continental. The assessments also help to ensure a fair and standardized selection process.

Continental uses various online assessments. Depending on the position you are applying for, two or three assessments must be completed; the first two parts of the test include a numerical and a logical assessment, while a further assessment focuses on a self-description of your personality.

Yes, there are time limits for answering the questions. You will be informed of the relevant time limits before you start the online assessment or the individual module.

A break can only be taken between the two online assessments. Unfortunately, no breaks are possible during an online assessment. 

The online assessment is part of your application profile. We therefore ask that you complete the online assessment as soon as possible after your application. This allows us to work together to ensure the fastest possible recruitment process.

Please get in touch with us to find a solution so that we can support you through the process.

It is important that you have an Internet connection at the beginning of each test and at the end of each test, as the data is loaded at the beginning and transferred at the end of the test. In between, the test can be taken without a connection. If there is no Internet connection for data transmission, the instrument being completed will be locked and the assessment data you entered will be lost.

If the session is suddenly interrupted (e.g,. due to loss of Internet connection), the session is immediately locked and unlocked up to three times. After that, the session will not be automatically unlocked and you will need to contact the recruiter/IT support (see next question).

Please contact our Technical Support team via the following email address: continental.support@aon.com. They will help you with any inconvenience. Please note that communication with our technical support will take place in English.

Please make sure you are using one of the browsers listed below. The use of tablets or smartphones is also possible, but we recommend using a computer.

• Firefox 69.0, Windows 8/MacOS X  
• Chrome 45. in Windows 8/MacOS X 
• Safari 12.0 in MacOS X 10.12  
• Edge in Windows 10 
• Chromium Edge 79+ 
• Android 4.4 (and above) 
• iOS 12.0 (and above)