How to Apply to dm-drogerie markt

9 min read Last updated April 20, 2026 10 open positions
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

Key Takeaways

  • dm-drogerie markt is Germany's largest drugstore chain, family-owned by the Werner family, with ~73,000 employees and ~3,800 stores across 14 European countries from its Karlsruhe headquarters.
  • The company runs on Götz Werner's Dialogische Führung philosophy, which means flat hierarchies, self-organizing store teams, and hiring decisions made locally by the Filialleitung with peer input.
  • Apply through karriere.dm.de (or the country-specific portal) which runs on SAP SuccessFactors; Initiativbewerbungen for stores are explicitly welcomed even when no role is posted.
  • Use a classic German tabellarischer Lebenslauf with photo, Anschreiben, and Zeugnisse - skipping Zeugnisse will slow your application down significantly.
  • Expect a Schnuppertag (trial day) for retail roles where the team itself has real input into the hire; warmth toward customers and punctuality matter more than rehearsed answers.
  • Apprenticeships (Ausbildung zur/zum Drogist:in, Kaufmann/-frau im Einzelhandel, dual studies) are a major hiring channel and dm openly considers candidates without an Abitur.
  • dmTECH in Karlsruhe is the hidden tech employer - SAP S/4HANA, Java, Kotlin, GCP, dbt - and accepts English-only candidates, which is rare for a German retailer at this scale.
  • Compensation follows the Einzelhandel Tarifvertrag plus übertarifliche Zulagen, Weihnachts- und Urlaubsgeld, Erfolgsbeteiligung, and 30 Urlaubstage, with strong work-life balance and high tenure.
  • Authenticity beats polish - dm interviewers are trained to keep asking follow-ups until they hear your real story, so prepare to talk about your Lebensweg, your values, and what dm means to you personally.

About dm-drogerie markt

dm-drogerie markt is Germany's largest drugstore chain and one of the most beloved private employers in the German-speaking world, with roughly 73,000 employees serving customers across approximately 3,800 stores in 14 European countries. Founded in 1973 by Götz Werner in Karlsruhe, the company opened its first store on Am Marktplatz with the radical idea that a drugstore could be a place of warmth, dignity, and self-service rather than a sterile counter operation. More than five decades later, dm remains entirely family-owned through the Werner family, headquartered at Am dm-Platz 1 in Karlsruhe, and consistently tops German employer-of-choice rankings published by trendence, kununu, and Universum. Dm operates Germany's largest fleet of drugstores along with sister networks in Austria (where dm Drogeriemarkt GmbH is the market leader), Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, and Poland. The product mix spans personal care, cosmetics, household goods, baby care, healthy nutrition, photo services, and an unusually strong portfolio of private-label brands the company has built over decades: Balea (skincare and haircare), Alverde Naturkosmetik (certified natural cosmetics), dmBio (organic food), Mivolis (vitamins and supplements), Babylove (infant care), Denkmit (cleaning), Profissimo, Sanft & Sicher, Sundance, Dontodent, and Trend it Up. These house brands account for a substantial share of sales and are developed in-house in Karlsruhe, which is why dm hires aggressively for product management, regulatory affairs, packaging design, and food technologists alongside its retail workforce. What sets dm apart as an employer is its anthroposophical leadership heritage, inherited from Götz Werner (a vocal advocate for unconditional basic income) and codified in the company's Dialogische Führung (dialogic leadership) philosophy. Authority is distributed downward; store teams set their own schedules, conduct peer interviews, and make local merchandising decisions to a degree unusual in European retail. Werte (values), Selbstverantwortung (self-responsibility), and Menschlichkeit (humanity) are not posters on the wall but active filters in hiring decisions. Apprenticeships (Ausbildung zur/zum Drogist:in and Kaufmann/-frau im Einzelhandel) are central to the talent pipeline, and dm is one of Germany's largest single-employer training providers, with tens of thousands of Auszubildende rotating through its Lehrlings-Programme each year.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Browse open positions at karriere

    Browse open positions at karriere.dm.de (Germany) or the equivalent country portal such as karriere.dm.at for Austria, then create a candidate profile in dm's SAP SuccessFactors-powered career portal.

  2. 2
    Choose the correct path: store roles (Filiale) and apprenticeships (Ausbildung)

    Choose the correct path: store roles (Filiale) and apprenticeships (Ausbildung) are filtered by postal code, while Headquarters (Zentrale Karlsruhe), logistics (Verteilzentren in Waghäusel, Weilerswist, Wustermark, etc.), and IT (dmTECH) jobs sit in dedicated career hubs.

  3. 3
    Submit a complete German-style application: Anschreiben (one-page cover letter),

    Submit a complete German-style application: Anschreiben (one-page cover letter), tabellarischer Lebenslauf with photo, Zeugnisse (school and work certificates), and any relevant Praktika or Ehrenamt experience scanned into a single PDF where possible.

  4. 4
    Initiativbewerbungen (unsolicited applications) are explicitly welcomed for stor

    Initiativbewerbungen (unsolicited applications) are explicitly welcomed for stores that have no posted opening; the portal includes a dedicated workflow and dm regularly hires this way when a Filialleitung sees a strong profile walk in.

  5. 5
    Expect a phone or video Erstgespräch with the store leader or recruiter within o

    Expect a phone or video Erstgespräch with the store leader or recruiter within one to three weeks, followed by a Schnuppertag (trial day) on the shop floor for retail roles or a structured interview round for HQ and dmTECH positions.

  6. 6
    For apprenticeships, complete the online assessment (logic, German, basic math,

    For apprenticeships, complete the online assessment (logic, German, basic math, situational judgment) and attend an Auswahltag at a regional training center where you will work in small groups on retail simulations.

  7. 7
    Final offers come from the Filialleitung or hiring manager directly, not central

    Final offers come from the Filialleitung or hiring manager directly, not central HR; contracts follow the Tarifvertrag des Einzelhandels with above-tariff allowances common at dm.

Resume Tips for dm-drogerie markt

recommended

Use a German tabellarischer Lebenslauf format with reverse-chronological section

Use a German tabellarischer Lebenslauf format with reverse-chronological sections, a professional photo (still standard at dm), and your full contact block including Geburtsdatum and Geburtsort if you are comfortable sharing them.

recommended

Lead with a concise Profil or Kurzvorstellung of three to four lines that names

Lead with a concise Profil or Kurzvorstellung of three to four lines that names the role you are targeting and the dm value you most identify with (Menschlichkeit, Selbstverantwortung, or Unternehmerisches Denken work well when authentic).

recommended

Quantify retail experience in dm's language: Umsatzverantwortung in EUR, Anzahl

Quantify retail experience in dm's language: Umsatzverantwortung in EUR, Anzahl der betreuten Mitarbeitenden, Inventurdifferenz in percent, NPS or Kundenzufriedenheit scores, and Warengruppen you have managed.

recommended

Highlight any exposure to dm's private-label categories (Balea, Alverde, dmBio,

Highlight any exposure to dm's private-label categories (Balea, Alverde, dmBio, Mivolis, Denkmit) or to Naturkosmetik, Bio-Lebensmittel, and Nachhaltigkeit themes - these map directly to dm's brand strategy.

recommended

For apprenticeship applications, emphasize Praktika, Schülerjobs, Ehrenamt, and

For apprenticeship applications, emphasize Praktika, Schülerjobs, Ehrenamt, and any retail or customer-facing work; dm weights character and learning attitude over grade point average and explicitly considers candidates without an Abitur.

recommended

For dmTECH and Karlsruhe HQ roles, switch to a more international CV style if ap

For dmTECH and Karlsruhe HQ roles, switch to a more international CV style if applying in English, name specific technologies (SAP S/4HANA, Hybris, Java, Kotlin, Kubernetes, GCP, dbt) and include open-source or Heimprojekte to show Selbstverantwortung.

recommended

Include a Sprachen section with CEFR levels - German B2 or higher is effectively

Include a Sprachen section with CEFR levels - German B2 or higher is effectively required for store roles, while dmTECH and certain Zentrale positions accept English-only candidates.

recommended

Attach your most recent Arbeitszeugnis and relevant Schulzeugnisse; German recru

Attach your most recent Arbeitszeugnis and relevant Schulzeugnisse; German recruiters read the coded language of these certificates carefully and missing them slows the process.

ATS System: SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting

dm-drogerie markt operates its careers experience on SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting, the same enterprise ATS used by most large German Konzerne. The candidate-facing portal is branded as karriere.dm.de in Germany with localized equivalents for each of the 14 country networks (karriere.dm.at for Austria, kariera.dm.cz for Czechia, and so on). SuccessFactors handles the full pipeline from job posting and candidate profile creation through structured screening, interview scheduling with the Filialleitung or hiring manager, offer management, and conversion into SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central once you are hired. The portal supports Initiativbewerbungen, apprenticeship-specific application flows with built-in assessments, and saved searches with email alerts.

  • Create a full structured profile rather than relying on a single uploaded PDF - SuccessFactors keyword-matches structured fields against the Stellenausschreibung.
  • Mirror the exact German wording of the job ad (job titles, technologies, certifications) where it honestly applies to your background.
  • Upload Anschreiben, Lebenslauf, and Zeugnisse as separate documents where the portal allows; if forced to merge, lead with the Anschreiben.
  • Use the Filialfinder integration to apply to a specific store and address the Anschreiben to the Filialleitung by name when possible.
  • Set up Job-Alerts (Suchaufträge) for both your preferred Filiale and the Zentrale Karlsruhe categories you care about; new dm postings move quickly.
  • For apprenticeships, complete the online assessment in one sitting in a quiet room - SuccessFactors timestamps and tracks attempts.

Complete SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting Resume Guide →

Interview Culture

Interviewing at dm feels different from almost any other large European retailer, and that difference is intentional.

The company's Dialogische Führung philosophy means that interviews are framed as a Begegnung (encounter) between two adults exploring whether they want to work together, not as an interrogation in which the candidate must prove worthiness. Expect open-ended questions about your Lebensweg, what energizes you, how you handle conflict, and what you would do if you disagreed with your Filialleitung. Set-piece STAR-method answers can actually feel out of place; dm interviewers are trained to probe for authenticity and will gently keep asking follow-up questions until they hear the unrehearsed version of your story. For store and apprenticeship roles, the heart of the process is the Schnuppertag or Probearbeiten, a half-day or full-day trial where you stock shelves, greet customers, work the Kasse under supervision, and have lunch with the team. The team itself has real input into the hire - this is not a formality. Show up in business-casual clothing that you can actually move in, bring a water bottle, ask the names of the colleagues you meet, and treat customers with the same warmth you would show in your own home. Punctuality is non-negotiable; arriving even five minutes late often ends a candidacy quietly. For Karlsruhe Zentrale and dmTECH roles, the format shifts to a structured but conversational two- to three-round process: a recruiter Vorstellungsgespräch, a fachliches Interview with the future team lead and two peers, and often a Fallstudie or Pair-Programming session for technical roles. The Werner family's anthroposophical roots surface in subtle ways - candidates are sometimes asked what books they are reading, what they would change about dm if they had a free hand, or how they think about Verantwortung gegenüber kommenden Generationen. There are no trick questions, and salary discussions are direct, transparent, and tied to the Tarifvertrag plus dm's well-known übertarifliche Zulagen, weihnachts- and urlaubsgeld, and Erfolgsbeteiligung. Decisions are typically communicated within one to two weeks of the final round, almost always by phone before the written offer arrives.

What dm-drogerie markt Looks For

  • Authentic Menschlichkeit - warmth toward customers and colleagues that does not turn off when the manager is not watching, demonstrated through concrete stories rather than slogans.
  • Selbstverantwortung and Eigeninitiative - evidence that you act without being told, escalate problems with proposed solutions, and take ownership of outcomes beyond your formal role.
  • Teamfähigkeit in flat hierarchies - comfort working in self-organizing teams where the Filialleitung is a coach rather than a commander and where peers hold each other accountable.
  • Customer obsession in the German sense - patient, knowledgeable Beratung especially in cosmetics, baby care, and natural products, with willingness to learn deep product knowledge.
  • Affinity for dm's Sortiment and Werte - genuine interest in Naturkosmetik, Bio-Lebensmittel, Nachhaltigkeit, and the company's social commitments such as Zukunftsfonds and HelferHerzen.
  • For apprenticeships, Lernbereitschaft and Reflexionsfähigkeit weigh more heavily than grades - dm is one of the few large employers that openly recruits Quereinsteiger and people without an Abitur into long-term careers.
  • For dmTECH, product mindset and craftsmanship over CV pedigree - they hire engineers who care about the customer-facing outcome and can articulate trade-offs in plain German or English.
  • Long-term orientation - dm values Mitarbeitende who plan to stay and grow, and the average tenure in Karlsruhe is famously high; signal that you are looking for a Heimat, not a stepping stone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does dm-drogerie markt require German language skills?
For all customer-facing store and apprenticeship roles in Germany and Austria, German at B2 level or higher is effectively required because the entire customer interaction, internal communication, and Tarifvertrag documentation is in German. For dmTECH in Karlsruhe and certain specialist roles in the Zentrale (data engineering, cloud platform, some product roles), English-only applications are accepted and the team operates bilingually. Other country networks (Czechia, Hungary, Croatia, etc.) hire in the local language.
What ATS does dm use and how should I optimize my application?
dm runs its careers portal on SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting, branded as karriere.dm.de. Create a complete profile rather than just uploading a PDF, fill in every structured field (skills, languages, education, work experience), and upload your Anschreiben, Lebenslauf, and Zeugnisse as separate documents or one merged PDF. SuccessFactors keyword-matches against the Stellenausschreibung, so mirror the German job-ad language exactly where it honestly applies to you.
What is a Schnuppertag and how do I prepare?
A Schnuppertag (trial day) is a half- or full-day working session inside a dm store where you actually stock shelves, greet customers, ring up purchases under supervision, and meet the team. Wear comfortable business-casual clothes you can move in, closed-toe shoes, bring a water bottle, arrive ten minutes early, and treat every customer warmly even when no one is watching. Ask colleagues their names and remember them. The team has real input into the hire.
Can I get hired at dm without an Abitur or formal retail experience?
Yes - explicitly. dm is one of the largest German employers that publicly recruits Quereinsteiger and apprenticeship candidates without an Abitur. The Ausbildung zur/zum Drogist:in (three years) and Kaufmann/-frau im Einzelhandel (three years) are open to candidates with Hauptschulabschluss or Mittlere Reife. Character, learning attitude, and demonstrated Selbstverantwortung weigh more heavily than grades, and many current Filialleiter:innen and Gebietsverantwortliche started this way.
What does dm pay and what benefits are included?
Compensation follows the Tarifvertrag des Einzelhandels for the relevant Bundesland, with dm consistently paying übertarifliche Zulagen above the Tariflohn. Benefits typically include Weihnachtsgeld, Urlaubsgeld, Erfolgsbeteiligung, 30 Urlaubstage, betriebliche Altersvorsorge, Mitarbeiterrabatt, vergünstigtes Deutschlandticket in many regions, and access to dm's Mitarbeiteraktien program. Apprentices earn at the upper end of the Einzelhandel scale (roughly 1,050 EUR in year one rising each year).
How long does dm's hiring process usually take?
For store roles, expect roughly two to four weeks from application to offer: one to two weeks for the recruiter or Filialleitung to respond, a phone or video Erstgespräch, then the Schnuppertag, then a decision within one to two weeks. Apprenticeship applications follow an annual cycle with most contracts signed between September and February for the following August start. Karlsruhe Zentrale and dmTECH roles take four to eight weeks across two to three structured rounds.
What is dmTECH and how is it different from working in a dm store?
dmTECH is dm's in-house technology subsidiary based in Karlsruhe, building the e-commerce platform, dm App, in-store systems, SAP S/4HANA backbone, data platform, and AI products that power the entire European business. The stack is a mix of SAP, Java, Kotlin, TypeScript, Google Cloud, Kubernetes, dbt, and modern data tooling. Culture is product-team oriented with two-pizza teams, hybrid work, English-friendly, and noticeably less hierarchical than typical German Konzern IT.
Should I send an Initiativbewerbung if I do not see an open role?
Yes - especially for stores. dm explicitly welcomes Initiativbewerbungen and the careers portal has a dedicated workflow for them. Identify the specific store you want to work in (use the Filialfinder), address the Anschreiben to the Filialleitung by name where possible, walk in to drop off your Unterlagen if you can, and follow up by phone after a week. Many store hires happen this way when a strong candidate appears before a vacancy is formally posted.
What values and culture should I emphasize in my application?
Lead with Menschlichkeit (humanity), Selbstverantwortung (self-responsibility), and Dialog (dialogue) - these are dm's core values inherited from founder Götz Werner. Show authentic interest in Nachhaltigkeit, Naturkosmetik, and dm's social initiatives such as the Zukunftsfonds, HelferHerzen, and Singen mit Kindern. Avoid corporate buzzwords; dm interviewers are trained to detect them and prefer concrete stories from your Lebensweg that show how you actually live these values.
Is dm hiring internationally and can non-EU candidates apply?
dm hires extensively across its 14 European country networks, each through its own local careers portal (karriere.dm.de, karriere.dm.at, kariera.dm.cz, etc.). Non-EU candidates need a valid work permit; for the German Zentrale and dmTECH, dm will sponsor Blue Cards for qualifying specialist roles, but store-level hiring is almost exclusively for candidates with existing work authorization. Apply directly to the country where you want to work rather than to Karlsruhe centrally.

Open Positions

dm-drogerie markt currently has 10 open positions.

Check Your Resume Before Applying → View 10 open positions at dm-drogerie markt

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