How to Apply to Vaude

About Vaude

Application Process

1. 1
   Step 1 - Confirm the role is real and current

   Step 1 - Confirm the role is real and current. Vaude posts every open position on its central careers page at vaude.com/de/de/karriere.html and links out to a dedicated openings page (Offene Stellen). At any given time the list is short - typically ten to twenty roles, anchored in Tettnang with a few retail positions in Vaude Stores around Germany (Ulm, Ludwigsburg, Metzingen Outlet) and occasional roles at the Kinderhaus daycare. If a role appears on a third-party job board but is missing from Vaude's own list, treat it as stale and verify before investing time.

2. 2
   Step 2 - Apply through the Homepagerecruiter portal

   Step 2 - Apply through the Homepagerecruiter portal. Every job click ultimately routes to vaude.homepagerecruiter.de, the Homepagerecruiter applicant tracking system used by many German Mittelstand employers. You will be asked to create an account, upload PDF documents, and submit a structured online application (Online-Bewerbung). Vaude explicitly asks candidates to submit by email or the online portal - never by post - for ecological reasons. A traditional German application package is expected: Anschreiben (cover letter), tabellarischer Lebenslauf (CV), Zeugnisse (school leaving certificate, vocational and university transcripts/diplomas), and Arbeitszeugnisse (reference letters from previous employers). A Bewerbungsfoto is no longer mandatory under AGG anti-discrimination rules but remains common in the DACH market.

3. 3
   Step 3 - Acknowledge the German-first orientation

   Step 3 - Acknowledge the German-first orientation. Job postings, the application portal, internal communication, and most interviews are in German. Some functions (international sales, sourcing, IT) operate partly in English with overseas suppliers and subsidiaries, but assume that a working command of German (B2 minimum, C1+ realistically) is required for the vast majority of Tettnang-based roles. Retail roles in Vaude Stores require fluent German with customers. Initiative applications (Initiativbewerbung) submitted in English alone almost never advance.

4. 4
   Step 4 - Understand entry-level pathways

   Step 4 - Understand entry-level pathways. Vaude classifies entry into five groups on its 'Dein Einstieg' page: Berufserfahrene und Berufseinsteiger*innen (experienced hires and graduates with first work experience), Student*in (working students and Pflichtpraktikum mandatory internships, especially in product development, design, and materials), Schueler*in (Ausbildung apprenticeships and student internships), Jobber*innen (flexible/part-time roles, mainly in retail and outlets), and Initiativbewerbung (open application). The Pflichtpraktikum slots are particularly important - Vaude routinely posts them in Materialien, Produktentwicklung Hartware & Schuhe, Design Bekleidung, and Design Hartware as the natural funnel into permanent product roles.

5. 5
   Step 5 - Receive an Eingangsbestaetigung

   Step 5 - Receive an Eingangsbestaetigung. After submission, Homepagerecruiter sends an automated confirmation that your application has been received. Do not interpret this as a positive signal - it is a system acknowledgement only. Vaude's career page commits to a substantive reply within roughly two weeks (zwei Wochen), which is in line with German Mittelstand norms.

6. 6
   Step 6 - Get invited to a first conversation (Erstgespraech)

   Step 6 - Get invited to a first conversation (Erstgespraech). For roles that pass initial screening, recruiting (HR Talent Acquisition, with named contacts including Christiane Schudy, Georg Mueller, Andrea Heiss, and Raphaela Riesle for permanent roles, and Nico Bleicher for internships and apprenticeships) will invite you to a personal or video conversation. Expect a structured but warm Schwabische-style discussion: motivation, fit with sustainability values, technical background, German language comfort, and availability.

7. 7
   Step 7 - Attend a second round and possibly a Schnupperstunde (taster session) o

   Step 7 - Attend a second round and possibly a Schnupperstunde (taster session) or Probearbeit (trial work). Vaude explicitly states on its careers page that depending on the role, a second round is common, and in some areas - Manufaktur, Stores, design - candidates are invited to spend a few hours or a day shadowing the team. Treat the Schnupperstunde as a two-way evaluation: it is your chance to read the team and the campus.

8. 8
   Step 8 - Negotiate and sign (Vertragsunterzeichnung)

   Step 8 - Negotiate and sign (Vertragsunterzeichnung). Once both sides feel aligned, Vaude moves to contract. As a German Mittelstand employer with strong cultural emphasis on Wertschaetzung (mutual respect), expect a fair but not lavish offer aligned with regional Baden-Wuerttemberg standards, plus tangible benefits - including the on-site Kinderhaus, climate-neutral commuter incentives, on-campus restaurant, and outdoor activity programs through the in-house Outdoor Akademie.

Resume Tips for Vaude

Interview Culture

Vaude's interview culture is unmistakably Schwabisch and Mittelstand: warm, value-driven, sober about expectations, allergic to hype, and slow to commit but loyal once it does.

What Vaude Looks For

• Genuine alignment with Vaude's sustainability mission - not slogans, but evidence: prior roles in CSR, environmental science, supply chain ethics, circular product design, or volunteer engagement with credible NGOs.
• German language fluency at B2 minimum, C1+ for any role with internal cross-functional collaboration. Native or near-native German is the realistic bar for HR, finance, marketing, and most product roles.
• Willingness to live in or commute to the Tettnang/Lake Constance area. The HQ is in a rural village - it is beautiful, but it is not Munich or Berlin, and Vaude is realistic about that trade-off in interviews.
• Outdoor sport affinity that is real, not performed. Bergsport, Bike, Klettern, Skitouren, Wandern, Trailrunning are all common and welcomed. Casual interest is fine; pretending to be an alpinist is not.
• Mittelstand professionalism: punctuality, structured Bewerbungsunterlagen, polite but direct communication, comfort with hierarchy that is flat but still respected, and an understanding that decisions are made carefully and rarely reversed.
• Technical depth where the role demands it - bluesign system, Fair Wear Foundation criteria, GOTS, REACH, EU ESPR, CSRD, Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz, ISO 14001, EMAS, Higg Index, life cycle assessment - and the ability to discuss them without buzzword inflation.
• Long-term orientation. Vaude prefers candidates who can articulate why they want to stay, build, and grow inside the company over five-plus years rather than treat the role as a stepping stone.
• Cultural fit with Antje von Dewitz's leadership philosophy: gegenseitiges Vertrauen, Wertschaetzung, Vielfalt und Selbstwirksamkeit (mutual trust, respect, diversity, and self-efficacy). Demonstrate self-direction, openness to feedback, and a collaborative rather than political style.

Open Positions

Vaude currently has 1 open positions.

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