First step about knowing each other and understanding the needs from both sides - company and possible employee.
Even if the job description was in English, as well as the way to apply, the interview was taken entirely in German with no possibility to switch to English - no question from interviewer's side about it. This can be justified from the fact that the position itself required fluency in German but this is a major disadvantage when discussing about technical topics, as they are in English.
The interviewer was relaxed and was directly responsible for his team - no man-in-the-middle from HR.
The interview had been going flawlessly apart of the topics:
- Home office: they strongly believe in the presence in the office, then they require you to come back to the office as soon as the pandemic will be over; this is an issue for people living in Munich, since the office in Ismaning is quite far from the city centre and not well-connected (1h with public transportation and 25 minutes by car). The major part of the work can be done remotely, then going to the office might be quite stressful for who does not own a car.
- Salary expectations: I gave a range and I received no hints about a possible one, honestly this is a question one would not expect in the very first interview.
- Customer relations: Everything is done remotely, no field activities (another reason for which home office would make sense).