A Minijob earns you up to 603 euros a month in 2026, with no social-security contributions taken off your pay. That sounds simple, and this is exactly where many people underestimate the application. They fire off two lines by message, or hand in nothing in writing at all, and then wonder why they get rejected.
The truth is that first impressions count even for a Minijob. A clean application signals the very thing employers look for in part-time help: reliability and motivation. The good news is that you need neither a cover sheet nor a page-long letter to get there. In this guide you will walk through your entire Minijob application step by step, with concrete before-and-after examples and a template you can adapt right away.
What Is a Minijob and What Are the Requirements?
Before you apply, it pays to look at the ground rules. A Minijob follows clear legal limits, and those changed at the start of 2026.
Definition and the Current Earnings Limit
A Minijob, officially a marginal employment relationship, is a job in which your regular income does not exceed a fixed threshold. Since 1 January 2026, that earnings limit has been 603 euros a month, or 7,236 euros a year. The limit is tied to the statutory minimum wage, which rose at the same time to 13.90 euros per hour. When the minimum wage rises, the Minijob limit rises automatically.
One thing to plan around: special payments such as holiday or Christmas bonuses count fully toward your earnings. You may only exceed the limit in exceptional cases, for example covering a sick colleague, and for no more than two months a year up to twice the monthly value.
Minijobs are no niche in Germany. The Minijob-Zentrale recently had around 6.8 million Minijobbers on its books, the majority in the commercial sector and a smaller share in private households. Students, pupils, people working part time, and those between two jobs especially use this flexible form to earn a little extra.
