We Need Volunteers to Build and Expand The Berlin Life Community

Published 11 months agoΒ β€’Β 5 min read

Guten tag Reader -

What's on this week? I share some personal news, we need volunteers to help build and expand our community, it's harder for immigrants to find work in Germany, and a lot of German employees find their jobs meaningless (and their bosses are depressed).

We cover all this and more in our 1/10/2023 edition of The Berlin Life newsletter.

Personal News

πŸ™‹β€β™€οΈ Sometimes, like today, I'm going to overshare.

  • Early on in the pandemic, I went through a really difficult time. One of the ways I sought to get better was to go to therapy. Three years later, I just had my final appointment as both my therapist and I think I'm doing well enough to go at it on my own. While I still have much personal growth ahead, I'm so grateful to be in such a healthier place emotionally and much happier with myself. Just thought I'd share in case anyone is going through a tough time right now. There will be better times ahead. ❀️
  • I've shared in the past that I also have a travel blog where I highlight unusual places around the world, as well as other travel stories. While updating some old posts, I came across this humorous gem and thought I'd share it -Things Berlin Tourists Should Avoid When They Visit. πŸ˜‚
  • I also faced some drama with the Finanzamt recently and learned the hard way that you always need to pay your taxes on time. πŸ’€ If you want to read my story, get all up in our Slack space. Once you join, you can read the harrowing tale here. Seriously, join us in there for quality discussions, fun jokes, and more.

Community News

πŸ—£οΈ News from The Berlin Life community.

  • Get caught up on what happened last week: People Change Their Jobs A Lot, Mature Workers Keep on Working, Berlin’s Planting Trees.
  • Catch up with my latest career advice on whether or not you need to quantify everything on your CV in our weekly premium version of the newsletter. Consider signing up for only €5 a month, as you'll not only get good career advice but lots of other benefits too. Bonus, if you sign up now, you can get one month free.
  • I also created a new Partners page, where you can get deals on all sorts of products and services to help you get settled into your life in Germany. Check it out, as I'll be adding more partners in the coming days.
  • Winter is coming, so check out our Berlin Life guide about How To Save Energy In Germany (& Money Too!).
  • I asked people on X to share what their first job was in a Giphy. We got some amazing replies, with many remarking about how those first jobs can be character-building.
  • I’m looking for a member (or two) of our community to volunteer to help with The Berlin Life. Someone who excels at organizing events, acts as an admin for our Facebook and Slack groups, creates compelling social content, and promotes us in different places. If you’re interested in helping to make our community, bigger and better, send in your details, and I’ll get in touch soon. Send in your details here.

Have you used AI to help you with your job applications?

πŸ“Š The results of last week's poll.

Seems people are mostly using AI for writing the first draft of their cover letters! I thought it would be the other way around, but maybe that's just my inner boomer speaking - someone who likes the sound of my own writing, not some AI-generated text. 😬

Food For Thought

πŸ€” Interesting articles about the art of looking for work and humourous or useful gems floating around the web.

  • ​20% Berlin recently shared a factoid about how looking for work in Germany is harder for foreigners - "Immigrants in Germany have to make 50 percent more job applications than Germans for positions in Germany and are paid up to 25 percent less than Germans with similar qualifications (the average pay gap in the EU is 13%), according to a recent McKinsey study about the lack of diversity in the German workplace."
  • This X thread by Immigrant Spirit talks about bias in the recruiting process in Germany and how people judge others based on their photos. The results are disappointing and another reminder about why you might not want to put your photo on your German CV.
  • A lot of our community members are questioning whether or not they should move to Germany right now, considering the current recession and prediction of slow economic growth. JΓΆrg Kleis from Find a Job in Germany shares his take on the situation.
  • A couple of gems from All About Berlin - a handy tool to fill out and print your Anmeldung form online, as well as an AMAZING thread on X about how the immigration office answered questions posed to them by German politicians.
  • ​Why employee loyalty can be overrated - For some employers (especially German ones), long tenures are seen as only a positive thing. Yet employees who are seen as loyal tend to have more work dumped on them, among other not-so-cool things.
  • ​The Elite's War on Remote Work Has Nothing to Do with Productivity - Even employers like Zoom are mandating a return to the office. The TL;DR is that they don't want you back for "greater collaboration and productivity".

Companies Hiring

πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ German companies hiring right now. Also, check out our complete listing of Berlin companies hiring​.​

πŸ“§ Is your company hiring? Get in touch to be featured.

German Startup News

πŸš€ German startups that recently received funding, were acquired, built up staff, etc., and could be good places to look for jobs. Also, tips on where NOT to work as there's a lot of turmoil in the startup world rn.

News in Germany

πŸ—žοΈ All of the news in Germany.

Useful Resources

😎 Good stuff from the Berlin Life.

  • ​Berlin Life Guides - 50+ guides about working, living, and moving to Berlin.
  • ​Services - Career coaching services, job application reviews, and mentor hours.
  • ​Community - Find your community in Berlin.

Support Us

πŸ™ You can support us, as we support you.

See you in the next one!

Founder - The Berlin Life​

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