Cows Licking Cars, The Ongoing Labour Shortage Struggle, & Join Our German Job Application Workshop

Dear Reader -

Our newsletter is 🔥 as we had lots more new joiners over the past week. Welcome to our community, dear newbies! I'm so happy to have you here. 💛

On the books for this week are two new community events, articles on the continued struggle of Germany's labor shortage and how to address it, and cows licking cars to a state of destruction. We cover all of this and more in our Aug 13, 2023 edition of The Berlin Life newsletter.

Community News

🗣️ Big news from The Berlin Life:

We have two community events on the calendar 🙌
- First up, is a casual meetup for beers at Republic Berlin on Wed, Aug 16 @ 7 pm. Expect friendly faces, good conversation, and tasty beers. About 15 people are on the list and as they say, the more, the merrier. 👉 Signup now.
- Second is a free online workshop about creating a standout German job application (including CVs & cover letters). It's happening on Aug 29 @ 6 pm. We've already had some registrations and as the event is limited to 15 people, signup and snag your spot.
If you missed out on last week's newsletter, we got you. Give it a read: Guess what? Life in Germany isn't all unicorns and rainbows!

Food For Thought

🤔 Interesting articles about the "art" of looking for work, as well as humourous gems floating around the web:

Read one of our classic Berlin Life guides, Berlin Life Hacks - Our Berlin Life hacks advise you on where to get groceries, the best transit options, where to open a bank account, find a locksmith, & more.
Imagine Foundation helps refugees get trained in tech and find jobs in Germany. They've done a lot already for people fleeing Afghanistan and Ukraine. Check out their new job board that features English-speaking jobs and companies that help with relocation.
Another content creator who's good for foreigners in Germany to follow? Johanna Rüdiger, a journalist who works for DW, does a lot of fun and informative TikToko videos from things as silly as dressing up only to get rejected from getting into Berghain to sharing the latest news on Germany's fast-changing immigration laws.
Some sage advice that I wish everyone would follow ... 😃

Companies Hiring

🇩🇪 German companies hiring right now.

Simon-Kucher (6 locations in Germany)
wefox (Berlin)
Momentus Technologies (Berlin & Karlsruhe)
Q ENERGY (Berlin & remote)
KNIME (Berlin)
Young Digitals Consulting (Berlin)
Handshake (Berlin)
V-oice AG (Berlin)

Startup News

🚀 German startups that received funding recently, got acquired, built up staff, etc., and could be good places to look for jobs.

News in Germany

🗞️ Immigration and other general news in Germany.

From Breaking Glass Ceilings to Joining Boardrooms - "Women make up only 9% of board positions in German technology companies." While Germany still has a long way to go on this front, this article profiles some serious female bosses.
How Germany's political leaders want to fix the economy - Everyone is talking about stuff but no one is doing much at the moment, even when economic numbers continue to trend downwards. This line says it all, "Chancellor Olaf Scholz ... has been on vacation and has not yet issued a statement on the economic downturn."
Germany commits €57 billion to green infrastructure in 2024 - This is good news, as long term this will reduce energy prices and help keep Germany an attractive place to do business. It also means lots of job opportunities!
Making Afro-German history visible - A part of Germany's history that's often not covered. The Afro-German Diek family has lived in Germany since the end of the 19th century is working to change that by sharing their stories.
German cows cause 10.500-euros of damage by licking Mercedes - One man is suing a hotel after he came back from a hike and found his Mercedes destroyed by cows licking his car. 🤣
Refugees overqualified and underpaid in Germany - Highly skilled immigrants who arrive in Germany with a refugee status often take jobs as taxi drivers or shop clerks, even when they're qualified to do so many other things. The new immigration laws are mostly targeted at bringing new highly skilled people from abroad, but obviously, more focus needs to be placed on the qualified individuals who are already here.
August 2023: 7 changes affecting expats in Germany - Changes include banning fluorescent lights, some electric car owners will get less money, and summer holidays for students are coming to an end.
Deutschlandticket rules to change from August 15 - if you use the €49 ticket to travel around Germany, you need to keep updated on the changes as they're (of course! 🙄) becoming more strict with some things.
Thai Bridge: Thai Park’s new Friday location - The legendary Thai Park is now happening at Gleisdreieck on Fridays.
How much immigration does Germany need? - An interesting video that compares Germany to my home country, Canada. For sure, Canada is an immigration company and immigrants will feel more welcomed there, but it isn't easy either with foreign people only being welcomed based on a points system - which isn't humane imho.
German public sector has 360.000 vacant positions, dbb says - Another signal of the labor shortage crisis, things like this are prompting the German government to move forward with changes, like this - Germany announces plans for migration agreements with 6 new countries.
Berlin’s literary legends and where they lived - A nice way to tour Berlin and see where some of your favorite authors once lived like Christopher Isherwood and Hans Fallada.

Useful Resources

😎 Good stuff from the Berlin Life.

We can help you with lots of things, like career coaching and other services, like a quick review of your job application, or a mentor hour.
Connect with others from our community by joining our Slack space or Facebook group. You can also add yourself to our LinkedIn connect and exchange list.
Create a German CV (and cover letter) quickly & easily with resume.io.

Support Us

🙏 There are things you can do to support us too.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, & Twitter.
Tell people about our website and tell them to signup for this newsletter.
Buy us a beer 🍺

See you all next week,

Founder - The Berlin Life