A Lioness Wandering Berlin (Maybe?!), Green Air Taxis by 2024, & Germany's Thinking About Siestas
Guten morgen Reader -
Sorry for being MIA this past week. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to dedicate time to the newsletter, as my cat Burt took ill. We spent several hours (and loads of money) at the vet, didn't get much sleep, and were simply really really stressed. Lesson learned, purchase pet insurance!
Anyway, Burt's on the mend, and so am I, so we're back a couple of days early with a special jam-packed weekend newsletter. 🐈
What's on the agenda this week? A lioness allegedly escaped from her confines and feasted on wild boars, because yes, Berlin also has wild boars roaming the streets. A German company will offer environmentally friendly air taxis by 2024, Telsa is set for a huge expansion in Berlin, and Germany's thinking about introducing siestas as a way to beat the heat.
We cover all of this and more in our July 22, 2023 edition of The Berlin Life newsletter.
Community News
🗣️ News from The Berlin Life:
- We updated two of our Berlin Life guides - A Moving To Berlin Guide – Move Here & Settle In Like A Local & Find a Job in Germany With Our Job Search Checklist.
- Read our last newsletter blast - Lessons from Getting Rejected by an Employer & Let's Meet for a Beer
- There's still a chance to meet some others from our lovely community. We'll be getting together on Wednesday, July 26 @ 7 pm. If you're game, indicate your interest and I'll send you an invite.
Food For Thought
🤓 Interesting articles about the "art" of looking for work:
- Why removing jargon From job descriptions is key to building a more diverse workforce - Hmmm. Using simple language and making job descriptions less wordy might attract more people to apply for jobs. 💯
Companies Hiring
🇩🇪 German companies hiring right now.
- komoot (Berlin) - Not only one of my favorite apps to use, but I also have respect for how they are transparent about their hiring process.
- emmy sharing (Berlin, Munich, & Hamburg)
- Lingoda (Berlin & remote)
- BRAINEFFECT (Berlin)
- Berlin Bytes (Berlin)
- channable (Berlin)
- JOIN Solutions (Berlin)
- Linesight (Germany)
Startup News
🚀 German startups that received funding recently, got acquired, etc., and could be good places to look for jobs.
- Germany’s DGG raises €4 million to make 3D technology accessible to all retailers and product creators (See their jobs)
- Berlin-based CYCLE swifts €10.3 million in Series A to e-bike last mile logistics around Europe (See their jobs)
- Munich-based TURN2X secures €4.3 million to expand production of renewable natural gas across Europe (See their jobs)
- Germany's subdron raises €1.3 million to automate underwater inspections for biofouling and structural integrity
- Germany’s Ivy raises €7 million to ‘build a better payments world’ with its global API for instant bank payments (See their jobs)
- Volocopter: Electric in the air (See their jobs)
- Hamburg-based vilisto secures €5 million Series A to efficiently heat rooms with self-learning algorithms (See their jobs)
- Munich-based Quantum Systems partners with Airbus Defence and Space in a research effort on AI (See their jobs)
- Germany’s Neura Robotics bags $55M to power its expansion in the US and Japan (See their jobs)
News in Germany
🗞️ Immigration and other general news in Germany.
- Tesla plans sweeping expansion to Berlin plant, cell production - This means they will be hiring, so keep watch for job openings there.
- Wage inequality between eastern and western German states continues to grow - The wage gap is frankly, shocking. It's hard to believe this inequality not only persists but is worsening, with Eastern Germans earning an average of €13,000 a year less. 🤯
- Facilitated Rules for Skilled Workers Have Helped Germany With Labour Shortage, Research Shows - It may not seem like it (or really feel like it), but research shows that Germany's skilled labor act has helped to somewhat ease the employee shortage.
- DB Mindbox by Deutsche Bahn: Open calls for sustainability, construction technology, and mobility innovators - Deutsche Bahn is hiring tons of people and will even pay for your training. They are also seeking innovators to dream up the transport of the future.
- Berlin art: What exhibitions are on now? - Keep yourself busy by checking out some of the latest exhibitions.
- Germany’s role as an economic powerhouse at tipping point amid recession - PBS shares their take on the weakening German economy and I'm not sure what to think. Give it a watch and perhaps share your thoughts in our Slack space and/or Facebook group.
- Lion hysteria: We examine the evidence // Lion on the loose: Dangerous wild animal seen in Berlin - This wild story has a rather anticlimactic ending, but the memes going around were priceless.
- German health officials suggest country adopt siesta timetable - Aside from the siesta, they suggest "A cold foot bath under the desk would be another way to keep cool when working from home."
- Frankfurt Ausländerbehörde slated for failures of new online portal - People were excited when Frankfurt's foreigner's office boldly tried to go digital. Sadly, it was an epic fail with immigration lawyers arguing the "portal only made things more perplexing and convoluted". 🤦♀️
- Everything you need to know about taking holiday days in Germany - Did you know that if you get sick on your vacation, you can take them as sick days instead and not use up your valuable vacation days?
- 11 things to know before going to Bavaria in Germany - Things you might know or not know like the beer is good and it's Germany's richest state.
- Germany tries to woo foreign students and skilled workers - This video shows Germany's labor minister visiting India and chatting with young students who want to immigrate to Germany. He says that they are working on destroying Germany's bureaucracy with their new immigration laws. That's a pretty rich statement to make considering the country's love of paper and bureaucracy. 🙃
- Germany considers scrapping tax breaks for married couples - This long read takes you through why tax breaks for married couples should be trashed. There are tons of reasons and one of them is that the country could save up to a whopping €28 billion, which could be redirected to addressing issues like child poverty.
Useful Resources
😎 Good stuff from the Berlin Life.
- Career Coaching - Get help creating a standout job application that will get you interviews in Germany. Work with us to learn how to ace German job interviews.
- CV/Cover Letter Quick Review - A budget-friendly alternative to career coaching, have your job application reviewed by an experienced career coach.
- Mentor Hour - Book an hour with Cheryl to get general advice about moving to Germany and finding work.
- Become a Member - Get a discount on our services, access to a monthly Q&A with the founder, a curated list of job postings, and more.
- Join our Slack space or Facebook group to start chatting with locals and others from abroad waiting to move to Germany.
- Add yourself to our LinkedIn connect and exchange list to network with other community members.
- Create a German CV (and cover letter) quickly & easily with resume.io.
Support Us
🙏 Creating content like this newsletter and our Berlin Life guides takes a lot of time and money, never mind organizing events and keeping our community spaces updated. That said, there are many little and kind ways you can help support us, as we support you.
- Give us a follow on social media - LinkedIn, Facebook, & Twitter.
- Tell people about us. Send them to our website and tell them to signup for our newsletter.
- Buy us a beer. 🍺
See you in the next one, Reader. Wishing you a great week! 💛
Founder - The Berlin Life