Berlin is Friendly?! The Down Low on German Work Culture & Another Meetup

Hallo Reader -

How are you guys doing? I'm sooooo happy and relaxed right now! This is my last week of work before going on a month-long vacation and starting my new job in September. 🙌

What's up this week? Our last meetup was so good, that I decided we need to meet again soon. What else? We debate using ChatGPT to write your job application. People actually voted Berlin as a "friendly" city. Find out what German work culture is really like. We cover all of this and more in our July 30, 2023 edition of The Berlin Life newsletter.

Community News

🗣️ News from The Berlin Life:

As I go on vacation for August, all services for The Berlin Life will be paused - you can still make bookings for September though. 😎 The newsletter will continue to be sent out, and our community spaces will continue to be maintained and updated. I'm also planning to host a jam-packed webinar about the basics of CVs and cover letters, so stay tuned!
⚡ Lightning deal - Get 10% off the premium newsletter subscription for one whole year! Sign up for an upgraded newsletter experience for lots of benefits including curated job postings, advice on finding jobs, and more.
Get caught up and read last week's newsletter - A Lioness Wandering Berlin (Maybe?!), Green Air Taxis by 2024, & Germany's Thinking About Siestas
We had a community meetup last week at Golgatha beer garden in Kreuzberg. It was a very lovely evening and that said, we need to do another one before summer ends - as doesn't it already feel a bit like autumn? So join us on Wed, Aug 16 @ 7 pm at Republic Berlin to meet others from The Berlin Life community, as well as sample craft beer and street food.

Get on the list now. 👇👇👇

I want to drink beer with you guys! 🍻

Food For Thought

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

Should ChatGPT write your resume? - We talked about this during our meetup last week. We all definitely agree that ChatGPT can help speed up the job application process, as it can generate a first draft to work from. However, the last thing you want is a CV or cover letter that reads the same as everyone else's. You also want to have what's written actually sound like you and not like robot-generated text. What do you think?

This one has been making the rounds on social media recently and whoever filled out this job application, is my hero. 🦸

Companies Hiring

🇩🇪 German companies hiring right now.

Friendsurance (Berlin)
Lotum (Frankfurt)
LiveEO (Berlin)
awork (Hamburg)
Zattoo (Berlin)
Applike Group (Germany)
Kaiser X Labs (Munich & Stuggart)
smartclip Europe (Remote)
Banxware (Berlin)
Lilium (Munich)

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.

Why I ditched Germany for Denmark’s tech scene - In case Germany might not be for you, Denmark is also working hard to attract skilled workers.
What is different about Germany's work culture? - A fun video highlighting what it's like to work in Germany, where you can take sick days without worry, where people work an average of 40 years, and women earn much less than men. 😭 The work researcher featured in the video seems to have a more optimistic view than most, saying it's "easy" for people to find work here. I'm not sure how she came to form that view, but the lovely Lena needs to come and talk to some of our community members to find out the "real deal". See also - our article about the reality of finding work in Berlin.
Number of babies born in Germany falls to 10-year low - In other words, Germany needs you to come here and have a lot of babies. Compared to many countries (like my home of Canada), Germany is a great place to raise a family. 👩‍👧‍👦
German inflation to ease slightly in July, state data indicate - Finally, inflation is beginning to subside. May it keep trending in this direction, as I'd like my monthly supermarket bill to go down.
Latest Salary Atlas shows whether you are receiving a fair wage - Germany's federal employment agency has official data about salaries in the country and according to them, the average salary of a worker in Germany is €3,646 gross per month (€43,752 per year). There are a lot of places to see how your salary compares out there and this one is the closest to the truth you'll find. 👍
Fewer German workers are doing excessive overtime, Destatis reveals - I'm surprised by this as I feel like German companies are trying to squeeze the most they can out of their existing workforce right now, but regardless, good news. Speaking of reliable sources, Destatis is another place you can go for inflation, population, wage (like gender gap issues), and other data about things in Germany. One of our meetup members mentioned this was their go-to site when writing their thesis in university.
Berlin Pride marked by huge crowd and colorful costumes - Did you attend the Pride celebrations this year? Berlin throws one heck of a party. Yet, this year, it was also marked by an increase in homophobic attacks.
Siemens to spend 1 billion euros in Germany as Berlin warns about China - Siemens is making a big statement by investing more in Germany, so hint, hint, perhaps they are somewhere to look for a job.
10 best things to do in Berlin on a Sunday - A nice guide on how to spend your Sunday in Berlin. Did you know we also have a guide about Sunday shopping in Berlin?
How free education can help you build a career in Germany - The German government offers people free education vouchers to upskill themselves and be able to find a job more easily. Not everyone can get one, but read this article for more details to see if this is something you can do.
Germany faces 5 tough years, economy minister warns // Germany used to be the world's export powerhouse. Now, it's not growing. What happened?- Russian gas was cheap and LNG is freaking expensive. It's unfortunate our government lacked the wisdom and foresight to not depend so much on one single energy source and not invest enough in green energy alternatives much earlier but here we are ...
Berlin and Munich voted among friendliest European holiday destinations - I've never viewed Berliners as particularly friendly, but I love that people think we are. 😂
24-year old Maria Fernanda Sanchez missing in Berlin - This is being posted everywhere, so we'd be remiss not to share this as well. If you've seen Maria or know anything about what might have happened to her, get in touch with local authorities.
The weird, colourful postmodern U-Bahn stations of Berlin - I want to use this post as a guide to travel to all of these stations. Does anyone want to join me on a photo walk or more like a photo ride? 📷
For Luck in Love, Couples Are Breaking Plates (On Purpose) - FUN!!! In Germany, smashing porcelain plates is a time-honored wedding custom that is said to bring good fortune and harmony to newlyweds.

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.
Join our Slack space or Facebook group to start chatting with locals and others from abroad who want 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 next week, Reader. 💛

Founder - The Berlin Life