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 Sat May 27, 2006 21:05 pm Bizarre - or how to find a job in Germany? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: | I frequently get responses from translation agencies that then request I fill in an electronic form that asks for the same information that's on my r?sum?. This is a good thing, not a bad thing. It means they want your information in their database, so that they can use it more easily and match it with the right jobs. Of course, they could have a secretary input that data, but why should they, when you're the one asking for a job?
Nowadays some US companies require that you apply online and never ask you to send any paper at all. This is done with entry-level jobs a lot, and with jobs where they need to verify that you have minimal computer competency. |
Jamie, on the one hand I perfectly agree to your explanation and also see one aspect you mentioned about the US companies. For me it is the logical consequence if they try to figure out some competency. What I have problems with is that often the employers require r?sum?s and then have their own electronic forms. When that happens to me I can?t defend the impression that they don?t appreciate the work I have had with my CV or r?sum?. What do they think about the work that I can do for them if they employ me. Not that this could be important for them but what about me?
| Jamie (K) wrote: | | I am in the middle of reading an extremely informative, absolutely hilarious book called Confessions of a Recruiting Director by Brad Karsh. It's really written for college students, but any experienced employee will enjoy it and learn from it. We always wonder what happens to our r?sum? after we submit it, and this man gives us the shocking truth. He also explains very well how people should network, how they should interview, etc. This guy has been the recruiter on the other side of the desk, and he knows what his type are looking for. I recommend this book to absolutely anyone. |
I think I have an imagination about what happens to all the applications that received to the employer. I can imagine that this book is really a hilarous lecture.
| Jamie (K) wrote: | Also a couple of corrections, Michael:
One day later I've got an E-Mail in which the employee confirmed the actuality of the offering.
I've got -- It should be I got, because you mentioned the timeframe during which you got the message.
employee -- You meant employer.
actuality -- This word means Wirklichkeit, or reality. You should have said currency.
So, you should have written, "One day later, I got an e-mail in which the employer confirmed that the offer was still current." |
Thank you, Jamie, for this good advice.
Michael |
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| Sat May 27, 2006 21:20 pm Bizarre - or how to find a job in Germany? |
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| Fan of Arabian horses wrote: | | Jamie, on the one hand I perfectly agree to your explanation and also see one aspect you mentioned about the US companies. For me it is the logical consequence if they try to figure out some competency. What I have problems with is that often the employers require r?sum?s and then have their own electronic forms. When that happens to me I can?t defend the impression that they don?t appreciate the work I have had with my CV or r?sum?. What do they think about the work that I can do for them if they employ me. Not that this could be important for them but what about me? |
Everything is a bureaucratic hoop, and everything is some kind of test. They always require a cover letter, but most cover letters are never read. They require a r?sum? because they want to see how sloppy or fastidious you are, and how you present yourself on your own. Is the formatting good or bad? Did he misspell any words? Did he write a job description r?um? or an achievement r?sum?? Then the electronic form is raw data for them to enter into their database.
These are all things you have to think about and learn to deal with. If you let them see it annoys you, then you are already putting your application into the rejection pile because of a sensitive ego. |
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Jamie (K)
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| Sat May 27, 2006 21:33 pm Bizarre - or how to find a job in Germany? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: | Everything is a bureaucratic hoop, and everything is some kind of test. They always require a cover letter, but most cover letters are never read. They require a r?sum? because they want to see how sloppy or fastidious you are, and how you present yourself on your own. Is the formatting good or bad? Did he misspell any words? Did he write a job description r?um? or an achievement r?sum?? Then the electronic form is raw data for them to enter into their database.
These are all things you have to think about and learn to deal with. If you let them see it annoys you, then you are already putting your application into the rejection pile because of a sensitive ego. |
Interesting idea! I?ll consider it before I complain!
Michael |
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| Mon May 29, 2006 14:10 pm How to market your services portfolio? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: | | I frequently get responses from translation agencies that then request I fill in an electronic form that asks for the same information that's on my r?sum?. This is a good thing, not a bad thing. It means they want your information in their database, so that they can use it more easily and match it with the right jobs. Of course, they could have a secretary input that data, but why should they, when you're the one asking for a job? |
Jamie, as I understand you are working freelance. How does this influence the contents and structure of your r?sum?? I mean, how do you get new contracts and jobs? Also, do you have a r?sum? which highlights your qualities and experiences as an ESL instructor and one that focusses on your translation skills? How do you market and advertise your entire language service portfolio?
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| Mon May 29, 2006 15:35 pm How to market your services portfolio? |
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| Torsten wrote: | | Jamie, as I understand you are working freelance. How does this influence the contents and structure of your r?sum?? I mean, how do you get new contracts and jobs? Also, do you have a r?sum? which highlights your qualities and experiences as an ESL instructor and one that focusses on your translation skills? How do you market and advertise your entire language service portfolio? |
It's even more complicated than that. I do language instruction, translation, and previously I was an advertising proofreader and a magazine editor. I have also done cultural training and resettlement, and sometimes I am asked to teach new cultural trainers. Usually that last one is more like mentoring than like teaching.
Naturally, you have to have different r?sum?s for each type of work. I have one for translation, one for teaching, and one for business. They all have more or less the same information, but it's arranged differently. I have to include it all, because some of the translation agencies also have language instruction and cultural training.
I don't do any aggressive marketing of my services for one main reason: There is no time. The only difference between being employed and self-employed is that self-employed people own their own jobs. There is a physical limit to how much they can do, and to how much they can earn. My schedule seems to be that in January and February I have a scary lack of work (this year I made more in the stock market in those months than I did working), and then by April I am turning work down. With this situation, I can't physically do any more, so I don't market beyond that. Most of my work comes from personal connections and from agencies that have found me in the American Translators Association directory. My passive ATA listing seems to get me more work than direct marketing does. |
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Jamie (K)
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Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| Tue May 30, 2006 9:10 am How to market your services portfolio? |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: | | I don't do any aggressive marketing of my services for one main reason: There is no time. The only difference between being employed and self-employed is that self-employed people own their own jobs. There is a physical limit to how much they can do, and to how much they can earn. My schedule seems to be that in January and February I have a scary lack of work (this year I made more in the stock market in those months than I did working), and then by April I am turning work down. With this situation, I can't physically do any more, so I don't market beyond that. Most of my work comes from personal connections and from agencies that have found me in the American Translators Association directory. My passive ATA listing seems to get me more work than direct marketing does. |
Hi Jamie, I think that is really the biggest difficulty if one will start working freelanced. Another problem, in my opinion, is how to reach the start capital. I mean I often thought about freelance but the two biggest problems I figured out were always 1. how to find customers and 2. how can I finance the tools I needed. I believe that it a little bit depends on good luck and economic requirements whether you?ll find customers. So if one starts his freelance he/she can do that only when the market requests his services or produkts. I remember the public campaign before the last choice of the German government. The former government forced freelance working that way they paid a short rate if an unemployed people would have build an "Ich AG" and many people did that without having any clue whether they could sale their services or produkts and how they should sale that and failed of course.Caused by that many people had made lots of debts. So, at the time of the public campaign, the former opposition complained about the insolvency of lots of companies and privates and also because that people who found an "Ich AG" became unemployed again.
The second problem I see is how to get the money one need to procure the neccesary equipment. For example if I tried to start a freelance work I needed an amount of 20 thousand Euros, valuable! Not calculated the costs of the everyday?s life costs for the next few month. So to earn a life would be nearly unachieveable. What often makes me wonder when I hear from persons like you that you don?t have any work for one or two month (you can?t earn your life during that time) is how high do you calculate that into your prices you require for your work? Do you have a percentage for that? It?s also a question to every self employed!
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| Tue May 30, 2006 14:49 pm Bizarre - or how to find a job in Germany? |
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Michael, there are all different kinds of freelance work. Some of it has a lot of overhead cost, and some of it doesn't. The work I do has virtually no overhead cost, other than my computer. I'm also lucky to live in the United States, where the government doesn't require people with freelance businesses to register, pay a lot of money for a permit, etc.
In fact, here people with freelance businesses don't even have to be 18. Here are the websites of two girls who started business with almost no overhead when they were 10 years old! (They're now about 18 or 19, I think.)
http://thechocolatefarm.com
http://wristies.com
These girls just had an idea, or an invention, and they started work. (The Chocolate Farm's website was created by the girl's 14-year-old brother. On the Wristies site, check out the picture of the girl at her lawyer's office when she signed the trademark application. It's funny!)
Another advantage here is that it costs only about $35 to $50 to form your own corporation (GmbH), and the forms don't limit your corporation to one line of business or make you pay extra fees for each business you go into, so we get off cheaper that way.
I can't work the cost of my tough months into my prices the rest of the year. Impossible. I'm competing with the whole market, so I have to keep prices competitive. The way you deal with lean months is to diversify! I know very few freelance workers who do only one thing for a living. In the early months of the year, when some of my clients were too busy to take their English lessons, I had enough money from teaching to keep body and soul together, but it was tough. I made up for the shortfall by doing more translation (I was lucky that it came) and by making money on the stock market. In the fat months, you have to budget for the lean months.
Some people are really creative at finding ways to make money. One of my sisters has a business that you would never think could make money: She manufactures and sells lacemaking equipment, shipping it all over the US and the world, even as far away as Japan. This is not a bad business for her, but she always has her eye open for other opportunities. Once she was at some lady's garage sale and spotted a box of old lacemaking magazines. She bought the whole box from the lady for $25. Then she went home and put the magazines on eBay one by one. Altogether she made more than $250 from that little box of magazines.
If you want to watch freelance business in action, go to a poor Mexican neighborhood in a large US city. (I assure you that most of those people don't stay poor for very long.) For a couple years I saw a man pedaling a very old restored Good Humor (= Algida) tricycle around on the hottest days selling ice cream and special Mexican snacks to the kids. When the weather got cold, he changed his offering, but he was still in business. I guarantee you that this man will have his own store in a year or two. I saw another man who wanted to start a lawn care service, but he doesn't have money for a truck. So he rigged an old bicycle up to pull a very old lawn mower and some other equipment, and he pedals out to the rich neighborhood and cuts grass. This is another guy who experience tells me will have an established-looking business in a year or two. African girls come here with nothing, start hair braiding salons, and use the money to go to university (as well as to support their parents back in Ghana or Senegal and to bring their sisters over to help in the business). This business requires nothing but clean hands.
I love watching the development of a typical business in the black neighborhoods here. A guy will want to start a business, but he doesn't have any money. He takes over an old abandoned gas station (very cheap) and puts up a handmade sign that says, "Earl's Hand Car Wash". He can already charge much more than the regular car washes, because he has no machines that scratch the finish of the car. He's offering a luxury service. Soon he's got enough business to hire a few helpers. After a while, he puts up another sign that says, "We steam clean engines." He's bought himself some equipment with his savings. Meanwhile, nothing's going on in the office of the building, so he puts in a couple racks that he fills with pop, chips and gum. Kids on the way home from school buy these, and soon he can expand that offering until he has a real store. In about three years you can't even recognize the business as the same one he originally started. Plus he's providing work to other people. |
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| Wed May 31, 2006 16:45 pm How to start your own business? |
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Hi Jamie, all your examples make perfect business (or rather common) sense. What about you, have you ever thought of starting your own business?
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| Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:00 am How to start your own business? |
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| Torsten wrote: | | Hi Jamie, all your examples make perfect business (or rather common) sense. What about you, have you ever thought of starting your own business? |
Yes. I've thought a lot about starting my own business. The business I have now isn't the one I thought about starting. |
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| Thu Jun 01, 2006 8:22 am Bizarre - or how to find a job in Germany? |
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Sorry, if anybody read this post before I could finish it. There was an electric accident and my town also as the towns around hadn?t electricity!
| Jamie (K) wrote: | In fact, here people with freelance businesses don't even have to be 18. Here are the websites of two girls who started business with almost no overhead when they were 10 years old! (They're now about 18 or 19, I think.)
http://thechocolatefarm.com
http://wristies.com
These girls just had an idea, or an invention, and they started work. (The Chocolate Farm's website was created by the girl's 14-year-old brother. On the Wristies site, check out the picture of the girl at her lawyer's office when she signed the trademark application. It's funny!) |
Jamie, for me, these two examples sounds more like two stories from "Tales from 1001 nights". Of course I won?t pretend that it is impossible to earn your life from an idea you had in the age of 10. It is possible here in Germany or anywhere else in the world too, if you know how that can work in your country. I sometimes heard heard such examples at German "Hurray events" the work agency offered. But fact is, that such stories of success are the exception, for the concerned people something like a prize in the lottery although it needs a lot of diligence as I am used to admit.
| Jamie (K) wrote: | | Some people are really creative at finding ways to make money. One of my sisters has a business that you would never think could make money: She manufactures and sells lacemaking equipment, shipping it all over the US and the world, even as far away as Japan. This is not a bad business for her, but she always has her eye open for other opportunities. Once she was at some lady's garage sale and spotted a box of old lacemaking magazines. She bought the whole box from the lady for $25. Then she went home and put the magazines on eBay one by one. Altogether she made more than $250 from that little box of magazines. |
Your sister must be a really communicative person and this way it seems to be satisfying for her to do things that you discribed. I?m sure there is a possibility in everyone to find a way to earn his/her life. The problem for many people is to find the way. That?s mine too, as I?ve worked as an employee for my whole life.
| Jamie (K) wrote: | | I love watching the development of a typical business in the black neighborhoods here. A guy will want to start a business, but he doesn't have any money. He takes over an old abandoned gas station (very cheap) and puts up a handmade sign that says, "Earl's Hand Car Wash". He can already charge much more than the regular car washes, because he has no machines that scratch the finish of the car. He's offering a luxury service. Soon he's got enough business to hire a few helpers. After a while, he puts up another sign that says, "We steam clean engines." He's bought himself some equipment with his savings. Meanwhile, nothing's going on in the office of the building, so he puts in a couple racks that he fills with pop, chips and gum. Kids on the way home from school buy these, and soon he can expand that offering until he has a real store. In about three years you can't even recognize the business as the same one he originally started. Plus he's providing work to other people. |
That suits to an imagination that exists in Germany about the ?land of unlimited possibilties?. From a dishwasher to a millionaire.  But I stopp kidding. I myself have another idea how to earn a life: While employers in Germany dread of job contracts which are unlimited in time and often offer jobs which are binded to special projects only, I think, I accept that and try to find such jobs. As much as I undertstood your posts is that similar to what you do, isn?t it? And anyhow attracts that possibility me. Topically, yesterday I received a joboffering from a job sharing agency what I?ve been employed at last, I had an unlimited work-contract but when the hadn?t any work for me the canceled that contract. Yesterday they called me on the phone and told me that one of their customers I worked for required me from them. So they offered me a work-contract unlimited in time again. Tomorrow I shall underline that. But I think I?ll refuse the unlimited contract and request them to give me a contract that is concerned to that special customer. What do you think about that idea?
Michael |
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| Sat Jun 03, 2006 4:54 am Bizarre - or how to find a job in Germany? |
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Michael, I found it interesting when you said it's a problem for you to work independently because you've been an employee all your life. Having been an employee all their lives is one of the reasons many people WANT to be independent.
I have been a freelance employee most of my adult life. Sometimes I have worked at only one company, but only two of those companies hired me on permanent contracts, because most places find it cheaper to keep you freelance, pay you more cash, but not have to pay for things like insurance. Sometimes they even hire freelance managers!
Right now my situation is that I work for at least two colleges, two language training companies, occasional independent individuals, some translation agencies, and I am now getting reasonably good at making some money in the stock market (I can even make money if stocks go down). Somehow my name has been passed around the Peruvian community, and they bypass the schools and agencies and call me directly for lessons.
I like this situation better than I liked working for only one company. The reason is that if company politics or budget cuts get to be a problem, and you're one of the people they fire or lay off, you've lost ALL of your income. If you work for several employers in more than one profession, it's very difficult to succeed in losing your entire income. When you work for only one employer, getting fired is life-and-death scary. When you freelance for different employers, getting fired or losing a contract is just rollercoaster scary. My sister-in-law is very successful at her accounting business, and she says, "When you have your own business, you can have the pleasure of being fired every day!"
I don't know about your individual situation, Michael, but if you can keep the ball rolling with temporary contracts, then you might make something good out of it. From what you've said, the permanent contracts in Germany don't have to be permanent anyway. I can't say, because I'm not there.
What is your profession, anyway? |
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Jamie (K)
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| Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:33 am How to find a job in germany |
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Hi Jamie!
First of all let me congratulate you having such a wisely sister-in -law. Earnestly, I think if her buisiness don?t work because one or more of her customers won?t make more buisiness with her, from what reason ever, she has a big problem. On the other hand she were able to find new customers. Hmmmm..... Thinking this through I find out that the situation of being self employed is similar to that of being employed. The big difference seems to be only that you might have any influence on with whom or for whom you work? Or haven?t you? Hmmmmm.....
My profession is to be a mechanician and mechanical technician. I have proficience in erection and construction. Anyhow I chose this combination myself as it was required by companies. As in the last few years the situation of econmy and export in Germany was not fine I lost my last permanent work-contract in 2002. Since that time I have been employed at job-sharing-agencies for some times. Mostly the companies promised permanent work-contracts in the beginning of employment -in my opinion to force me doing my very best- and after a few month the capacities of work became less they sent me back to my agency. As the agency didn?t have any more work they fired me and it always took me a long time to find a new job. At last I haven?t get money from the work-agency at all and my good luck is that my wife has a really permanent work-contract with the government.
Although I didn?t wan?t that, yesterday I agreed on a permanent work-contract with a work-sharing-agency because I had two choice only : whether I get that contract or I don?t get that. As I didn?t earn a life during the last six month I decided to agree. But what is that contract worthy. In my opinion it isn?t wothy anything. For so long as the agency has a job for me they won?t chancel the contract, when they don?t have any work for me they chancel it. What is different from a self-employment? Should I start an own buisiness, employ myself, and provide my work-power to the customer of the agency myself after a short time? At least the rate of pay would raise for me. I think I know the rate the agency has achieved and beside of what they give me, there is a rate they use for their own work and profit. What do you think about that?
Now it is the point of time to stop telling you my thoughts because as the top dog of the agency told me that she also like the English language I gave her the internet adress of this site and perhaps she is watching this topic as I gave her my member-name here. I think she is tough enough not to use this informations against me but I don?t wan?t to show her my thoughts in detail at this moment. Nevertheless, we can go on talking about this theme if you want.
Michael |
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| Tue Jun 06, 2006 11:42 am Self-employed vs. permanent job |
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| Fan of Arabian horses wrote: | Hi Jamie!
First of all let me congratulate you having such a wisely sister-in -law. Earnestly, I think if her buisiness don?t work because one or more of her customers won?t make more buisiness with her, from what reason ever, she has a big problem. On the other hand she were able to find new customers. Hmmmm..... Thinking this through I find out that the situation of being self employed is similar to that of being employed. The big difference seems to be only that you might have any influence on with whom or for whom you work? Or haven?t you? Hmmmmm..... |
Michael, if Jamie's sister likes what she is doing, she will always find new customers through word of mouth. You are right, being self-employed is quite similar to having a job at a company. The only difference is that when you have an employer you trust him/her/them to find new customers (and work) for you. When you are self-employed you have to trust yourself to attract new customers and keep existing customers.
| Fan of Arabian horses wrote: | | My profession is to be a mechanician and mechanical technician. I have proficience in erection and construction. Anyhow I chose this combination myself as it was required by companies. As in the last few years the situation of econmy and export in Germany was not fine I lost my last permanent work-contract in 2002. Since that time I have been employed at job-sharing-agencies for some times. Mostly the companies promised permanent work-contracts in the beginning of employment -in my opinion to force me doing my very best- and after a few month the capacities of work became less they sent me back to my agency. As the agency didn?t have any more work they fired me and it always took me a long time to find a new job. At last I haven?t get money from the work-agency at all and my good luck is that my wife has a really permanent work-contract with the government. |
Michael, what exactly does permanent mean? Of course I know what you are referring to but with so much change happening around us, how many companies can guarantee permanent work?
| Fan of Arabian horses wrote: | | Although I didn?t wan?t that, yesterday I agreed on a permanent work-contract with a work-sharing-agency because I had two choice only : whether I get that contract or I don?t get that. As I didn?t earn a life during the last six month I decided to agree. But what is that contract worthy. In my opinion it isn?t wothy anything. For so long as the agency has a job for me they won?t chancel the contract, when they don?t have any work for me they chancel it. What is different from a self-employment? Should I start an own buisiness, employ myself, and provide my work-power to the customer of the agency myself after a short time? At least the rate of pay would raise for me. I think I know the rate the agency has achieved and beside of what they give me, there is a rate they use for their own work and profit. What do you think about that? |
Michael, you know how those agencies operate -- you are familar with the system. Let's assume you start investing time and energy (rather than money) into building your own network of business contacts. How would you benefit from this? Why not create some type of contingency plan? You probably have heard the saying Don't put all your eggs into one basket. I think branching out and diversifying makes perfect business sense nowadays.
| Fan of Arabian horses wrote: | | Now it is the point of time to stop telling you my thoughts because as the top dog of the agency told me that she also like the English language I gave her the internet adress of this site and perhaps she is watching this topic as I gave her my member-name here. I think she is tough enough not to use this informations against me but I don?t wan?t to show her my thoughts in detail at this moment. Nevertheless, we can go on talking about this theme if you want. |
Michael, if the head of the local labour agency invests the energy and time to find and read your postings here on our forum, she really has an interest in providing the best service to her customers. In that case, everything you have written will contribute towards your career. Think about it: If more professionals like you started using the Internet to practise and improve their English on a daily basis, our nation soon would come up with enough business ideas to create new jobs...
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What do you refer to mentioning a contingency plan? And what is branching out and diversifying in this case?