That Sunday feeling

Hmmm,

There's an American German Business Club meeting coming up mid-week. I am a member. But not sure if I want to go to it.

There is a Xing.com dinner the week after. I am a premium member but not sure if I want to go.

I think I am having a severe case of Sunday.

Maybe it is the lack of curry. Will rectify that soon.

job hunting blog of the week

Despite my recent foray into international political analysis I actually want to remain doing what I am currently doing.

Which is as little as possible for as much as possible.

Which is, of course, project management.

For those of you, however, who need a bit more specialisation in your job hunting blog reading, and wonder what the world looks like outside of your town, I suggest you look at this blog. It's about searching for an international affairs position.

In fact book mark it if you like, even become a follower, I won't mind or pout. Just make sure you come back to this blog too.

How to get a job in Munich

A friend contacted me as he knows an English man looking for a job here.

Unfortunately this was during the time of my kidney stone so I was a bit distracted.

Nevertheless I wrote the contact some advice, which I've paraphrased here:

- http://toytowngermany.com/: the main forum for expats in Germany. As well as giving social opportunities there are resources on finding jobs here. OK, I got disenchanted with it but for getting into the expat-in-Munich scene it is very good. Ignore the stupidity and bitchiness though.

- Internations: a "smarter" set than the Toytown crowd, this forum organizes gatherings which are quite good. Except they do turn into cattle markets a bit. Nevertheless, it's part of your networking armoury.

- LinkedIn: enough said

- Xing.com: like LinkedIn but more of a German focus. Also does good real world networking events.

- www.gulp.de: a very good website for IT people in Germany. I found my current job through it.

- Michael Bailey Associate, http://www.mbade.com/: a very good contractor agency

- www.Monster.com: obviously but still good

- www.jobserve.co.uk: also obviously but still good, the first contract I took in Germany was advertised on these two sites

- German: unless you have a gun no-one will to speak to you in German. It is very frustrating. There are lots of courses teaching German but quite a few are considered a joke. Check out Toytown for recommendations.

- Not being able to speak German: don't worry about it. German companies will only recruit fluent German speakers and it will take you a while to get there. Unless they have an international reach in which case the most important language to have is English (at Siemens the operational language in English not German).

- German c.v.(Lebenslauf): I've found that using my usual English c.v. is good enough as I apply to internationally-minded companies.

- International companies: there are loads here but a lot, including my one, have hiring freezes. Which leads me to:

- Süddeutschezeitung: the weekend edition has a jobs and career supplement. Some jobs are in English. But the big thing is it shows you which companies are hiring, and therefore doing relatively well, and therefore might be candidates for speculative applications

- American German Business Club: www.jambit.com/agbc, I'm not American, I'm not German but that is no hindrance to joining (a former, recent president of the Munich club was also British). Not as good as it sounds for networking but still worth a go.

shocking story

So I wake up and talk to TUJHGF (the ultimate job hunter's girlfriend) in the US over ooVoo.

Yesterday she went to a career fair and heard a speaker tell of a friend who had a lifetime's ambition to work for ...

....

....

Accenture.

That's right, a lifetime's ambition to work for Accenture.

This story has ruined my day.

Silver

Last week was distressing in so many ways:

• I still had a kidney stone which was causing discomfort and pain.
• BA relegated me from Gold member status of their Executive Club frequent flyer scheme to Silver status.
• SAS relegated me from Gold member status of their frequent flyer scheme to Silver status.

Why?

Because I've only made one flight this year.

I'm a global project manager damn it. I should be flying every week.

Instead I have to be grateful that I have a job.

Hmmm.

The Spanish question

What do you do when:

• you're a mate of the job hunter with no name
  
• you've been living in Spain for, oh, maybe a decade
• you have a professional interest in linguistics
  
• you have a two year old bi- or trilingual kid?

Easy answer: you start a blog of your own, eventually, about your son's language development.

Recovery

This blog is by no means dedicated to the tedium of having a kidney stone.

I went back to work last week albeit with a couple of morning hospital appointments where:

1. they inflicted a lot of pain leaving me too exhausted to go back to work in the afternoon
2. they told me, the next day, that it is no longer a problem any more.

So, no kidney stone. But it's taking a few days to recuperate and I think companies are more likely to give a bit more lattitude to sick employees than sick freelancers. It's not just that I've been away but when at work I've sometimes lacked energy.

Anyway, there's a project starting in Delhi and I have other things to do at work so I should soon get back into it.

Political analyst

Never have I written about my desires to become a political analyst.

Why?

Because I never wanted to be a political analyst: it just never occurred to me to be one.

But maybe I should.

I seem to have spotted something which no-one else has ...

Why is Norway a cause for concern these days?

Here are the top reasons:

1. it has vast reserves of oil
2. it has been involved in a known and serious attempt to produce WMD and has large reserves of a required component
3. its environment makes counter-insurgency operations difficult
4. its ruler is a man who is in his position, not by election, but by the "Grace of [a Middle-Eastern] God"
   
5. quite a few of the men have beards.

So why has Norway, or Al-Norway as I think we can more appropriately call it, decided to give the new US President the Nobel Prize for Peace? He probably hasn't worked out how to adjust his office chair yet, let alone work out who is who in the Middle East War process.

Obviously Al-Norway is trying to head off an invasion by the Coalition of the Willing in The War Against Terror.

And they knew that being a member of NATO wasn't sufficient cover.

So, if I can work all this out over a cup of tea maybe I should change careers.

Bounce back

So, last week I was off work because of a kidney stone.

This week I went to the office, mainly to drink their water, but by Wednesday morning I was exhausted.

I suspect I had an imbalance in my electrolytes (of course I have no right to have such a suspicion, hardly an area where I've had any training).

I couldn't go into work. And by the evening I was seriously considering taking myself back to the hospital the next day for them to check me out.

Anyway, come the next day (today) and I felt ok. I went to work and was relatively productive.

Now the thing is I had put my name down for a Xing networking dinner event tonight. And paid 50 euros - non-refundable.

But I am not going.

Despite being a good place to meet other business contemporaries in Munich, and being one of the few opportunities I get to practice my German, to go from a state of almost seeking medical attention, to a state of attending a formal dinner, in less than 24 hours, doesn't seem right.

Oh well.

Decline

Well done Tony and Gordon.

In 1990 Britain was the 10th most desirable place to live. Now it's 21st*, according to a recent review.

And for a G7 (or G8 country) even 10th isn't that impressive.

Also, Chase Me Ladies I'm in the Cavalry makes an astute observation that Germany is more liberal and democratic (especially around the issue of policing) than the UK.

* OK, one has to question a methodology which puts Germany one place below the UK. Life is significantly better here in many way. Still, my point is that Britain was 10th and now it has badly slipped.

I hope Gordon reads this blogsite, it may help him in a few months.

That sickening feeling

I've just looked at a web site of a global consultancy. One with a slightly different offering.

It seems quite good.

But it's mainly looking for people at MBA or equivalent level.

Then I looked at people in the company who were on Xing and LinkedIn.

They all went to top internationally focussed universities and quite a few had academic awards.

So I feel disappointed because my profile doesn't seem to fit, by a long way. Yet, I have significant, global experience and achievement (and I do have a relatively mediocre degree).

I could send in an application but right now, despite not needing a job, I have a sick feeling in my tummy.

Mind you, that could be due to the kidney stone.

Freelance or permanent

My ambivalence to how I'm employed, that is as a contractor or a permie, took a hit on Monday.

Extreme pain in the left side of my torso stopped me going into work in the morning. Instead I called for an ambulance.

Turns out I have a kidney stone.

I had to take the rest of the week off work though I am fine (apart from bursts of pain).

A week off work is acceptable, even if I was a contractor and therefore not paid. You should, after all, factor in some sick leave per year into your rate.

But things happen, worse things could happen, and losing the assignment, or even a significant time without income isn't appealing.

I think I will remain only interested in contract assignments if I don't have a permanent job.

ooVoo

Over two years ago a friend and former colleague put me in touch with his boss who was recruiting for a project manager in London.

The first telephone chat went well and he wanted to see me over a video conference call.

Unfortunately they didn't use Skype and I couldn't work out an alternative method (for example using SIP or finding an affordable service in Munich). Then I got a job where I am still working.

Skype is, of course, very good. I use it all the time. But the video quality isn't great.

Recently I stumbled upon ooVoo.com which provides a very good level of video quality and, like Skype, provides a no-charge option for basic usage.

I'm now using it every day.

It can also be used by people who don't have the application but do have a web browser (and webcam and mike, of course). You simply send those people a personal URL generated by the application itself.

So, if I ever find myself in a similar situation (needing to do a vid con interview) I might well use this service.

Not so cheering

Article in the New York Times about the despondency people feel who cannot find work.

Right now my job seems to be surviving the global recession. And Germany is actually out of it, having grown a whopping 0.3% in the last quarter.

In fact due to my contract I don't think I could be made redundant (or resign) until the end of the year.

But the article reminds me of how grim it is when things are bad.

World survey

Investment banks haven't had a good reputation recently.

But when they publish a comprehensive review of prices and earnings around the world, for free, then it's not surprising they've been losing money.

Useful site ...

... http://mashable.com/2009/02/19/laid-off-sites/ containing useful sites, but not mine.