Category Archives: Jobsearch

There was no job for us in Germany, so we needed to find our luck somewhere else.
See all Jobsearch posts in chronological order!

Our Status
If you want to know where we are and what’s going on, please click here to see our latest status updates! If you want to read our whole adventure from the beginning and in chronological order please click here.

Indy’s BLOG – Vil’s legs are an issue!

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Today a little story from Vil.

Okay, I admit it, my legs are not the most beautiful ones. They are hairy, cheese colored (not anymore) and my skin is full of little scars. I am a diabetic, my skin doesn’t heal very well anymore and every little scratch leaves a scar. Annoying, but nothing serious you might think, but obviously there is an issue for some people.

I am working as a German and English 1.st level support agent on the phone and I just started a week ago. The training is easy and the job itself is a piece of cake. I thought all is going well until my team lead advised me to wear long trousers because some colleagues see an “issue of private hygiene”. He told me that people take issue on the scars and the plasters on my legs.

WTF, may I ask? That’s embarrassing and somehow also discrimination.

I should wear a trouser because I have scars on my skin! Or, another way around, I am not allowed to wear short trousers, because my legs don’t look “top model” alike! Get a grip, life is not always beautiful.

Maybe, you tell a girl that she shouldn’t wear the short dress, because “she is too fat”? No, you won’t do that!, because that’s discrimination. Where is the difference between me and her?

Now I am considering my options and I might file an official complaint against this kind of treatment.

Obviously, I will not last very long in this team and surely I will continue to look for a decent job. I have no doubt that the perfect position awaits me somewhere out there.

[UPDATE]

After evaluating the situation I know what’s going on. Yes, I do have scars and a discoloration of my skin. Sometimes I need to plaster some spaces because the skin tear from time to time. And that’s all. Nothing serious or infectious.

BUT some of my new colleagues took it a bit too serious and instead of talking to me they went to the team lead and demanded a certificate of health. WTF?

Then it gets even better. The team lead doesn’t talk to me or tries to calm the situation, as you might expect from a good and responsible team lead. NO, he writes an email to my employer and complains about my “personal hygiene” . Double WTF!

I have no idea what he exactly wrote because the mail never reached me.Now I am waiting for someone to approach me and I really hope they will give me a warning written on company paper.

I consider this kind of behaviour as ignorant, stupid and most of all as discrimination

Indy’s BLOG – Another interview

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Vil submitted his CV last Wednesday and got on Tuesday already the invitation for Friday. That’s a swift reply and a good sign. 😉 It’s a first level supporter role for a big telco in Barcelona. They pay way more than the other job and the working area is much nicer.

1600 the interview starts. So let’s hope and cross fingers.

Indy’s BLOG – Hartz-IV (German Rant!)

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Viele unserer Mitbürger Leben von HartzIV, was früher Sozialhilfe hieß. HartzIV ermöglicht ein Überleben, aber kein lebenswertes Leben als solches. Dies mag ja ok sein, wenn es eine Perspektive gibt aus dieser Situation wieder heraus zu kommen, aber wenn Du “zu alt” oder “zu krank” oder sogar “zu qualifiziert” bist, dann steckst Du echt in der Scheiße, denn dann ist das System ist nicht mehr daran interessiert Dir zu helfen, sondern verwaltet Dich nur noch, also bleibt Dir nichts Anderes übrig, als auf der Couch zu sitzen, Playstation zu spielen und zu warten bis dar monatliche Scheck kommt und Du Dich wieder eine Woche als Mensch fühlen kannst.

Vil hat es da besonders schwer. Erstens ist er Diabetiker, zweitens hat er einen recht außergewöhnlichen Lebenslauf, da er lange im Ausland war und drittens ist er über 50 Jahre alt.  Vil spricht Deutsch, Englisch und leidlich Französisch. Er arbeitet seit mehr als dreißig Jahren in der IT am Telefon. Zuerst als Helpdesk Techniker, dann als Administrator und später hat er auch recht erfolgreich im Vertrieb gearbeitet.

Vil kam nach Jahren im Ausland wieder zurück nach Deutschland und wollte seine Gesundheit überprüfen lassen. Nebenbei auch klären, ob er vielleicht wieder  in Deutschland arbeiten kann.  Das Jobcenter aber packte ihn in die “zu krank” Schublade und von da an gingen alle Bemühungen des Jobcenters nur noch in Richtung “abschieben”und auf Hartz verhungern lassen.

Nun musste Vil sich entscheiden zwischen einem Leben auf der Couch oder alles auf eine Karte zu setzen und Arbeit im Ausland zu finden, denn dort ist es etwas einfacher, aber trotzdem nicht leicht, einen Job zu finden.

Indy’s BLOG – TSP for BWM

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Today a Skype interview for a job as a TSP for BWM. First level call centre bitch job, but who cares. It would pay the rent and we don’t mind. At first we needed to charge the laptop without overloading Victor’s electrical system, then find a reliable spot with good WiFi connection. Vil don’t want to risk any outages during the interview and also not sit inside crowdy Victor. Sorry Victor, but you are stuffed to the brim. So we drove to a cafe and spend literally the last money on a coffee and a bowl of water for me.

During the interview they asked questions about Vil’s experience and his CV. It was a nice conversation., but there was no real interest somehow. There was no fire, it was a fucking interview for a bitch job and they knew it.

And here comes the ‘common issue’ for Vil’s applications. They always ask: “Why should this guy stay with us? In the moment he finds something better, he will leave immediately.”