Reinventing my professional life and identity: Lessons Learned

 Reinventing My Professional Identity and Job \Hunting in Germany

Marc started his job in November of 2018 at a German company and it was a positive career move for him. It has been not as easy for me to find a new job or try to find some part time work while living here the past year and a half.  I talked to other international friends here as well as my foreign classmates from German class about this topic frequently.  They all had similar challenges.

One Indian friend finally found a job that was similar to what she was doing in the US after submitting over 70 resumes!  She was concerned that this job was few hours away by car and she would have to  get an apartment for the week and commute on the weekends back to see her family in Erlangen.  However she finally got a job offer and took it.  She said she was desperate to get a job here. 😢😢😢

A few classmates from my language class said they were working hard to find a totally new job in a new field and they had to complete certain levels of the German language to pursue a new job.  For example, a Syrian man used to be a dentist in Syria but he had to completely start over and is now working on his practicum in a dentist office as an assistant while working on completing his German courses.  I so admired him for his patience and effort.  We would chat on the bus going to class in the mornings and it was just so fascinating to hear his story adjusting to his new life here.

One American friend I met is writing her thesis about the difficulty of finding a professional life as a training spouse.  I totally understand this and told her she could write about me!  As foreign spouses we are tagging on, so to speak, to a new life in a new country and we have to relearn everything.  I am 51 and it is not easy to find a new job when you are in your 50s, and the language barrier makes it so much harder.  I was quite surprised that most of the jobs here still required German language proficiency and I underestimated this language requirement.  Another American woman I met through Democrats Abroad shared with me her frustration looking for a job for 5 to 6 months.  She said that she was lucky to have found a job in that time, because others are still struggling to find something to do.  She also had to reach a certain level of German but the job also wanted a fluent English speaker. 

For me, somedays are fine, and I am enjoying staying home, walking Momo, exploring our new village, cooking, managing the household, etc.  But after a while it just gets really old and frustrating!  So I really had to rethink about what I really want to pursue in Germany.  

Job Applications and more! 

I used to sell Kimchi at the Wisconsin Farmers Markets and loved it.  I felt accomplished and productive and my customers came to see me every other week for my Kimchi.  I also loved being a freelance Teaching Artist and taught Korean Drumming at the public schools and different community centers.  My love of Korean food also led me to teach cooking at the local community centers.  I had such a fulfilling life in Milwaukee but when I came here I realized there was not much for me to do.  How would I restart everything?  What is the best thing to do in this situation? 

What else can I try doing for a new job?  What career changes can I make?  So, I started applying to just any administrative and office jobs at different companies like Adidas.  Because of my past experience in international education, I applied for jobs to schools and universities, but I had not much luck.  There was no response, or I would receive an immediate rejection email.  Additionally, some jobs still required a higher level of German proficiency, so I did not qualify of course.

Then, I also started applying for English teaching jobs here in Erlangen and Nuremberg.  I don't have much of a professional teaching background but I used to volunteer teach ESL to refugees in the States. I started doing some research and applied for certain positions as docents or tutors.  One private language center, which is a franchise and started in the UK, contacted me and interviewed me.  They offered the job for the centers in Erlangen and Fuerth immediately and were super excited.  But the conditions were not great and they could not guarantee many hours due to the Corona lockdown times.  I knew this was not a secure job and the total pay I could make would only be 450 euros per month.  Hmmm....better than nothing but I really wanted a more secure job.  I also had to pay some money for their training curriculum and this just did not sound right.  

Being frustrated and desperate, I thought...hmm maybe I will just look at the local job listings on Facebook! Then I came across an interesting post in the Expats in Nuremberg group.  An international woman wrote about a freelance opportunity as an English speaking tour guide.  The company was a relatively new company based in Switzerland called Localbini and they created a network of independent tour guides all over Europe.  So, they needed English speaking tour guides who could give tours in Nuremberg.  So, I just applied for fun.....and one week later, I got the job! There will be a learning curve of course and I will need to do some more research on the best and coolest places to go in our new city here!  But the best part is that they have a lot of flexibility and want me to create my own tour theme, but also support me with suggested itineraries and ideas on the traditional tours.

I hope this opportunity will make me more open to change and adventurous.  I want to get out of my negativity from time to time as well  and leave my house, and this would give me a reason to get out and meet new people!  

In the meantime, I started contacting different community centers to see if I could teach Korean cooking.  I actually connected with a refugee support cafe in Bamberg when I first came to Germany. Then in 2020 I had my first free community class and volunteered.  The organization was amazing and they welcomed me openly to do a cooking program in English.  After corona lockdown it was difficult but I managed to have my first cooking class as a docent at a community center in Erlangen as well.

This year, I am excited to continue my teaching and cooking with a VHS, community school, in Fuerth where we will offer Korean Rice Bowl and Street Food class in May and June.

 I had to send out a lot of emails and communications in German but they finally answered me! A wonderful community called the International Womens Group Franconia also is supporting me and helping me promote my cooking.  I already offered my time for online cooking classes in January and February.  Once we are allowed to meet again, I will be teaching some private classes with this group.  My good friend Sherry told me that if I am passionate about something there will be an opportunity to make this your career!  I hope to continue this cultural teaching work, which I so miss from my productive days in the States.

Kimchi in Franconia...

Last December 2020, Marc suggested I share some Kimchi samples with the international community here to test the market for starting a Kimchi business. So I offered small jars of Kimchi for a sample sale. The response was incredible and I have now about 30 people on my Kimchi list!  An interesting encounter one day with a German woman who recently moved back to Erlangen from Tokyo tasted my Kimchi and took a lot of interest in how I made it and so on.  Then I told her that I was looking for a commercial kitchen to make this official.  One thing led to another and she introduced me to a local German chef who was THE chef of local Franconian cuisine!  Wow, I thought, this is cool. So, we met for a long business dinner in his restaurant and he took my kimchi for food lab inspection and more!

He would like to help me collaborate with the Franconia Vegetables Growers Association and use their veggies to produce my Kimchi.  They would offer my Kimchi for their online store and then I would also be able to just produce for other customers as well.  Even though we are still looking for an official kitchen, I would be able to produce it at home for now.  Searching for a commercial kitchen was incredibly difficult and still time consuming.  One restaurant offered me their kitchen but they ultimately went bankrupt. Three restaurants wanted to help but they were concerned about German liability law and more.  I am crossing my fingers to update you with more good news!