Joanne Morin

After moving to Germany at the end of Janaury 2007, leaving behind a job I loved - Office Manager of a small IT Company - I now find myself looking for a new position. But to bring you to the here and now, here's a summary of the employment challenges I have faced here in Germany so far...

I found a job within a month of arriving here: Fremdsprachensekretärin for Allianz SE in Munich. This was a limited contract of 6 months. It was only a part time position - assisting a member of senior staff with Works Council preparations - therefore travelling to Munich each day was a bit of a chore. I asked for some additional work so that I could get as much out of my working day as possible. I was asked to co-ordinate and assist with several Experten Assessment seminars. This I thoroughly enjoyed.

In the meantime, I had found a position closer to home with Amadeus Data Processing GmbH in Erding. Again this was a limited contract of one year, working as Assistant to the Chairman of the Works Council. I continued to work for Allianz for two months, possible due to the fact that the Amadeus position was also part time.

By May 2008 a permanent member of the Works Council had been elected to assist on a day to day basis. The previous member, whose position I had been filling, was ill and subsequently resigned from the Works Council. I was asked if I'd consider working in another department until the expiry of my contract. This I agreed to readily and was eager to see another side of the company. I joined a small team in Customer Service Delivery and assisted them with the maintenance of customer records relating to, for example, the turn around time should Lufhansa's server fail.

As a hiring freeze was in place, I was unable to continue working for Amadeus as much as they (and I) would have liked me to do. So my contract ended in September 2008.

At the end of October 2008 I had signed a contract with Hitachi Automotive Systems Europe GmbH in Schwaig (near Munich airport). I was now doing a job closer to the work experience I had gained in England: Administration Officer. I had a variety of tasks to fulfill - from supporting the 12 Japanese employees with housing, banking issues etc. to reception desk duties including telephone, receipt of goods, greeting visitors. From the calculation of travel expenses to being the point of contact for the caretaker, leasing companies, suppliers. However, sadly, 5 months into my probation period I was asked to leave the company. The automobile branch was suffering and the company could not afford to employ me as a permanent employee. Shortly after my departure Hitachi started using the services of a temping agency.

In all of the above roles, with the exception of Amadeus, I was using German on a daily basis. English was also required from time to time. I am the first one to admit that I do not possess perfect German skills, but this has not detered me from pursuing a new position where German skills are required. I can proudly state that at no point during my employment in Germany has my German let me down and I have been misunderstood. My weakness is in written German, but a skill that can only be improved with practice.

It goes without saying that initially I'll never be able to land a job as an Office Manager largely due to the language barrier.

Ideally I'd like to be a Personal Assistant for a German boss who has a number of dealings with the UK (and other English-speaking countries) and who requires a native speaker to help in areas she/he is not familiar with.

Alternatively, it would suit me to be an Office Manager again, on a small scale - Allianz and Amadeus were large companies to work for and rather than working in one of many departments, I'd prefer to have an understanding of all business areas - which is far easier to accomplish within a smaller firm.

Thank you for taking the time to read my summary - perhaps we can work together one day.