Lucky Day

This morning, the head of the university institute where I work, pulled out the bottom drawer of the institute’s funding and found me a two month extension. Oh, joy! This is wonderful not only because it gives me time to wrap up the present project properly, but it gets me over the German Dry Season for potential new jobs.

There are literally no job position openings in the summertime in Germany. Everyone is on vacation. This includes the people in human resources who are responsible for writing up the ad for the new position, the potential candidates who should read the newspaper advertisement for the job position, the department head who has to give the job interviews, the company union committee who have to agree on final candidate, and the fellow colleagues who have to help you get started… You have to swim against the strong current of everyone rushing off on vacation if you want to get a job, and so it just doesn’t happen.

What a gift the two months’ extension is!