Contemplating in Barca

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Finding yourself

18.04.2018

I consider the movie "As it is in heaven" as an emotionally rich drama that vividly conveys both the delights and the challenges of small town living. The intimacy that blooms between Daniel and Lena happens very slowly and enables him to confront his own fears and lack of trust in other people. She helps him see that he needs a more balanced life; ironically this comes as she teaches him how to ride a bicycle; even when he is already an adult.

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Singing

16.04.2018

Today we started watching a movie which is called "As it is in heaven".

There are many different stories we tell ourselves about our singing: we can't read music, we sing off-key, we are embarrassed to raise our voice in public, and the like. But as many music teachers and choir directors know, the point is not to learn how to sing properly but to connect with our soul sound and express it in creative ways.

I always enjoyed singing and then I suddenly stopped. Maybe I will go on.

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Intrapreneurship

11.04.2018

Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a large organization. Intrapreneurship is known as the practice of a corporate management style that integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches, as well as the reward and motivational techniques, that are more traditionally thought of as being the province of entrepreneurship.

Another characteristic of intrapreneurs is their courage and flexibility to think outside of the box, which allows them to work on ideas that may change strategic direction. Even though many managers are afraid of radical changes, they are often the only way to help companies grow.

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CSR

09.04.2018

Corporations can have enormously detrimental effects on the environment. Oil spills are some of the most conspicuous examples, but industries as varied as chemical manufacturing, mining, agriculture and fishing can do permanent damage to local ecosystems. Climate change can also be attributed in large part to corporations. While their responsibility is hard to untangle from that of the consumers who demand electricity and transportation, it is difficult to deny that many corporations have profited from the deterioration of the global environment.  In many cases, harm to the environment and harm to vulnerable communities go hand-in-hand: Indigenous groups in the Amazon rainforest, for example, have been decimated and even wiped out, both intentionally and unintentionally, in order to make room.

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Guest speaker

04.04.2018

Today we had a guest speaker who is a coach. I always looked forward to this lesson.

One of the challenges in the field of coaching is upholding levels of professionalism, standards and ethics. To this end, coaching bodies and organizations have codes of ethics and member standards. However, because these bodies are not regulated, and because coaches do not need to belong to such a body, ethics and standards are variable in the field. I am writing this because the coach told us that he never gives advises. It was quite shocking for me because I always believed that people who are coached do not know what to do in their special cases and so the coach does for them and tells them what is best. He said that questions may be more helpful. But I think that for introverts and people who contemplain a lot it is really difficult to find the own answer. I researched about this and found a quote which says:

"Good coaches believe that the individual always has the answer to their own problems but understands that they may need help to find the answer."

I consider him as a really wise and truthful person. I think there should be more people like him who are really interested in the people around them. It was really impressive to me, how he presented hisself and like he wanted to get to know us by asking everybody an additional question and always looking in the eyes of the person talking to. I am wishing him all the best and I was close to tears during his speech.

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Tricky

21.03.2018

One morning me and my flatmate noticed that there was water dripping from the ceiling. At night it did rain a lot and the was a crack in the wall. We took some pans and pots from the kitchen and placed it underneath. We looked for other cracks and did found another one. Then we called our landlord. She told us to go upstairs to the flat above us, even when they only spoke spanish. Nevertheless, we did not think about it and went upstairs. It was actually easier than I tought because the guy immediately knew why we were coming. His whole flat was under water due to the rain at night and the water started passing the thick walls towards our flat. He told us that he already called someone and after some misunderstandings due to the language we went downstairs. We had to stay the whole day because we could not really evaluate how fast the water would flow. After some hours we heard the technican in the floor and we asked him, in spanish by the way, if he could have a look on our crack as well. He said it will stop in a few hours and applied something to it.

Today the crack is still there, but as it rained, it never did drip into our flat again.

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Experiences in Barcelona

19.03.2018

When I knew that I was going to be kind of forced to do a study abroad semester I wasn't one of the girls who were happy about this. I never stayed away from home for longer than 2 weeks and I choose Barcelona, because it was near Germany. I also love the United States and the huge universities there but the distance kept me away from this idea.

Everytime I complained, my dad told me that I will love it and miss it in the end. And he was right!

Today, I have to admit that all the flights I booked before the study abroad back home - with my roommate who was the same as me - were not that necessary. I do not say that I am not appy when flying home and visiting my family, boyfriend and friends. But somehow you have the feeling of missing something what is going on in Barcelona in the mean time. You can do so many things in this city and even if you visit places more often, you never get bored of it. Even the weather wants me to stay here! My roommate and me even have a list with Restaurants and cafes where we have to go before leaving! But I honestly think we will never get rid of that list because it keeps on growing all the time!

Moreover, I always think that I have not seen enough yet. I have not been up to the hill until now and somehow it is always in my mind that we still have to go there. That is why most of the Spanish people consider us as tourists and not as students or people living here - as I think. Everytime they start talking to us in english. Really cruel.

One thing I will miss for sure, is going outside and having all these tiny litle bakerys which present their food like it is from heaven. And going out and immediately standing in the middle of a street full of Shops where I wish I could buy anything I want. The first few weeks me and my rommate could not stop each other from shopping. I think there was no day we did not buy something. But as we saw, that there is actually plenty of time - we somehow slowed down. And the opportunity to immediately being on the beach!

We already planned on visiting Barcelona later this year again! I think that says everything.

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Had fun with my friends visiting from Germany!

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PESTLE ANALYSIS

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PESTLE

14.03.2018

Never forget to get informed about the macroenvironment you are going to work in! It is as important as the microenvironment, when you think about things like politics or legal rules which will influence what you do or even restrict you in your Job. A PESTLE Analysis is great for this, but I think it is even worth more when you directly connect it to the job branch you are looking for. Because collecting economic Facts about Germany may become a list of more than 1000 things. So Keep on being specific!

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Hunting after heads

12.03.2018

Executive Research is internally called "Headhunting" which sounds quite aggressive. Nevertheless, it is like that. Organizations pay to seek out and recruit highly qualified candidates for senior-level and executive jobs. They often demand a high salary and it is kind of like "stealing" employees.

Moreover, the job requires a lot of connections and trust. Contingent search firms generally rely heavily on their contacts, and seldom work on an exclusive basis, it is not rare for a client to work with a large number of contingent recruiters on the same search at the same time.

I know that this is not a Job for me after the speech.

I would like to work for the FBI or things like that but somehow I consider this to rough.

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Application interviews

07.03.2018

I am, personally, always so nervous when I have an interview. Once I had one and the interviewer switched from talking german to speaking english.

It always depends on who is interviewing you. Some may take it really strikt and others laugh when you appear in a suit. That's why I think there should be some things regulated before the meeting / interview so that you can adjust yourself to that.

Nevertheless, it is fundamental that you can explain all the things listed in your CV as well as time gaps! You should practice some questions before. What to say when he or she asks for weaknesses? What to say when they ask you to define yourself in 3 words?

Interviewing is always special and always different.

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Had my cousin and sister here! So inspiring!

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Video curriculums are modern

05.03.2018

I think it was interesting to see how a video curriculum can appear really professional. In another course, I gave a presentation about a new and highly innovative german app in which the process of applying for a job is completely handled through the app. The employer can upload 3 questions which you have to answer in short videos of a maximum of 30 seconds. In a video, the employer will learn about you and your style of talking. It gets obvious if you make use of elevated terms and if you can present yourself in a professional manner, what is mostly important when you apply for a job in which you have to work with clients. Unfortunately, I believe that a video curriculum can also have negative impacts. If the employer does not like the way you are looking or the accent with which you are speaking, it may come to discrimination. I guess a video curriculum is even a step further than a photo. Nevertheless, I think about including it to some applications when it is for a simple internship. In Germany it is not that widespread and may seem childish.