Hello and welcome to this years NaBloPoMo. Traditionally, the first post for NaBloPoMo I try to introduce myself – in case new pople stumble onto my blog. (Hi new reader!) Doing NaBloPoMo for the 10th year it is starting to get bit more challenging to come up with new things. A few years back – I think it was Engie – there was a post about all the jobs in a life. I always wanted to do that but never managed to sit down. Well, I figured that would be a wonderful entertaining introduction post to this years NaBloPoMo. Many of you follow for years but I hope to have one or two surprises in store for you. I’ll go into the nitty gritty details of things I earned money with. Not all of them have been real jobs but still jobs I’ve had.
Snail Collector
My grandmother had a wonderful garden. And she had a problem with snails. All sorts of snails. The tiny ones, the colorful ones and then huge ones. So she told us when we collect them and relocate them in the park across the street we would be paid. 5 cent for the small ones and 10 cents for the Roman snails.
I can‘t remember how much money I made in that week I was at her home during my vacation. I am pretty sure we had some ice cream from our earned money. There were so so many snails.
Fun Fact: My grandfather kept saying we should eat the Roman Snails aka escargot. First time I heard you could eat snails escargot.
Shirt Ironer
I consider this my first real job. When I was in my last years of high school this is how I made money. During that time my dad was in politics and had multiple interviews and talk shows to attend daily. He changed shirts usually and needed up to 7 a day. We made tons of money ironing because no one was able to bring them to the dry cleaners and pick up. And my mom didn’t have time to do it. And this was heavy stuff, you guys. So a job for us was created. My older sister and I did it but I usually snatched up the most shirts and made more money. At times we had a real fight who was faster and made more money.
Fun Fact: I could iron 10 shirts in an hour on good days – while watching tv shows.
Babysitter
The summer after I came back from my stay in the U.S. I was busy making money. I needed to buy a plane ticket back for the following summer. And babysitting was one way to earn money. It was right next door the partner of a law firm. So whenever she had meetings I would take her son for walks. I preferred when he slept. Playing with him was always so exhausting. The minute he could crawl I dropped the job. I am sure it was a bit mean for the mother but I had the money for my plane ticket and I never enjoyed being around kids all that much.
Fun Fact: I kept walking miles while the baby slept and it was my favorite part.
English Tutor
That same summer I also tutored some kids in English. Or maybe just one girl? Not sure. Anyways, I usually had to do grammar exercises and I really had to comprehend and learn. After my year in the US I could talk and understand but I mainly did things intuitively. And suddenly, I had to explain the difference between “since” and “for”.
Fun Fact: I usually had to go to the girls house and I had a peak into a different culture while I sat at that kitchen table.
Subway Employee
After my senior year and after high school, before I started an internship I signed my first real contract and was employed at Subway. I mainly got the job because I knew what Subways was and how the concept worked. I think the company just went to market in Germany that year and it took a lot of explaining. I preferred the night shifts since they were paid better. And they weren’t that busy. Also it was a place frequently visited by Americans so I could speak English.
Fun Fact: Out of boredom I read the entire Franchise Hand Book. I also usually baked too much cookies by end of day so I could take the remains home.
Assistant Project Manager Event
After my formal apprenticeship I was hired by the company in the event department. I loved it. I learnt so so much. But we were also really exploited. In the early 2000s it was just the way it was. Weekend work. Long hours. I had a lot of responsibility. I was young and wanted to prove my worth. My colleagues were my friends. We hid left over alcohol in the archive and had sips during rough days. We enjoyed lunch breaks. And I had fun clients – many political institutions, organizations and local community associations. After two years, lots of long nights and no appreciation I looked for another job.
Fun Fact: I fell asleep at the Schloss Bellevue gardens – aka our presidents residence – laying down on some side walk in the sunshine one time and was woken by security.
left: during an open air event of the Kajak Club | right: during a fundraising dinner for a foundation
Event Manager
I moved from advertising to an event agency. I remember I cried after the interview because the boss was so tough, demanding and intense. But I did get the job. And it was the job I probably grew the most or at least a whole lot. For one I learnt all my business skills like negotiating and handling clients in the four years here. I also was put in charge of the apprentices and interns at some point. And when my boss had a burn-out I basically managed the entire agency for almost two years. While doing night classes. Unfortunately she recruited (read he forced her to be involved) her husband into the business and he was another terrible human being. A narcist one. We had to cover for his infidelity when she was home with the burnout, and he ran her entire life’s work into the ground while she was unable to work. She ended up getting a divorce and had to file for private bankruptcy while he shuffled away money on the side to set himself up. I ended up in a burn-out during that time myself and ended up leaving the company a month before all my colleagues got their last pay check. It was some tough years and I never really recovered but on the other hand it shaped who I am and I know what I am capable off and I know the signs when I its time to take a break.
Fun Fact: My boss had walking meetings before they became popular and often times we would discuss projects during walks. She also forced an English-speaking Tuesday and everything needed to be in English. Also every Tuesday we had to present 5 cold calls we’ve done (we hated it but we learnt).
2010 during some chill time at my event management job
Product Manager Medical
Another job I’ve had was this one. After I had to leave the event Management behind I decided I am done with agencies and overworking so I went to become a Product manager for incontinence products. The company – a whole sale business – also had a private label line for medial stuff mainly things for seniors and I was able to do the communication pattern for that and got to develop a body care brand. From chemical recipes to getting them into stores. Also I got to see production sites for diapers and had to run a month long testing of diapers with a scientific set-up. I really enjoyed the work but the environment was again very toxic and I felt very very lost. For getting back on my feet after the burnout it was good but I was used to such a pace that everyone seemed lazy to me. Some felt threatened. Also there was literary nothing I had to talk about during lunch. They all talked about kids and houses and I planned a trip to New York. It was socially tough and ended in a very mean lay-off.
Fun Fact: The job was outside Berlin and required a 2 km walk through the woods. We had to team up during dark season in order to go in groups. If you missed the train you had to wait an hour and being on time was required. During lunch I enjoyed my time in the woods and it was healing to be visited by mice and deer while I sat there.
On my way to work through the woods in 2012
Marketing Manager
And then after a rough year of being unemployed and two vocational trainings I landed a job at a fashion label. The core was supposed to be Social Media but I ended up doing lots of website content, fashion show organizing and fittings. It was a very short job because only six months later they decided to move the marketing department to Vienna. I was laid off 3 weeks before my wedding. It sucked.
Fun Fact: I got to see a few naked celebrities when they came by for fittings. Also the behind the scenes of a fashion show.
Organizing Berlin Fashion Week for the label.
Communications Manager
And then I landed another job in the medical field. The company was producing tattoo machines among other things and I was responsible for communications for permanent make-up and medical permanent make-up. I liked it as it was interesting and challenging. We had a great team. And we had our own videographer. So when I came up with some ideas for movies or such we just did it. I built two websites and translated all brochures to English. A native speaker checked it and asked who the translator was. I think this was one of my biggest compliments in a work environment I ever got. But then we got another manager who had some sort of issue with our team. When my direct manager was on vacation I was fired. Then when she came back she was fired. It sucked. I was slowly losing faith in the traditional work environment.
Fun Fact: I got to tattoo people during onboarding and I had a talent for it.
Onboarding for this job meant a course in permanent make-up – next day was real people.
Marketing Manager
Next job wasn’t much better. When I signed this contract and celebrated with ice cream I sat at the parlor thinking this was a wrong decision. My intuition was right. The boss was such a terrible human being that everything got tainted. I only made it so far in the company because of my colleagues. I liked peeking into the industry though and learning stuff I had not heard before. It was a franchise for waxing. Obviously I also had my first waxing there – and my last. I am just too cheap to pay for it on my own.
Fun (?) Fact: You cannot imagine the pervert questions (and fantasies) we’ve gotten from (possible) clients. I can’t remember one female client asking any of them. Just saying.
Project & Social Media Manager
When my manager from the previous job told me she was going to quit I was a bit sad. But then she said she is building a team and she would suggest me. And so we both quit and started in this advertising agency that want to expand to Berlin. Unfortunately it was a bit same old same old. While the biss wasn’t in our location he was just another very bad boss and human being (having an affair with the intern…). And on top he had no clue what he was doing, his wife paid for his hobby business and he ran it to the ground. So six weeks after we started we were fired because the new office wasn’t sustainable. Tells you about the business intelligence. I was supposed to be the Social Media Manager for a coffee brand and I loved the topic. It was short-lived.
Fun Fact: We established dance breaks in the office when motivation was low. I still have the playlist and listen to it which was called „It‘s Friday Bitches“.
Marketing, Communication & Social Media Consultant
And then in 2017 I started freelancing. And I can’t imagine being employed anymore. The flexibility is so great. I get to choose the projects on clients (theoretically – there are phases were I am happy I get a client and some paid work) In the past decade I have worked for big companies you might have heard of even in the US and small ones with just two people. I can work with my cousin and it made our relationship so much better on a private level as well. I worked for red flag clients but I am still not listening to my intuition. I was able to look into business, companies and industries I would otherwise ne ver set foot in. I have sent dream clients out into the universe and was rewarded with better ones. I still think I am not good enough and hesitate applying for some projects. But then I have clients and projects that give me a self-confidence boost.
Fun Fact: I am celebrating 10 years of self-employment coming March. Who would have thought…
left: me on top of a gantry crane in the port of Hamburg ©Oliver Bock also header | middle: me in the surgery ward for my hospital client | left: at my logistics consultant client’s 50 year party
These are my jobs. Did I surprise you with something? What was your first ever job? What was the craziest one you had? Which job are you sad you left/lost? Is there a dream job/employer you (still) aspire to get? And most of all are you going NaBloPoMo?
