If this was sent to you, feel free to subscribe to the Compass Dispatch here 🧭

I kind of skipped the last edition while I was on vacation, I hope you can forgive me for that! The newsletter is back now, sent out on the 1st and 15th of the month, as originally planned. The holiday was a dream but I am back to work and a bit panicking.

Germany just notified the EU Commission of a fourth six month extension of border checks at all nine land borders, pushing them through to mid March 2027. That means these "temporary emergency measures" will have run continuously since September 2024. At some point a temporary measure that keeps getting renewed on schedule is just policy, and everyone involved knows it. If you, your family, or your international hires cross borders, budget extra time and do not assume anything gets simpler in the new year.

New Bundesagentur für Arbeit and Bertelsmann data show migrant workers earn about 19.6% less than native colleagues, roughly 1,000 euros a month. The AfD likes to frame that gap as immigrants undercutting wages. The data says otherwise: it is concentration in lower paid roles and slow recognition processes keeping people out of the jobs they are qualified for. The far right is, as always, doing whatever it wants with numbers. Worth having on hand next time someone repeats the talking point in a meeting.

Maybe some of you remember, I had launched a giveaway in the last newsletter. The idea was simple: to gift someone with my support for their Opportunity Card process. I had set simple rules and was ready to launch (and was honestly excited about it!).

I had prepared several LinkedIn posts as well to boost participation, and unfortunately they all flopped, about 50 impressions each compared to an average of 3,000 on my regular posts, so needless to say, the launch was not a success!

It may be me, it may be the algorithm, I wish I knew (I am open to feedback), but the result is the same. I have decided to postpone the project, as I have more I am working on this month. The giveaway will be relaunched in October. So if you know anyone it could interest, please feel free to send them the link to my newsletter! They will be the first notified, and being subscribed is one of the criteria to enter the competition!

I really look forward to the relaunch being a success!

I have spent almost a month travelling - celebrating my mom's 70th birthday with family and friends, spending time at the beach, barbecuing, seeing my boyfriend's family and friends, going on a ghost tour, watching Good Will Hunting again (but this time with a dozen Bostonians) - between Italy, Massachusetts, New York, and the South West of France. I am very happy to be back home but the anxiety around the next steps of my career is creeping in.

I am entering a new chapter this month. After having worked for the same company for three and a half years, I have been let go as of the end of July and am now flying solo. I am over the moon to be my own boss 24/7 but also very anxious about not being able to make ends meet. As I have officially been self-employed for the past couple of years, I cannot access unemployment benefits, and the money I've managed to save is my entire safety net. With a mortgage on my back and a long-distance relationship that costs me quite a bit in plane tickets, I need to figure out my next move.

The good news is that I have a lot of ideas! The bad news is that I have a lot of ideas! I need to center myself and stay organized, otherwise I tend to spread myself thin and freeze in front of the mountain of to-dos and ideas (anyone else?).

Germany recognises record number of foreign qualifications, The Local. Same story as above, more detail on the numbers behind the slowdown. Useful if you want the full picture before setting a client's expectations on timeline.

Wie viele Abschiebungen und freiwillige Ausreisen gibt es?, Mediendienst Integration. A running tracker of Germany's actual return and deportation numbers, updated as new figures come in. Worth bookmarking if you want the real data instead of whatever headline is circulating that week.

I am working on a cool collaboration with a finance specialist - can't say too much for now but stay tuned - and will be launching a new project in the next couple of weeks (official information in the next newsletter!).

I will also be in Berlin in September, so feel free to reach out if you're around and want to grab coffee!

See you in the next one.

Charlotte

Check out my website or say hello on LinkedIn 👋

Thumbnail picture by solitsocial dot com