NSS?? Position Opened up in Frankfurt, Germany

[Butch]

Soooo . . . a position at my level opened up in my agency's office in Frankfurt . . . supervising a piece of P&G business in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

I think I'm going to have to apply for it. I've been wanting to get moved abroad for a while, and while Frankfurt is a boring damn city, it's centrally located for tons of weekend travel.

I think I'd have a pretty darn good shot of getting the job . . . and it probably helps a tiny bit that I can make things easy on my agency since I already have EU citizenship . . . no messy paperwork for them . . . but that's probably the smallest of issues.

Going to have to think about this a bit . . .

[Gothic Girl]

Do it! I would love to live abroad but have issues about leaving my family. I would especially love to move to either Australia or Canada. Canada's still close enough to the states and Australia is far enough away, if that makes any sense.

[Kevster]

Soooo . . . a position at my level opened up in my agency's office in Frankfurt . . . supervising a piece of P&G business in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

I think I'm going to have to apply for it. I've been wanting to get moved abroad for a while, and while Frankfurt is a boring damn city, it's centrally located for tons of weekend travel.

I think I'd have a pretty darn good shot of getting the job . . . and it probably helps a tiny bit that I can make things easy on my agency since I already have EU citizenship . . . no messy paperwork for them . . . but that's probably the smallest of issues.

Going to have to think about this a bit . . .

:stupid:

My brother and I both have EU citizenship and my brother worked in Ireland and France for 3 years. My company is being bought by British Telecom, so I may actually have a few options opening up for me in the future (and Mrs. Kevster said she'd be willing to do it for a year or two). Go for it!

Oh, moment mal bitte. Sprechen sie Deutsch?

[Butch]

:stupid:

My brother and I both have EU citizenship and my brother worked in Ireland and France for 3 years. My company is being bought by British Telecom, so I may actually have a few options opening up for me in the future (and Mrs. Kevster said she'd be willing to do it for a year or two). Go for it!

Oh, moment mal bitte. Sprechen sie Deutsch?

Nope, I don't speak German . . . but it doesn't seem to be one of the requirements for the job . . . just said English was a must ;)

[ialsohaveadream]

That's pretty awesome. I'm jealous.

[caribiner23]

Good luck, Butch! Go for it!

One of the things I found when I was working in Europe was that the people I worked with there would rather use their English on me than allowing me to use my German, French, or Dutch on them. :)

[Jeffbx]

Good luck, Butch! Go for it!

One of the things I found when I was working in Europe was that the people I worked with there would rather use their English on me than allowing me to use my German, French, or Dutch on them. :)


I get kind of the same thing. We have offices all over the world, but I can't take any languages classes because the official language of the company is English. It makes me feel inadequate that all I know is English & a few years of high school French, while there are people I work with who speak 4 or 5 different languages. One of these days I'll do something about it.

[Kudos]

local community colleges usually have continued learning courses and offer things like spanish, chinese, french, german, japenese etc for about 100 - 250 bucks

[kei2]

Sounds like a great opportunity, since you were looking to go abroad. Congratulations and I hope you will be happy with whatever decision you make.

[Butch]

Well, today I told my boss that I was interested in the position. She's going to discuss with her boss tomorrow.

It's kind of an awkward time on my account to leave, but the person below me is nearly ready to be promoted, so she could step in - I hope. In fact, that was an option my boss tossed out there when I mentioned I was interested in the move.

We'll see . . . I actually overheard a couple other people in the office discussing the position, so there may be a bit of competition - gotta see what happens, though.

[yippiekiyeh]

Any openings ?? hehe

[Butch]

Any openings ?? hehe

If you're in NYC and interested in media planning . . . yeah, there are a bunch, actually.

[eSDee]

Frankfurt isn't boring at all :shrug: Good for you man I hope you get it.

[Kevster]

I get kind of the same thing. We have offices all over the world, but I can't take any languages classes because the official language of the company is English. It makes me feel inadequate that all I know is English & a few years of high school French, while there are people I work with who speak 4 or 5 different languages. One of these days I'll do something about it.

:stupid:

I speak decent German, bad Spanish and even worse French. I can understand Dutch somewhat, but don't ask me to speak it. Most of my Spanish and French are phrases and individual words that I can recognize, otherwise it's like background chatter to me. When I was in Frankfurt last November, my German was very rusty but by the 2nd day I was starting to pick it back up again. I could hold decent conversations by the end of the week.

[Butch]

Well, I've been putting in pretty ridiculous hours at work and it took me until last night to update my resume and send it over. This morning I woke up and had this response . . .

Hello Mr. Butch,

thank you for your interest in our vacancy. Per your CV, your qualifications and background are ideal for the position in our team. Would it be possible to send me some examples of your latest work on XXX, or any other brand, e.g. media review, targeting presentation, holistic plan proposals etc. ? Furthermore, it would be great, if you could let me know:
i) your current salary so that I can also check the financial implications
ii) how soon you would be available and if you plan a more long-term transfer or would like to go back to the US after 1-2 yrs

Thanks again for your interest and I am looking forward to hearing from you,

It's a good start . . . see where it goes from there . . .

[Jeffbx]

Nice... good luck!

[whitak24]

that sounds like a great opportunity, man.

good luck as you continue with the application/interview process.

[GracieBayb]

YAY!! Congrats -be careful with those euro chicks... i hear they're quite sneaky

[gugnheim]

Good luck. Ex-pat assignments can be a wealth of experience. Make sure you take advantage of all the HR aspects(speaking from experience). If it's a PG buisness, this is management track material then. Just make sure they have an assignment in mind for when you get back, so you don't suffer the out of sight syndrome.
Gug from Cincy, PG's world HQ...
(dying to relocate again, I'd love to be law enforcement in Europe or Asia for a bit)

[Butch]

And a little update . . .

Well, it's about 95% of the way done at this point. I should be in Germany in May. I've agreed to their offer and the contract should be coming next week. Quite exciting . . .

Of course, right after I put in my application, a position also opened up at our agency's office in Wellington, NZ . . . oh well . . . as nice as that would have been, I think Frankfurt would offer more travel opportunities and a better professional experience.

[nickel]

congrats Butch. glad you get to experience even more of the great big world out there. :)

[TofuNinja]

wow, good luck with the relocation.

[cheapie]

And a little update . . .

Well, it's about 95% of the way done at this point. I should be in Germany in May. I've agreed to their offer and the contract should be coming next week. Quite exciting . . .

Of course, right after I put in my application, a position also opened up at our agency's office in Wellington, NZ . . . oh well . . . as nice as that would have been, I think Frankfurt would offer more travel opportunities and a better professional experience.


very nice butch. you will likely never regret taking the chance and moving overseas. i am going to schedule a meeting with the marketing HR person and ask what i need to do to find an foreign assigment. i really want my kids to experience life outside america. my wife's family, while they don't know d$ck about american tv culture, they have an amazing knowledge of the world outside the US.

[whitak24]

And a little update . . .

Well, it's about 95% of the way done at this point. I should be in Germany in May. I've agreed to their offer and the contract should be coming next week. Quite exciting . . .

Of course, right after I put in my application, a position also opened up at our agency's office in Wellington, NZ . . . oh well . . . as nice as that would have been, I think Frankfurt would offer more travel opportunities and a better professional experience.
sweet, man. good luck getting ready to move and all. nyc will miss you, but it should be an awesome time in germany.