Unemployed soon, invited to arbeitsagentur, what to expect?

[overdriven 6]

My company has been closed and everyone including myself was fired. I'm not officialy unemployed yet but I've already registered at arbeitsagentur.de and filled Arbeitslosengeld form. I was not able to submit it yet, as I'm still waiting for Arbeitsbescheinigung from my employer (they claim they have to wait for my last payslip before sending it to me). My security status is PIN-Brief-bestätigt.
 

I've received a second invitation to Arbeitsagentur but I'm not sure what to expect. I have been there already but it was not very helpful. I've been asked strange and pointless questions about my strengths (?), but after a while of translating the long list of strengths from Deutsch to English we gave up (the lady was kind enough to speak English but this list was a bit too much). I just handed over my CV and agreed to fill in my strengths and other info later by myself, but I cannot find it anywhere on the web portal now. 
 

At least I've learned that they cannot send me to a german course because my german is not good enough (?!), I need to be at least B1+. Only migration office (BAMF - Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge) can send me to A1-A2 courses (even though I'm an EU citizen and never had to visit BAMF). Thankfully, my german school have already taken care of BAMF on my behalf and I'm currently learning German on a very intensive course, best decision in my life.
 

Anyhow, I need to go to Arbeitsagentur again and I don't know what to expect? I'm worried about saying something that might block me from Arbeitslosengeld. 
 

Obviously I don't have time for a new job yet as I'm learning german full-time. This is more important for me than another job that would keep me in english-speaking bubble. They have send me a lot of offers, but I've ignored them because they were all in german - my previous job was 100% international, I didn't have to speak german at all, I'm struggling to speak german in every day life, let alone in professional environment.

[engelchen 13,040]

 

14 minutes ago, overdriven said:

I'm not officialy unemployed yet but I've already registered at arbeitsagentur.de and filled Arbeitslosengeld form.

 

When is your last day of employment?

 

14 minutes ago, overdriven said:

Anyhow, I need to go to Arbeitsagentur again and I don't know what to expect? I'm worried about saying something that might block me from Arbeitslosengeld. 
 

Obviously I don't have time for a new job yet as I'm learning german full-time.

 

At what level are you now?

 

14 minutes ago, overdriven said:

This is more important for me than another job that would keep me in english-speaking bubble.

 

Are there jobs in your field that don't require German? What is your field? 

 

14 minutes ago, overdriven said:

They have send me a lot of offers, but I've ignored them because they were all in german

 

You are supposed to apply for the jobs they send you or give a reason why. You need to have them change the settings for your job search to exclude the ones that are in German (which will most jobs in their databank).

 

14 minutes ago, overdriven said:

- my previous job was 100% international, I didn't have to speak german at all, I'm struggling to speak german in every day life, let alone in professional environment.

 

How long the Agentur will support you learning German instead of actively looking for a job will depend on your field and your qualifications. 

[overdriven 6]

10 minutes ago, engelchen said:

When is your last day of employment?

By the end of this month. Deadline for Arbeitsbescheinigung is two weeks later.
 

11 minutes ago, engelchen said:

At what level are you now?

weak A2

 

11 minutes ago, engelchen said:

Are there jobs in your field that don't require German? What is your field? 

From my experience almost all of them require only English, IT. Only some german companies require German.

 

13 minutes ago, engelchen said:

You are supposed to apply for the jobs they send you or give a reason why. You need to have them change the settings for your job search to exclude the ones that are in German (which will most jobs in their databank).

How do I give a reason? On web portal it's just a list with offers linked to employers' websites. No forms or buttons to decline. Should I write a letter to arbeitsagentur?
Most of these offers also do not fit to my specialization, only one of them did.

 

16 minutes ago, engelchen said:

How long the Agentur will support you learning German instead of actively looking for a job will depend on your field and your qualifications

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. Finding a job is not a big problem, but time is. Part-time contracts in IT are not common, they always want you full-time.
What if I insist that I want to work only in german company that requires speaking german, so that I integrate to society better? This would decrease my current qualifications and buy me some more time before I master German.

[LeonG 14,795]

6 minutes ago, overdriven said:

By the end of this month. Deadline for Arbeitsbescheinigung is two weeks later.

 

I told the Agentur that I would have it on the 17th of the month after my employment ended and it wasn't a problem.  I simply uploaded it once I got it.

 

8 minutes ago, overdriven said:

How do I give a reason? On web portal it's just a list with offers linked to employers' websites. No forms or buttons to decline. Should I write a letter to arbeitsagentur?
Most of these offers also do not fit to my specialization, only one of them did.

 

I did not see anything on their portal either to contact the Agentur and tell them why this job doesn't fit you.  You can only contact the employer.  What I would do is write down for each offer why it wasn't suitable for you so if the Agentur asks or you go there for an interview, you can go through the list with them.

 

[engelchen 13,040]

 

32 minutes ago, overdriven said:

weak A2

 

Are you taking the A2 course at the moment? 

 

32 minutes ago, overdriven said:

From my experience almost all of them require only English, IT. Only some german companies require German.

 

The drawback of IT is that it'll be very difficult to argue that you definitely need advanced German to get a job.

 

32 minutes ago, overdriven said:

How do I give a reason? On web portal it's just a list with offers linked to employers' websites. No forms or buttons to decline. Should I write a letter to arbeitsagentur?

 

You need to have the search criteria changed. They used to send the jobs offers my snail mail and include a form to fill out indicating when you applied or your reasons for not applying. Leon's advice to make a list of the jobs and why they don't fit is a really good idea.

 

32 minutes ago, overdriven said:

Most of these offers also do not fit to my specialization, only one of them did.

 

You should probably apply for the job that fits your profile before you go to your appointment. 

 

32 minutes ago, overdriven said:

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. Finding a job is not a big problem, but time is. Part-time contracts in IT are not common, they always want you full-time.

 

If you tell the Agentur you only want to work part-time, they'll reduce your benefits accordingly. 

 

32 minutes ago, overdriven said:

What if I insist that I want to work only in german company that requires speaking german, so that I integrate to society better?

 

That is your personal decision and if you were learning German in your spare time, something to be applauded. However, I don't know how you can make a convincing argument that German language skills are necessary for you to find a job in your field. 

 

32 minutes ago, overdriven said:

This would decrease my current qualifications and buy me some more time before I master German.

 

The goal of the Agentur für Arbeit is to get you back into the workforce as quickly as possible.  

[paulyg 81]

Don't stress, been unemployed twice for a year each in the last 10 years and never had any problems. Just tell them you will apply for all appropriate jobs within your search. 

Yes they also send offers too but never had to respond why I didn't apply if the job wasn't suitable for me.

I was called in approximately every 3 months to update them on my search. Just a formality, tell them you are applying for jobs with no success.

I also requested that I was sent to a German course which at the time was A2 and they left me to my learning where I passed B2 within a year.

[Fietsrad 385]

They sent me a lot of jobs to apply for but did not check whether I had applied. They do not have enough staff to harass people, I think. I was worried they would require me to apply for jobs far away, more than an hour travel each way, but that did not happen. Retired now %)

 

Learning German is a good idea.

[overdriven 6]

15 minutes ago, engelchen said:

Are you taking the A2 course at the moment? 

Yes
 

15 minutes ago, engelchen said:

The drawback of IT is that it'll be very difficult to argue that you definitely need advanced German to get a job.

Yes, that's what everyone keeps saying, including my lawyer. Problem is that they're purely job-centered, they don't care if you're a migrant or not.

 

19 minutes ago, engelchen said:

They used to send the jobs offers my snail mail and include a form to fill out indicating when you applied or your reasons for not applying.

They haven't yet, maybe that's because I applied online or they will once unemployment officialy starts.

 

20 minutes ago, engelchen said:

If you tell the Agentur you only want to work part-time, they'll reduce your benefits accordingly. 

Good point, but I don't see how my "will" is relevant and not the work schedule that I actually had in last couple of years?
 

24 minutes ago, engelchen said:

The goal of the Agentur für Arbeit is to get you back into the workforce as quickly as possible.  

I know, that stands in conflict with what I want. I want to use this occasion to make a change in life: take a break, recover from burnout and focus on health, general wellbeing and learning German. But obviously it's not a good idea to tell them that, as they only care about kicking me back to work  

Thanks for all replies guys, that's really reassuring.

[Fietsrad 385]

I even experienced a bit of humanity from the Arbeitsamt, they indicated did not expect me to take an unsuitable job. Mind, there was one employee many years ago, I had worked in Germany for more than five years, moved to a new town, went to the AA. 'I do not believe you can find work' she said!

 

Soon after I found a suitable job. Without her help.

[LukeSkywalker 7,595]

Fortunately, I have no experience with the AA, but don’t believe they know the broad IT market. IT people know the market and suitable employers much better.

[overdriven 6]

12 minutes ago, Fietsrad said:

'I do not believe you can find work' she said!

 

Soon after I found a suitable job. Without her help.

@Fietsrad Maybe she has intentionally applied reverse psychology on you  

[arsenal21 400]

I was on AG a good few years ago so I don't know if it's still the same but they would pay reasonable travel expenses to get one or two job interviews per month. You can do your interview in the morning and then sightseeing/shopping before getting the train back. It's also good experience for learning German, hearing different dialects etc!

 

I had interviews in Furth, Berlin, Karlsruhe, Frankfurt, Wurzburg and maybe a few more

[LeonG 14,795]

17 minutes ago, engelchen said:

You need to have the search criteria changed. They used to send the jobs offers my snail mail and include a form to fill out indicating when you applied or your reasons for not applying.

 

On the portal, you can change and add to your skills and you can put in all kinds of search criteria and save searches although I am not sure if they go by your own saved searches when they offer you jobs.  

 

1 hour ago, Fietsrad said:

They sent me a lot of jobs to apply for but did not check whether I had applied. They do not have enough staff to harass people, I think. I was worried they would require me to apply for jobs far away, more than an hour travel each way, but that did not happen. Retired now %)

 

Apparently they can require you to take jobs where the total commute back and forth is 2.5 hrs. or less.  They can not require you to take a job where the salary is less than your unemployment benefits and yes, I got one such offer.  For the first 3 months, they can not require you to take a job that pays less than 80% of your last salary and for the next 3 months, it is 70%

[LukeSkywalker 7,595]

2 hours ago, LeonG said:

What I would do is write down for each offer why it wasn't suitable for you so if the Agentur asks or you go there for an interview, you can go through the list with them.

If they would send me an offer in Berlin, I would write down: not suitable due to lack of decent Weißbier 👻.

[murphaph 9,638]

Even in IT the jobs in the AA database are generally going to be from "German" companies and very likely in German or at least requiring some German. The more "international" companies simply don't inform the AA of their openings IMO. I never got sent a suggestion at anything except very "German" (usually Mittelstand) companies. And yeah, they tend to bombard you with any job description with the word "computer" in it. "Ah so you're a database specialist? Ok why not apply for this job in front end development?" It's like asking a proctologist to apply for cardiologist positions lol. I honestly think the AA goes very easy on people with university degrees (assuming you have one). I was led to believe my case worker only dealt with degree qualified people so she wouldn't have been used to telling people to go look for a job in McDonald's. I was told she'd schedule appointments every 3 months. I never saw her a second time as I found a job myself in the meantime.

[paulyg 81]

Relax! In the unlikely event you were sent to an Interview for a job you did not want, I am sure you could put yourself across as someone who is not suitable for the position?

[paulyg 81]

Also do not go back to the Arbeitsamt, total waste of time as they do not have any understanding of modern Jobs. Say you have corona symptoms and everything is sorted for your job search within 2-3 emails.

[Fietsrad 385]

12 hours ago, arsenal21 said:

I was on AG a good few years ago so I don't know if it's still the same but they would pay reasonable travel expenses to get one or two job interviews per month. You can do your interview in the morning and then sightseeing/shopping before getting the train back. It's also good experience for learning German, hearing different dialects etc!

 

I had interviews in Furth, Berlin, Karlsruhe, Frankfurt, Wurzburg and maybe a few more

I did likewise, applied for jobs, prospective employer paid travel, even hotel in one case.

[klingklang77 490]

11 hours ago, paulyg said:

Relax! In the unlikely event you were sent to an Interview for a job you did not want, I am sure you could put yourself across as someone who is not suitable for the position?

 

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. If what you want is a half a year off, then apply for all the jobs they send you. And you could apply half-assed, too. Send in your resume without a cover letter and don't follow the German way of applying for jobs. I wouldn't advise this, though. You will burn your bridges if you want to apply to these companies later. You can also say you are burnt out, but you will need to follow through with care for that. But don't say you want a break and only want to work part time. You have to follow certain things they suggest (classes, applying for jobs, etc.). 

 

They will want a list of jobs you are applying to each month. That is probably what they want to tell you for this meeting. When I was on ALG1, they wanted me to apply for 8 jobs a month. I also had to attend a class for a week, which was a total waste of my time. It was just about what goes on a resume and some language testing.  I did fine on the language testing, but they offered classes, but said I didn't have to take them. One morning of that class was about how to turn a computer on. Like I said a total waste of time. I started working some freelance after a month, so they left me alone for the most part. I had to sign up for job coaching. My field is completely different, though, and there really aren't a lot of contract jobs in it (university level English teacher).