“We spent most of the session cutting my target list from eighteen job titles to five that actually hire biology graduates in Bavaria. The written plan was blunt about my German level—I needed that, even if it stung—and the weekly milestones kept me from applying at random.”
Client stories
What alumni took into their first application weeks
These notes describe specific sessions — documents changed, shortlists cut, interviews rehearsed — rather than star ratings.
“My first Lebenslauf looked like a university transcript with hobbies attached. The review reordered education, internship, and thesis so a German HR reader could see fit for a Werkstudent-to-entry path in one glance. I still rewrote the Anschreiben twice myself, but at least I knew what to fix.”
“I arrived convinced I should force a private-sector analyst title. The orientation compared municipal trainee routes with foundation roles and made the trade-offs on pay, exams, and relocation explicit. It did not choose for me; it stopped me from applying out of panic.”
“The mock panel caught that I answered every strength question with soft skills and never mentioned a single KPI from my internship. After the debrief I used numbers. The interview that followed was still tough on salary, but I did not freeze.”
“I wanted someone to hand me openings. Instead I left with a sequence: dossier cleanup, three target firms per week, and a rehearsal only after I had a real invitation. Slower than I hoped at first, then much less chaotic.”
Extended note: from eighteen titles to five
Lena arrived with a spreadsheet of biology-related roles copied from national boards. Half required years of industry experience she did not have. In the career entry consultation we sorted titles by actual graduate hiring patterns in Bavaria, then rebuilt her weekly application quota around five realistic openings.
The mild friction was language: she wanted to apply only in English. We kept two English-friendly employers on the list and required German drafts for the rest, with a dossier review scheduled before the first Anschreiben went out.
Extended note: dossier before outreach
Omar’s engineering CV led with coursework codes unfamiliar to German SMEs. The dossier review moved his Werkstudent role and thesis partnership higher, cut hobby blocks, and set a one-page certificate order. Only after that did he book interview rehearsal — once a real invitation existed.
That sequence is now our default recommendation for international alumni: documents first, then outreach volume, then rehearsal.