/ 5 October 2009

Unemployed Germans go speed dating for jobs

A job centre in northern Germany has come up with a novel way to match unemployed people with potential employers: job speed dating.

The Kiel job centre paired 100 jobseekers with nearly 50 potential bosses for a two-hour “speed-breakfast” with the aim of conducting as many mini-interviews as possible over coffee and croissants.

The session led to 23 formal job applications, 11 interviews, eight internships and one solid job offer, weekly magazine Focus reported in its edition to appear on Monday.

Among the jobs on offer were kindergarten teachers, clerks and florists.

Official data published on Wednesday showed unemployment in Germany — Europe’s biggest economy — falling to 8.0 percent, but experts expect it to rise to more than four million next year, from under 3,5 million now. — AFP