do you do New Year's resolutions?
Issue #130 (23 Dec) – shortened Zwischen den Jahren version, still full of great links, also for your 2025 inspiration.
Programming note: Here’s a shortened version for Zwischen den Jahren (🇩🇪). The community section, coffee interview, and jobs will return in 2025. I added a few links you can use for inspiration for your 2025 resolutions. Happy holidays and see you next Monday.
You can follow Handpicked on: Instagram and LinkedIn.
🗞 Top inspiration snippets
🇩🇪 Berlin & other good stuff
is a selection of links focused on Berlin/Germany, career, timeless content and business.
If you’d like to connect with me on LinkedIn, please do so.
After a discussion with a large Instagram account this week I was surprised to learn how many of the “big” accounts buy followers, likes and views.
I checked several of the accounts at Modash and it appears that “fake it, till you make it” works. The playbook is simple: create an illusion you are around 20k-25k followers, hide the likes on your posts, buy views on a couple of reels and suddenly you’re the topic authority. All you need to do now is to convince a few important people you are legit and off you go. Check for yourself.
(If someone adds @ handpickedberlin I’d be grateful, I’ve had a couple of viral reels and would be interested in how many bots do it for the numbers!)Would you interview with an AI Recruiter (n=200)? 55% of you rejected AI interviews, while 29% are sceptical but willing. Only 2% fully trust AI's objectivity in the hiring process. I liked the idea from Engin in the comments: “Would companies (or their AI tools) interview with AI version of mine?”
The Berliner did a long feature on the problems that clubs face in Berlin. We could see more closures in 2025.
I’m paying exploitative rent. Do you as well? You can directly report your landlords on the website created by Linke. Knowing the backlogs of Berlin’s bureaucrats, probably nothing will happen, but still…
🚨 2025 relevant links and ideas: ideas for micro habits, habits #2, habits #3; visualised ideas with links; the best calendar for printing ever; make new friends, 350 books to choose from.
Career: The best thing about LinkedIn is that you can really get vocal about injustice and weird company behaviour and get attention. So in case something terrible happens to you, post it and ask people to like it. This post about the rescinded offer got the attention it deserved and the CEO or Remote promised he’d look into it. Not sure if anything good came out for Ana, but at least something happened.
Timeless: Things to argue about over the holidays instead of politics by dynomight. Some suggestions made me go … wow, deep. “Do you think you could cultivate a taste in types of music you don’t currently like if you tried? If yes, why don’t you?”
Timeless: Bartosz Ciechanowski again produced an extremely good post for science geeks, this time explaining the Moon. Take some time and check it out, almost like an online science museum, probably best viewed on your computer.
Timeless: Will Large Language Models and other Gen AI (eg. video tools) ever replace art/movies? Ben Affleck thinks not, and he is probably right. “Craft is knowing how to start, art is knowing when to stop.”
📱 Weekly Social.
Reddit: There is a dishwasher scam going on in Berlin. In short: call out the b**shiters and don’t pay in cash.
Reddit: Crêpes joint at the Mall of Berlin had a visit.
💬 Briefly.
😔 Bad news: Lilium (air taxis, -200), Smafo (e-bikes, Paderborn) bankrupt.
Stats: 107,470 S-Bahn trains were late in the first nine months of this year - an increase of 3.9% compared to the same period last year. (RBB)
Our rail services rank poorly in the European transport study. DB was at 17th and Flixtrain at 20th out of 27 operators. Top 3: Italian Trenitalia, Czech Regiojet (you can test it on a trip to Prague) & Austrian ÖBB.
Your 49-Euro-Deutschland-Ticket will turn into a 58-Euro-Deutschland-Ticket from the 1st of January.
Ride Capital drama continued: founders regained control after a failed acquisition, buying back assets from Alera Capital. (FFWD)
Perplexity, a great research engine, raised €500M (at $9B valuation) to fight with Google Search. You can get the PRO version for a year if you are a Magenta/Telekom customer.
I was one of the 25M accounts at Bluesky after the November election (+5M) and even before the now famous AfD tweet from the ________ (fill the blank) owner. But... it’s a bit boring, to be honest. My brain is still too often stuck at useless videos on X.
Databricks raised $10B Series J (is raising these letters a new IPO?) at a $62B valuation. They also hire in Berlin.
Omio reported 30% growth in 2024, reaching EBITDA break-even with 80k daily tickets sold and $1B in annual sales. (Travolution)
Klarna is really pumping before the IPO: they plan to implement random drug testing for Swedish employees starting January 2025 and plan a global rollout where legally possible. (Business Insider) I doubt Berlin employees have anything to worry about.
Siemens plans to sell 6% of Siemens Energy for $2.6B to fund Altair acquisition.
Continental plans Frankfurt listing of the automotive unit by Q4 2025. Grammarly (big in Berlin), acquired Coda, a productivity app.
💸 Recently funded in Berlin & Germany
is a list of companies that received funding over €1M.
Omio | Berlin | Travel booking and comparison platform | $120M Credit Line | Careers.
Baller League | Berlin | Indoor football league and entertainment | €23M Series A | Careers (in the footer).
1Komma5° | Hamburg | Home energy management solutions provider | €150M | Careers.
MAIA/Prodlane | Leipzig | Industrial product development software | €1M+ Seed | Careers.
Vaeridion | Munich | Electric aircraft for short-haul flights | €14M Series A | Careers.
vialytics | Stuttgart | AI-powered road condition monitoring system | €8M | Careers.
gyde | Stuttgart | Mobile learning platform for businesses | €4M | Careers.
Synthavo | Stuttgart | Machine part identification software | €4M Seed | Careers.
eyva.ai | Cologne | Beauty product portfolio optimization platform | €2.7M Seed | Careers.
😅 Meanwhile
this seemed like a January problem?
✌️ Handpicked essentials and a treat:
- How to find a great company to work for?
- How to learn German and get over “Genau” and “mit Karte, bitte”?
- Signing a new employment contract in Germany? Read this before.
- Don’t make these mistakes with your side hustle!
- Football in Berlin: where to play, watch and how to get involved?
- Berlin Salary Trends Reports: How do you compare?
- ❓Surprise treat for the curious
- The best questions to ask at a job interview
- Write it down now! Or why you should journal at work?
- What do hiring managers look for in CVs?
- Handpicked in media (podcasts and articles)
✨ Berlin Events Weekly: the best resource for events in Berlin ✨
♡ 20% Berlin: all the Berlin news twice a week, in English! ♡
Did you read this Zwischen den Jahren? If so, drop a like :)
Interesting poll on AI interviews, Igor!
Speaking of interviewers talking to AI versions of themselves... I've heard of people using AI during interviews to answer questions posed to them, so in a way, AI versions of the applicant are already being interviewed...
Won't count out Lilium, as their management was in grave 🪦 but with the new M&A , we are definitely looking into the future of good takeoffs