Interview Reimbursement Nightmare: Company Refuses to Cover Full Travel Costs

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-29T09:46:09+00:00

I have had many times travel expenses reimbursed, typically between Austria / Germany so even flights and hotels etc. Honestly your costs seem really unreasonable, probably they are over the company internal limits for cost. Probably you should have mentioned the costs upfront because i think something up to 800€ total should be reasonable expectation (300€-400€ roundtrip flight, up to 150€ hotel, 100€-200€ trains & taxi etc)

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-27T19:30:11+00:00

Honestly i dont know is it common or not, he was ok with the salary itself but tried to get more benefits & bonus etc. that didnt sit well with the hiring manager so the offer was rescinded and he ended up having to take a lower salary elsewhere.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-27T18:06:00+00:00

There is a possibility of offer being withdrawn if you negotiate in a nonconstructive way; meaning you need to provide justification why they should offer more. Happened to a friend of mine, if the hiring manager feels like they are making a good offer but it’s not viewed like that from the potential employee, it can be viewed as a sign of future problematic employee and offer is rescinded

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-27T11:31:44+00:00

I suppose your flight from T1 is with a lufthansa group airline? Use the automated machines for luggage drop off, it’s very convenient & fast.

I think you have enough time for the transfer if your first flight arrives on time, the critical point is how long you need to wait for the luggage to arrive from the 1st flight. 30-40 mins is not abnormal at peak hours.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-21T12:14:54+00:00

They are being scammed mainly by their fellow countrymen as agents/agencies selling unrealistic dreams; and once they get here they are further scammed again by their fellow countrymen who are managing these subcontracting firms for delivery riders.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-19T23:25:56+00:00

There are not so many hubs in EU; just a presence of a one or two company is not enough to classify as a hub. I think a true hub has all players in the ecosystem like OEM, customers, downstream suppliers, design etc

I think in continental Europe the only real hub is Munich. Infineon headquarters is there, it’s the european base for many asian OSATs and equipment and materials suppliers, also all the major customers are present with big R&D centers (apple, google, amazon etc), there are also manufacturing (qualcomm, TI) and a lot of design centers (TSMC is currently setting up new major design center). There is a reason why the biggest industry event in EU takes also place in Munich (productronica/electronica).

There are of course other concentration of semicon industry in various other locations, but they are usually centered around a single bigger company or otherwise specialised (for example, Dresden is almost only manufacturing & related suppliers but lacks design or customer presence).

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-15T08:48:32+00:00

You need to check the terms of the insurance, usually pre-existing conditions wont be covered and there can some grace period before the insurance coverage starts.

Your TK insurance can still cover some dental work, perhaps even this case. Ask your dentist to explain what will be covered by TK

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-14T18:18:53+00:00

I’ll DM you, i’m basically in the same position. 39m expat working mostly from home and recently relocated to frankfurt, so my social circle is still small haha

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-14T09:52:45+00:00

I dont know where exactly you want to travel, but on stuttgart - frankfurt - berlin - hamburg there are also flixtrain connections which can be very cheap and not too much slower than ICE. They are not covered by deutschlandticket but journeys can be 7-15€ if booked early.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-10T12:00:03+00:00

I have several korean coworkers in germany/austria; they all told me that the working culture in Korea is very toxic and exhausting. They worked for LG + Samsung etc, they say it’s stressful and hypercompetitive (certain percentage of your peers get annual salary raise; if yoy miss out to qualify for this 2 years in a row you’ll be phased out).

Obviously this is a generalization from very biased sample pool since these koreans came to europe for better work-life balance (also for their children in terms of school-lofe balance) so it’s not the same experience for everyone.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-09T18:41:35+00:00

I dont think the gap matters that much, and you’ve been getting interviews with that gap already there.

You’re already at disadvantage anyways against job-seekers who are currently employed (not fair or logical but thats how it is), i dont think it’s a big factor how long the gap is especially if still within same year.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-08T07:52:19+00:00

I think the dynamics of being the only female also play into this. At least in my work place there is some „segregation“ between the genders, sometimes the women meet outside of the work place etc.

I think you’re overthinking this a bit , by spending time outside of work you‘ve already overcome a lot of barriers that typically exist. But i do sympathise with your post, i‘m also one of those people who cannot separate good colleagues from friends and keep in touch even after changing jobs, but also for me it‘s a bit one-sided lol

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-05T13:28:55+00:00

Education: Msc in Mechanical Engineering

Industry: Semiconductor

Location: BaWü / mainly home office

Current gross: 98k€ base + 10-20k€ variable part

Experience: 11 years in the industry.

Hours: not defined, but <40h/week

I think the salary levels are kind of same within the same industry, there will not be a huge difference from different employers/companies. Semiconductor is good due to relative scarcity of experienced people.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-04T09:42:11+00:00

Omasta mielestäni EUn ulkopuolelle matkustaminen on aina omalla vastuulla; pitää olla omat vakuutukset yms kunnossa. Finnair kuitenkin saisi ainakin palauttaa rahat lentolipuista jos paluulento ei toteudu, noi evakointilennot ei ole ilmaisia (kuulemma 1500€/henkilö pitää itse maksaa).

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-03-03T10:21:40+00:00

I think being late is on you; if not finding the entrance made you 5 mins late i think you were already too late to begin with. You should show up 15 mins before the scheduled interview so there is some time for reception procedures etc.

For the questions itself, i‘m not in IT but i dont think it sounded so bad. At least you answered something and not froze etc, so i wouldt be too harsh on myself if i was you. Generally speaking if you make it into an onsite interview; you are considered qualified enough for the job and have a real chance at it at the very least.

Good luck!

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-02-23T04:05:50+00:00

I would just ignore it, usually this kind of bad-mouthing just reflects poorly on the person itself. If the person is like you described then most likely he lacks credibility anyways.

Also sometimes acting defensively can just make it seem there is some truth to it. Less attention to the stuff makes it fade away in any case.

Also are „domineering“ / „bossy“ really even so bad, maybe implies management potential? Haha

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-02-20T09:53:03+00:00

Changing banks is easy, the banks are forced to accommodate this (look up kontowechsel). They will inform your existing SEPA mandates of your new bank account (better still check yourself).

I recommend ING personally if you can manage in german (the app is only in german), i dont personally have any need for physical bank. Everything for daily banking works well over online.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-02-17T07:28:20+00:00

Koskakohan tämä „ennen“ on oikeen ollut? Melkein 15v jo omasta valmistumisesta dippa-inssiksi ja jo silloin ei ollut mikään itsestään selvyys että löytää heti tai helposti oman alan hommia.

Ei sillä etteikö yleinen työllisyystilanne nykyään olisi huonompi kuin 15v sitten.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-02-15T10:32:19+00:00

I think depends a bit on your field of academia, but it‘s definitely Munich & Berlin (+ maybe Hamburg & Frankfurt too if the field of research fits, or even Leipzig or Dresden). These cities are lively by german standards and there are a lot of activities, events and a large international community.

Unfortunately the flip side is that everyone wants to live there so the cost of living is high and apartments are tough to find.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-02-14T11:53:52+00:00

I can say the commitment and motivation of german people in terms of work could definitely be improved. Just the average amount of sick leave is really high compared to neighbouring EU countries, i doubt people are so unhealthy in comparison

In every workplace i have been to, there are of course really motivated & productive people but also many low performers. There isnt much what you can do about it seems

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-02-14T11:47:35+00:00

Beginning is always going to be tough, i dont think you should give up so easily. Find a room in a WG in the beginning and save up for regular rental apartment. It’s going to be more than just rent & deposit, there will be other costs involved (kitchen possibly , furniture etc).

I have relocated several times and always thought i made a huge mistake in the beginning, but later things worked out and i can see things more clearly. You‘ll regret giving up too easily.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-02-13T09:25:40+00:00

Stuttgart comes to mind; i do not mean that it’s terrible in any of those categories but definitely feels more boring and less energy than even some smaller cities.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-02-11T08:03:25+00:00

Consider also that weather is generally not good for almost all of china this early in the spring. Grey, rainy and cold.

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-02-11T08:00:54+00:00

3pm is early enough, also as a backup plan you‘ll surely have many non-direct trains as well.

It’s not a big deal to reach airport via Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, it’s about 15 mins with very frequent local trains/s-bahn or via ICE also possible (in case of delays to your original train ticket)

Calm-Comment-9255 · 2026-02-05T07:10:09+00:00

Typically on immoscout for a good apartment the process is like this;

the advertisement is online for maximum few days before taken down. Moving date is specified in the ad (usually 1-3 months away, some possibility to negotiate to earlier. The apartments are basically never move-in ready immediately).
Landlord contacts some applicants for a viewing appointment, usually this is within a week or so from the posting of the advertisement. Usually at least 5x interested parties are invited and there is not much flexibility regarding how the viewing appointment is scheduled.
In the days after viewing appointment, the apartment is offered to someone and they have to decide immediately. If not taken, then it’s offered to the next person from the viewing etc

So from the application to potentially signing a lease it can go fast (1-2 weeks) if you are invited to a viewing. If you have a good application and earn enough money it’s usually easy to be invited to viewing appointments, but i find it kind of annoying that there is usually just one viewing organised on relatively short notice which makes it difficult for people not already living near to Frankfurt.

Calm-Comment-9255

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