Vitamin B is the joking German term for connections. The B stands for Beziehungen, relationships. The DWDS dictionary of the German language marks it as colloquial and humorous. It means personal contacts through which someone gets preferential treatment in a career. The contacts are common too. A survey by the Institute for Employment Research found that 32 percent of all new hires in Germany in 2016 came about through personal contacts. In small companies, the share was 47 percent.