 |
31st July 2010
|
 How do I find a job? Perseverance pays when you’re job hunting in France and you shouldn’t be afraid to use even the most casual contacts. 'I found a job via my local gym in the 14th arrondissement. I was chatting to my fitness instructor about the difficulties I had finding work as a shop fitter and he put me in touch with another regular gym user who owns a string of boutiques,' says Zoe Vincent who’s based in Paris.Despite high unemployment, France has staffing shortages in areas such as telecommunications and hotel and restaurant work. Bilingual secretaries and accountants are also in big demand and English-language teachers are rarely out of work. The building industry is also greedy for personnel, but wages, even in towns, are rarely above the SMIC. BEFORE YOU LEAVE – 5 HOT TIPS Instead of crossing the Channel and hoping something will turn up, why not be smart and suss out the French job situation before you leave? Here are 5 top tips: -Visit your local job centre and pick up two leaflets: "Working Abroad" and "Working in France". A mine of useful information! UK jobcentres online: www.jobcentreplus.com -Scan the pages of UK newspapers that advertise job vacancies in France. For bilingual secretarial positions see The Times Crème de la Crème section and The Guardian. Read The Financial Times and The International Herald tribune for management jobs, and if you’re interested in domestic or catering work you’ll want to peruse The Lady. -Put an ad in a French newspaper, like Le Figaro; tel: (UK) 0207 831 6631, or Le Monde; tel (UK) 0207 498 2333. You can also see ads and advertise in the International Herald Tribune via their London office; tel: 0207 836 4802 -Brush up your CV and publish it on websites which offer work. Sites like Stepstone and Overseas Digest also advertise a wide variety of job vacancies in France and if you subscribe to their newsletters you’ll receive regular updates of jobs as they become available. -And finally: don’t wait till you get to France to find you can’t speak the lingo - start taking those language classes now. I’M HERE – WHAT NEXT? A good first stop on the Gallic job trail is France’s equivalent of the job centre. The Agence Nationale pour l'Emploi (ANPE) www.anpe.fr/ has offices in most towns. Job vacancies are generally posted on boards in the main entrance hall. If you find an offer which interests you, you’ll need to take it to the receptionist who will give you the contact details. You can phone for free from the ANPE office and use the photocopier to make copies of your CV. If you’re looking for executive and management level employment larger towns have a separate branch called ANPE cadres which only deals in this type of vacancy. Whether it’s building work, catering, tourism or teaching the Parisian ANPE has different offices for different types of job. Find the one you want by visiting their website : www.anpe.fr/index.jsp TEMPTED BY TEMPING? In France some 500,000 people work in the temping industry and it’s an ideal short term solution for finding work. 'It’s a good way of getting familiar with the French workplace and sometimes a brief contract can lead to a full-time position,' says Angela Hart who’s temped near Bordeaux for the past two years. 'My salary is generally the same as that of an equivalent worker belonging to the firm,' she adds. One of France’s biggest agencies, Adecco has 1383 offices proposing temporary jobs in every line of work, from banking and clerical to information technology and telecommunications. For details of each agencies specialty see here THOUGHT OF A RECRUITMENT CONSULTANCY? If you’re already fairly proficient in French it’s worth thinking of registering with a recruitment consultancy, many of which handle bilingual positions at an administrative or executive level. You can register by email but will probably be offered an intital interview in order to discuss your work experience and aspirations. Follow this link for a list of agencies: search.hotplugins.com/32797/Business/Jobs/Recruiters/International/ IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE? 'Working in Europe for medical staff has never been easier,' according to a BMA spokesman. If you want to export your health skills you’ll need to register as a medical practitioner. For further information and details of registering bodies contact The European Medical Association, Place de Jamblinne de Meux 12, 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 734 21 35 FANCY BECOMING A TEACHER? Despite an evident need for qualified English teachers in French schools red tape still makes it near impossible for a British national to find teaching work in the state system. With English as the official European language, however, English teaching is a huge growth market, especially if you have a TEFL qualification. 'I started out with a few hours work and ended up employed full-time,' says John Wright who works for a private language school near Lyon. John adds that it's usual to work in several different schools when you’re starting out. 'That means a lot of racing around,' he says. WICE a nonprofit anglophone volunteer-based association based in Paris offers an accelerated course – a total of 100 hours over four weeks with mornings devoted to teaching practice and afternoons for theory and pratical teaching techniques. Visit WICE to find out more. WHY NOT START A BUSINESS? Red tape and high charges make it daunting to set up a business in France, but if you’ve got a good idea and done the necessary research there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be successful. 'Because it’s so much more complicated here, you tend to plan more carefully before taking the leap, which isn’t such a bad thing,'says Justin Dewhurst who has a builders firm near Limoges. For more information on setting up your own business, see Starting a business in France NOW I’M OUT HERE – FRENCHENTREE’S TOP TEN TIPS FOR FINDING WORK IN FRANCE. -Get hold of the bi-weekly English language publication FUSAC, www.fusac.org/en/ a free magazine distributed in Paris and the surrounding areas advertising jobs for the English-speaking community. -Pool resources by joining local English-speaking associations like The Rotary Club, The Lions Club, or Maxim's Business Club. -Contact English companies with subsidiaries in France. Visit www.francesurfnet.com/ to search businesses by activity or by location. (NB: As of 31/10/2005 this site is down. We will leave this link in case the site reappears.) -Put an ad in the monthly review issued to members by the Franco British Chamber of Commerce and Industry (31 rue Boissy d’Anglas, 75008 Paris; tel: 01 53 30 81 30) and find work with a British company in France or with a French company which does business with Britain. - There are American, British, Canadian, German, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Swiss country-sponsored chambers of commerce based in Paris. Pay a visit to yours. Or contact the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris; tel: 01.42.89.78.36 -Let your fingers do the walking. Spend an afternoon in the post office with a copy of Les Pages Jaunes (Yellow pages) and make a list of companies to whom you could offer your services. -Go to your local library and ask the librarian to point you to their comprehensive collection of dossiers covering career descriptions and job vacancies. -Check out current vacancies at Bilinguagroup: www.bilinguagroup.com/html/recframeall.htm -See job offers in the International Herald Tribune: www.iht.com/frontpage.html -Do an interactive job search on the ANPE’s website: (urln "http://www.anpe.fr/index.jsp" USEFUL RESOURCE 'All you need to know to grab a global career in the country of your choice and work abroad.' says the blurb on the Going Global website. Although it’s geared to Americans there’s still a lot of useful information to be gleaned for free on this website and if you’re prepared to fork out $14.95 you can download their 75 page France career guide with has detailed information on jobs, interviews, regulations etc in France. Visit www.goinglobal.com/countries/france/france_work.asp By Heidi Fuller-love By Heidi Fuller-Love European travel and lifestyle writer www.travelintelligence.net/wsd/writers/writ_1166.html monsite.wanadoo.fr/fullerlove.freelance SEE ALSO: Finding a job in France  Top tips for protecting your business from the economic slowdown The French job market From CV to Interview Business opportunities for expats in France Working in France Home Page Looking for a property in France? Use FrenchEntrée's Property Finders to help you find your property and to help you through the buying process 
|
Premier Property Care Franchise Opportunity
 Have the freedom of being self-employed but the security of belonging to an established network by joining us as we expand our Property Care Managers in France
Travel to France from £44 - Eurotunnel
 Folkestone to Calais in just 35 minutes.
Take the fastest route to France by car Our best fares are going fast. Book now!
Les Bons Voisins
 We are extending our successful network of franchised
Property managers across France. A proven framework and support – if you have the right skill set, why not come and join us?
Property Finder Business Opportunities
 This summer we launched France's first ever national network of property finders. FrenchEntrée Property Finders (FEPF) are looking for energetic and talented property finder partners in over 50 locations throughout France. Further information.
Save a fortune on currency exchange
 If you need advice or a currency exchange quote, make a no obligation enquiry to Moneycorp, FrenchEntrée's currency partner. Apply now to open a currency account.Living in France Newsletter ArchiveAre you living in France or thinking of moving to France? Keep up to date with all the latest stories from our Living in France section. Sign-up for our free newsletter or visit our newsletter archive to view previous newsletters. Latest Employment and Business Forum Postings |
Search FrenchEntréeFrench Property Database Search
Over 12,000 properties for sale throughout France..... More search options Use a property finder |