Five Proven Tips for Job Hunting in France
The French job market can be brutal for foreigners hoping to build a career in France. From scouring the web for job postings, to preparing countless CVs and cover letters, to travelling near and far for interviews, finding a job in France can feel like a job in and of itself! As Americans working in France, we know better than anyone that getting a job abroad is no easy task. After we graduated from the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne and procured our recherche d’emploi ou création d’entreprise residence permits (RECE), Maria and I began our hunt for full-time roles in International Relations and Logistics respectively. Four months later, we were both gainfully employed! We know how stressful the job search can be, and now that we’re on the other side, we want to share our best tips for job hunting in France as a foreigner.
When Maria and I got started on our job search in France, we wanted to be sure that we did everything possible to find employment. Before sending off any applications, we spent time getting our ducks in a row. We learned the terms of our residence permits by heart, we updated our CVs with our new degrees and most recent profesional experiences, and mentally prepared ourselves for what we feared would be a long, discouraging process. In the end, while our job search experiences were pretty dissimilar, neither of us struggled as much as we thought we might. We are certain that our careful preparation and the implementation of the following tips were the keys to our success in starting our careers in France as Americans.
1. Set Job Alerts
Spending hours a day combing through job postings can be exhausting, so put technology to work for you! Setting job alerts on major job search websites like LinkedIn, Indeed, or Welcome to the Jungle will not only save you time and effort, but may make you aware of positions that you wouldn’t have found otherwise. Using key words and filters like location and contract type, you can devote more energy to perfecting your cover letters and less to scrolling through job postings à l’infini (endlessly). At least half of the positions that I applied to came from job alerts that I set at the beginning of my search, so I can personally attest to the practicality of this tip!
2. Pace Yourself
Maria and I only had one year to find jobs under the terms of our residence permits, so the pressure was on to find employment quickly. However, applying to as many jobs as possible is not only a surefire way to burn yourself out before you even get an interview, but also all but guarantees that you aren’t spending enough time adapting every CV and cover letter to each job listing. Maria and I confronted this reality in different ways – I applied to jobs in bursts with rests in between, while she chose a slow and steady approach. Both methods resulted in full-time jobs and only the normal amount of fatigue expected after a job hunt.
3. Track Your Progress
In the frenzy of searching, applying, and interviewing for jobs, you can easily get mixed up if you neglect to keep track of your hard work. Staying organized by recording the details of your applications, including the companies you applied to, the dates you hit submit, the locations of different positions, and other important details will prove to be vital as your job hunt progresses. I decided to use an Excel spreadsheet to organize my job search information, while Maria went with a Notion template. In doing so, we avoided silly mistakes like applying to the same position twice or forgetting to check on applications we submitted previously.
4. Prep For Calls
A phone conversation is often the first contact you’ll have with a potential employer, and it’s a pivotal moment where both parties determine if they’re interested in moving forward in the hiring process. Prepping for calls by rehearsing your answers to basic interview questions is step one. Next, you should consider whether you prefer to answer your phone every time it rings (meaning you’re prepared to improvise if you don’t remember every detail from the job posting in question) or to let your calls go to voicemail (and ring potential employers back once you’ve relooked over the particulars of the job). Deciding in advance removes the anxiety of staring at a ringing phone and ensures you’re on top of your game when you do speak with someone!
5. Be Persistent
Determination is a crucial trait for foreigners searching for a job in France. When working is the only way you can maintain your residency, the stakes can feel very high! Weeding through job listings that have “successful candidates must have full and indefinite working rights” in the fine print, educating prospective employers about how to legally hire foreigners in France, spending hours on application after application only to receive automated rejection emails (or be completely ignored), and cycling through getting your hopes up and dealing with disappointment is tough! At the end of the day, you only need to one organization to agree to bring you on, and you have to maintain your stamina until you find that one!
Following these tips led Maria and I straight to gainful employment as foreigners in France, and we hope they will be useful to you for your own French job search. Are you looking for a job in France? Have you ever successfully found work in France? Let us know in a comment!
Here’s how we found jobs in France as Americans!
Our answers to your questions about working in France!
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