Finding a Job in France

A brief guide to areas and opportunities of particular interest to Anglophones follows. Seasonal jobs in the tourist trade, grape picking etc are not included in this survey. The information assumes technical qualifications and/or commercial experience or adaptability plus a good command of French. Major companies with some export turnover all have tri-lingual secretarial posts. There is a regular, but often part-time, demand from language schools for English language teachers of British or American nationality. Teaching English is not a good option for full-time employment. On the other hand it is a good way to earn extra income for retired people already drawing their pension. A recognised TEFL certificate is the minimum qualification usually required.

• Paris. Many multinational and national companies have their headquarters there and proportionately there are many more managerial opportunities than elsewhere in France. Approximately six million people work in the Paris and Greater Paris and Ile de France areas, out of a total national workforce of some 26 million. The growth of the high-speed TGV train network means that living in lovely rural spots some distance from major towns and cities which offer employment is now possible.
• Britanny. Technological research, although the national research budget is inadequate.
• Le Havre. Shipping, forwarding and transport companies in one of the largest ports in Europe.
• Normandy and Britanny. Estate agency employment, for which no special qualifications are necessary. However, to set up an estate agency business in France a professional diploma plus two years' salaried experience in an agence immobilière is necessary. Otherwise, ten years' salaried experience, or four years with the official executive cadre status, in an agence immobilière is necessary to create an estate agency business selling or managing properties. To sell and manage properties these salaried periods of experience are required for each activity. Dordogne and inland Provence, particularly the Vaucluse and upper area of the Var départements , as well as the Côte d'Azur - although competition is fierce there - are other areas where English-speaking property sales staff are sought after.
• Greater Toulouse area (AéroConstellation), with the largest aeronautical industrial estate in Europe. Visit www.aeroconstellation.fr. The A380 Anglo- French-German-Spanish airbus is assembled here.
• Although parts of the South of France have an unemployment rate well above the national average and salary rates considerably below the national average - the sun comes at a price - Montpellier and Aix-en-Provence have expanding high-tech industries, and Sophia Antipolis (near Nice) is France's Silicon Valley and the European headquarters of many companies. Marseille's revived port offers, like Le Havre, opportunities in shipping and related businesses.
• Grenoble, the capital of the French Alps, is an important industrial and research centre, and is within easy commuting distance of Lyon, the second (Marseille also claims to be second) biggest city in France.
• Geneva's international head offices are easily reached from the Haute Savoie département where property is cheaper than in Switzerland.
• The European Parliament in Strasbourg has a specific need for highly qualified translators and interpreters.

Useful Information

• L'Express, Le Point and Courrier Cadres weekly magazines carry advertisements for managerial appointments.
• The national employment organisation (Agence nationale pour l'emploi: ANPE ) website www.anpe.fr has hundreds of thousands of jobs for unskilled and semiskilled production workers and non-managerial blue collar staff.
• www.apec.fr is the website for the managerial (cadres) division of the ANPE with employment opportunities throughout France. There is an APEC office in most large towns. Proof of contributions made to an approved pension fund for cadres is required for individual APEC counselling or guidance.

You can record your requirements online for automatic email receipt of job details on all these sites.

Statistics claim that only around 25 per cent of employment opportunities are advertised and that many of the best jobs are obtained through knowledge of the changing job market and which companies and people to contact. Prospecting and personal net-work building are hard work, but effective.