Finding Work In France

If your life in France is dependant upon finding employment, the wisest approach is to land the job before making the move. France’s high unemployment inevitably means keen competition for jobs, so patience is a virtue and good language skills are desirable. Although you must be prepared to go to France if offered an entretien d’embauche (job interview), viewing vacancies and submitting applications can all be done online, either via the government jobsearch site or through private agencies. You can also send speculative applications to potential employers.

The Pole Emploi
Equivalent to the UK’s Job Centres, every large-ish town has one, and their advisors can be extremely helpful. Jobseekers should register at the Pole Emploi because for some vacancies, only registered jobseekers will be considered. Registered jobseekers needing to improve their French may be offered free tuition. And if you want to start a business, being a registered jobseeker will make you eligible for free business advice and support.

Private Employment Agencies
Again, you’ll find branches in biggish towns, or you can sign up online. You’ll probably come across a few familiar names: Manpower, for instance, has a strong presence in France. French employment agencies operate along the same lines as their UK counterparts.

Employment contracts
A formal employment contract is a legal requirement for every job. There are different types of contract:
CDI (contrat à durée indéterminée) – permanent contract.
CDD (contrat à durée déterminée) – fixed-term contract. This may for instance be for seasonal work, or for maternity cover, or the initial term may constitute a probationary period after which the employee would hope to be offered a CDI. Employers are not allowed to fill the same post indefinitely on CDDs as a means of avoiding the obligations inherent in a CDI.
CTT (contrat de travail temporaire) – a contract with a temp agency for a temporary job (also called contrat d'intérim).

Job applications
A job application should include your CV (in French) and a lettre de motivation (letter of motivation) in which you explain why you are the right candidate for this job. Great importance is attached to the lettre de motivation; a Google search will bring up lots of examples which you can use as a model.

Qualifications
French employers may look baffled when presented with UK certificates. Consider asking the awarding body for a course transcript, which you can have translated and append to your certificate. For trades where there are significant differences between French and English working practices, such as plumbing and electrical work, retraining in France may be necessary.

Don’t underestimate the power of jobseeking through informal channels. Many a vacancy never reaches the official job listings, but is filled via a postcard in a shop window, word of mouth, or a speculative CV that the employer has kept on file.