Female moving to France with dog?

Question

Hello I posted a question a bit ago, about moving to France.

Yes I realize that their is a high un-employment rate in France, but my dream has always been to love in France. I know French Fluently and Spanish and English, can someone please tell me if it's easy to meet people in french, and how can I go about finding employment before I leave, and how likely would they hire a Canadian looking to move over there?

Thanks

Answer 1

It's not that easy to find a job here, the first preference is French, then EU citizens, then everyone else, and in general, the compensation package is best to worst in that order, too. This doesn't mean you're strictly unhireable and of course your language skills is a big plus.

But the big question is what kind of job do you want, or rather, what are you willing to accept? Do you want a "real job" or just something to pay the bills? Do you have special qualifications (other than language)?

Most of the professional working ex-pats (mostly from the U.S.) I know in Paris were transferred here by their employers. I'm guessing this isn't possible with your current employer, but is it a possibility within your profession? Can you scope out other employers with Paris offices or which send their employees to France for business dealings? Even if relocation via an employer is not possible, the opportunity to visit France for work reasons is the opportunity to network.

Since you speak French, you can try browsing the French job listings, like monster.fr. You can post your CV as well (on Canadian, American and French sites) and see if any French companies contact you (may happen if you have special skills).

FUSAC (fusac.fr) is an English-language publication in France where you'll find many classified ads looking for fluent bilingual speakers. However, I've noticed that many require in advance working papers.

If these efforts don't work out, you can look for jobs in, such as, the restaurant industry (eg waiter, at the counter), or using your language skills (translating, proofreading). Do google searches, or go through your network, maybe a friend of a friend lives in France and can help you out. The downside is that often these jobs are under the radar (illegal) but the upside is you'll have the means to keep you in the country while you look for something better. (This may not sound that great to you, but this is what my expat friends with little experience have done in Paris.)

As to meeting people here, French people tend to be more reserved then, say, Americans, about making new friends; however, I've heard that their friendships are genuine. Since you speak French fluently, you won't have the language barrier that most foreigners have. There are expat and other social clubs by which you can meet French who are members if you're having a tough time meeting them when you get here.

Good luck with everything!