Is it really that hard to get a job in France?

Question

Especially if you're non an EU member?

I speak french though. Is it the same case in all European countries?

Answer 1

It is difficult to get a job in France due to stringent employment regulation as well as older employed people not retiring at the normal times so they can squeeze more money out for their already amble pensions.  This is particularly true in the public sector.  Unemployment however is falling and is around 8% now and still dropping.

The EU is made up of 27 different economies so the job market in each one would vary dramatically.  Ireland and the UK have good job markets, so does the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium.

Answer 2

It is especially bad in France because once a company decides to hire you, it is VERY difficult for the company to fire you.  So, most companies are reserved about offering employment to people.  This is how the French live.  *shrug*

Answer 3

Yet another problem here in France is that they're super picky about qualifications. They have very specific diplomas for specific jobs. Just to highlight the contrast, I was hired in the U.S. as a Flight Attendant because I had relevent work experience, spoke a foreign language and did well on the interview. My French coworkers were required to have this specific travel & tourism diploma and many had never really worked in anything serving people before...but they had that diploma!

Anther good example are teachers. One of the reasons that French don't learn foreign languages well is that all teachers in private and semi-private schools are required to have the French certification and there's no hedging around that. The certification emphasizes French more than the foreign language so it's next to impossible to pass without a very high level of French, so few foreign-born teachers bother so French students are overwhelmingly taught by French teachers who may or may not even speak the foreign language well. My own sister-in-law used to be an English teacher and she has trouble having a conversation in it. Just taking the courses is a big undertaking so someone with a family would have great difficulties.  

Changing careers is next to impossible because of this and has given many of my French friends a lot of grief, stuck in jobs they no longer find satifying but are obligated to stick it out. They're only other option is to effectively redo their entire education.  Even relevent work experience wont cut it.

Some people manage to get illegal work teaching in private English schools but the pay is notoriously bad. There is also seasonal work grape picking.

Speaking French and English, by contrast, is a big plus in other EU countries. Many friends have found work in hotels, English schools and in other fields simply because they find having a native speaker useful. Often they will overlook ability in the local language and/or qualifications as well.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Unemployment in France has been over 9.4% for years now and there is no improvement in sight. That is more than twice the rate in the United States. The French economy has produced almost no new jobs in the private sector for over a decade and about 40% of all Frenchmen work for the government.

So the answer is yes, it is REALLY hard to get a job in France, especially if you are not French, harder still if you are merely an EU citizen and neigh on to impossible if you are not an EU citizen.

If you want to live in Europe than you might consider the UK or especially Ireland, both of which have relatively healthy economies.

Answer 5

I don't think it'll be too easy.  Just to let you know, when I graduated college I got a temporary work visa for France.  I sent out resumes to several places for basic jobs, i.e. working in a department store, and no one would give me a job even though I speak French fluently.  On the other hand, I also got a work permit for England and there I had no trouble.  So I do think it differs for different countries.  France in particular is difficult because of the immigration issues and unemployment they have, and also because of their shortened work week and huge amount of vacation time.  Good luck!!