|
|
| Working Abroad Career Guide for France |
|
|
For more information and to check for updates, click here: http://www.goinglobal.com/
Country Profile
| Professional Resources | Job Search Resources |
Financial Considerations | Employment
Trends
As one of four Western European trillion-dollar economies, France's economy combines modern capitalistic methods with extensive, but declining, government intervention. The government retains considerable influence over key segments of each sector, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, and telecommunication firms, but it has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s. The government is slowly selling off holdings in France Telecom, in Air France, and in the insurance, banking, and defense industries. Meanwhile, large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and subsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer in Western Europe. Other major French industries include steel, machinery, chemicals, automobiles, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics, mining, textiles, food processing, and tourism. France joined ten other EU members to launch the new euro in 1999. France is the second largest trading nation in Western Europe, after Germany.
The Assemble des Chambers Fraincaises de Commerce et d'Industrie is the national representative of all the local and regional chambers of trade and industry in France and abroad. Most provinces in France have their own chambers of commerce. There are also American, British, Canadian, German, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Swiss and many other country-sponsored chambers of commerce based in Paris. Foreigners who want to work in France would do well to acquaint themselves with France's many telephone directories and trade publications; e-France.org is an excellent resource. They may find networking help through such organizations as the Lions Club, International or Maxim's Business Club.
Listing approximately job offers from over 700 companies,
APEC offers Other resources include government-sponsored agencies, such
as The Angence Nationale Pour l'Emploi (ANPE) which offers a wide array of services to job
seekers, including more than 100,000 job listings on its web-site. ANPE has a partnership
with the International Immigration Office, expanding its capabilities to include an active
role in the international job market. There are also many job fairs and career events,
staffing agencies, some of which specialize in bilingual staff, recruiting firms, and the
tried-and-true newspaper classified ads, any of which could provide the foreign job seeker
with his lucky break. Financial Considerations Food in France is relatively cheap when compared to the country's northern neighbors. Medical benefits are governed by the Ministry of Labor and Solidarity and the National Sickness Insurance Fund. The patient is not responsible for co-payments; the national service pays the entire fee. Beginning in 2000, the legal work week for companies with
more than 20 employees is 35 hours; smaller companies have until 2002 to adjust to the new
law. French vacation benefits tend to be very generous. Typically, workers earn around
four weeks of vacation each year. Employment Trends It is usually easiest to find work in France's metropolitan areas. The main cities are Paris, Marseille, and Lyon. Toulouse, Nice, Strasbourg, Nantes, and Bordeaux are also urban, and there is a large job base in Sophia-Antipolis, outside of Nice, that is known for its high-tech research companies. The French tend to value job security over mobility or the promise of more responsibility and a higher salary. This is partly due to the country's historically high unemployment rate. In hopes of bringing unemployment down, the government has implemented a 35-hour work week, but to date, the new policy has had little effect on the unemployment rate. Thirty-six percent of French companies across all sectors
expect their industries to grow, with the consumer products and automobile industries
reporting particularly promising outlooks. In 2001, 26 percent of all companies in France
plan to recruit new employees; Ile-de-France (Paris and its surroundings) will be doing
the most hiring. One recent study found that more than 580,000 new jobs were created in
2000 and that around 250,000 are expected to be created in 2001. Resume/CV's Your resume itself should be relatively short, with a maximum of two pages. If you are a new job seeker, it may be even shorter. Begin with personal information: name, address, phone, and e-mail. Personal data, such as birth date, marital status and children are optional. Begin the section on education with your most recent study, and then list all schools attended, ending with your high (secondary) school. Give the name and location of each, your areas of study, degrees and dates of attendance. Also, mention any additional courses, internships or specialized training. In the "Work Experience" section, list for each position the dates, the name, location, size and type of company, and your title(s) and responsibilities. If you have many years of work experience, the education section follows your employment history. At the end of the resume, you should list special
competencies (such as level of expertise in foreign language, and computer skills),
professional affiliations and volunteer experience, if relevant. State that references are
"available on request." Information Technology Most IT professionals in France have completed three years of university education, and an engineering degree or degree in information technology is typically required for most entry- and mid-level jobs. Many engineers go directly into the high-tech industries, and training for engineering and IT are essentially the same. Some periodicals that address IT-related issues in France are the Journal du Net and 01 Informatique. Another useful resource for those seeking work in this field is Optioncarriere, an online job guide that allows the user to search several job-listing sites and customize the search by industry or job function.
Since the French place a good deal of emphasis on hierarchy, you should be familiar with the titles of your interviewers before the meeting. It is an asset to have an acquaintance in common. It serves, to break the ice at the beginning of the meeting, and it can be extremely helpful in business interactions. When responding to questions, be yourself. It is bad form to brag about your great deeds, or be defensive about your failures. You may well be asked rather personal questions, such as your plans to have a child. (For mothers-to-be, an eighteen-week maternity leave costs the company a temporary replacement.) During the interview, you should ask questions too, about any special job requirements, such as the need to drive, or travel, or speak a foreign language. Men are expected to wear dark tailored suits; women also wear well-tailored suits, and a minimum of make-up and jewelry.
L'Usine Nouvelle is regarded as one of the leading trade publication for engineers. It covers engineering-related issues, general business news, surveys of leading companies, and listings of job openings in engineering. Moniteur du Commerce International (MOCI) is another resource that focuses on global industrial trends.
Work contracts in France can be for either a finite or an indefinite time period. Finite contracts cost the employer slightly more but allow him more flexibility. Under both types of contracts, there is usually a trial period lasting from one to three months. There is also the possibility of self-employment. This category is typically used by writers, translators, consultants, and other professionals who do not work exclusively for just one employer. Workers who fall into this category must pay monthly fees of around $30 U.S. To be self-employed in France, you must also receive permission and show the seriousness of your intent and your ability to generate revenue in the country.
Finance and accounting professionals usually have a degree from a top-level business school, engineering school, or university. They are also often required to be proficient in English. Professional associations and organizations for accounting and finance professionals in France include the Association Francaises des Banques (AFB), which is considered one of the major professional organizations in the industry. It is an authority on swap rates, banks and banking, the euro, and international trends, laws, procedures, and banking issues.
The French place a great importance on etiquette. When meeting someone for the first time, a brief handshake is customary; in business, the person of higher ranking should initiate this, and men should wait for women to be the first to extend their hands. In social circles, it is customary to kiss each cheek or touch cheeks and kiss the air. The French are known for their direct eye contact, and maintaining eye contact is expected during business. The French are known for their sense of style, and even their casual clothes are more formal than in many other countries. As a guide to how to dress, follow the lead of your superiors in business. Their cuisine is something else the French take great pride in, and with good reason. A French meal can take hours and hours, and dinners tend to be late. The person who initiates the invitation typically pays for the meal.
Consulting firms typically look for candidates who have completed a post-undergraduate education. Depending on whether the position is at the analyst or consultant level, consulting firms are typically looking for candidates to hold business degrees from top international schools or highly ranked business schools. Recently, however, companies are increasingly looking for workers who have degrees in other fields, such as engineering or law. The Office Professionel de Qualification des Conseils en Management (OPQCM) is a great place for the foreigner seeking a consulting job to begin networking. Useful business-related periodicals include L'Express, a weekly magazine covering French economic issues with a very good employment section. Many consulting firms expect their employees to speak both
French and English fluently; often, another European language may be required as well. This is only a small part what's available in the
75+ information packed pages of the Going Global Career Guide for France: About Going Global Career Guides: All you need to know to grab a global career in the country of your choice and work abroad. 75+ pages packed with detailed information from job sites to intensive interview advice, 500+ resources per guide researched and prepared by local experts. Each Country Career Guide is in PDF format that can be purchased, downloaded and printed for your personal use. An exceptional value for only $14.95 For more information and to order, click here: http://www.goinglobal.com/ Country Career Guides Table of Contents
|
|
Overseas Digest .com ©1997-2008 - MidAmerica-Gulf Publishing Company |
|