Robert J

Good afternoon everyone!

I have been searching searching the internet for British and/or American companies that have offices based in Paris. Unfortunately I haven't had much joy up to now (please note: I have looked in the jobs section of the website but have not seen anything).

Does anyone know of any? Or even better does anyone work for any? I would just like to know some information about the application procedure and how I would go about it.

As mentioned in one of my other threads I am looking at moving to Paris in the near future with my girlfriend, who is French, and I think whole transition could be made a little bit easier (in terms of work at least) should I have a job to walk into.

Hope somebody can help!

Rob

TinaBee

try here

http://www.jobsinparis.fr/

Robert J

Thanks TinaBee!

That is actually one of the very few I found on the internet and I have already applied for a couple of roles.

I am still on the lookout peeps so any more help would be greatly appreciated

Rob

TinaBee

You could also try the global IT companies like CSC and IBM.

G-J-B

Hi Rob,
My wife worked for a British/American law firm next to the Arc de Triumph, but I'm afraid fluent French is also a requisite there. If I hear of any tips, I'll pass them on. Bonne chance!

Robert J

Thank you again TinaBee! I will definitely look into those.

G-J-B,

I have seen that most British/American firms expect potential employees to speak French as well as their native English but I was just hoping there could be some out there where it is not a requirement. I know that some offer French language classes which would be great so I will keep looking.

Any tips you can pass on will be much appreciated.

Merci beaucoup!

G-J-B

One of the other forum members, who sometimes posts here, arrived in Paris speaking little to no French (may well have changed now), and worked for a company where he could communicate in English, but he did transfer his job from the UK to a French office. Maybe it's worth your time looking at UK jobs, with French offices, and find out if it's possible to transfer to Paris? I appreciate that still makes job-searching difficult and restrictive, but might provide another avenue for achieving your goals.

Robert J

Thanks again G-J-B. Your help, as always, is very much appreciated.

I am hoping to move out in September or towards the end of the year in December/January 2012 so I hope to have something sorted by then.

If not then it doesn't really matter as my girlfriend have been very lucky in the sense that we have somewhere to live and she has a possible job lined up to help us along.

Herman

That's me. After three years I still speak relatively little French, although its good enough to chat to taxi drivers these days which is about the only time I really need to use the language. I work for a global insurance company which has its head office in Paris and there are many many foreigners working here who do not speak French (primarily Brits, Americans, Australians and Germans who speak English). You may be able to find a job for a French company in the UK which has an English speaking head office in Paris to which you can one day transfer. Competition is fierce though, so you need some angle or other. For me it was being a chartered accountant and specialist in certain products and every expat I meet here has some kind of very sought after specialism. I met another Brit here once who did the same thing for a large IT company, he too spoke hardly any English as the head office working language was English. His angle was a 1st class degree from Cambridge and a specialism in a particular IT system. I also met a guy who worked for the Treasury and was working at the Embassy here, again he spoke little or no French but was on a fasttrack career scheme and was handpicked for the position. So it can be done, but its a competitive world and you need a very good selling point.

Robert J

Thanks Herman,

Unfortunately I am not as skilled as yourself, or indeed any of the people you mentioned

But it doesn't put me off so I will just keep looking for other ways. I am still looking at companies in Britain which may have offices in Paris and I am just going to take it from there.

How do you find living in Paris without speaking the language?

G-J-B

I'm a bit like "Herman" in that I've been here three years in April, and am not fluent. I have enough to get by on, which is just as well when I've got to sort out things at the pharmacy, hospital, post office, shops, tax office etc. etc.
Most French know a few words of high school English, and there is a general misconception that a lot of them are good in English. When I first moved here I really spoke no French, but I'd always try my hardest and have never dared to speak English to a French person (asides from friends). On occasion, when I'm struggling, some French strike up in English, or sometimes they just like to practice their English, but then I've always responded back in French; I'd feel embarassed to do otherwise, even if I make plenty of errors.

I know some young British people who work in Paris in relatively low positions, but they studied language at University so are fluent in French. My wife said if my self-employment ever went down the pan, I'd have to get a job as a cleaner, and she's probably right; even with a decent degree, no-one here would employ me.

Herman

I found it easy on the whole, just a bit challenging when dealing with utilities, tax office etc but I get a lot of help with all that from my assistant at work. We live in a suburb where almost everyone speaks English so weekends are fine. My French is actually OK now, I can do most of what I need in French but it's been a slow process primarily due to my own lack of will which itself is due to lack of real necessity. If I knew we were staying for good then I would have put more effort in, but I only ever had a 3 year contract and after 3 years in Paris we are ready to move on. I'm in negotiations for a new position in Eastern Europe where the language really will be an issue that I have to face up to!