nakbeb

Hello there,

Could anyone tell me if it is easy to find any vacant positions in HR or even administration in Languedoc (Beziers or elsewhere in Languedoc)...

Where to look for also, please...

Thanks

dmu

How is your French? I must warn you that native French speakers already have difficulties in finding jobs here - the Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the regions with the highest unemployment rates. But look on the ANPE website to see what's available in HR and administration (N.B. Administration with a capital A is the Civil Service which, to my knowledge, is only open to French nationals and involves a competitive exam.)

karunia

I concur with DMU about the high unemployment here in LR. A number of my younger, French friends, who are highly employable (you would have thought!) just cannot find work in spite of their qualifications, experience, personality, and determination. In fact, if I was them, I would probably go to the UK or Ireland to find work - it is really pretty bad.

nakbeb

Thank you for replying...

I am bilingual fluent in French and English.

I am really keen to move to the Languedoc because I lived in France (Versailles and Paris) for 6 years a long time ago and just would like to move back to France.

Soo many things to think about it is really confusing at the moment.

I have just registered at the ANPE.

Do any of you live in LR, how is it?

karunia

Nakbeb - Although I understand and sympathise with your wish to move back to France, your need to find the right employment (especially since you have a family to support, as you suggest in another post) should be uppermost in your mind. I hate to rain on your parade, and I hope you will be one of the exceptions to the general trend, but....the unemployed people I was referring to above are, for the most part, totally bilingual too....sometimes even trilingual, but many find that after age 40, very few openings are available to them. When I lived in Montpellier, I also registered with ANPE, signed up for weekly sessions with an advisor, who helped me to look for work too. I even had a special ANPE counsellor who saw me every week for 3 months (bilan de compétences) and helped me write the kind of CV and lettre de motivation would be the most likely to get me a job. (I am fully bilingual too, and probably overqualified for a number of posts...) Being over 40 (but a qualified teacher too), the only work I found was a few hours' teaching French in an international language school - and even that was "on the black".

After the UK where it seemed much easier to find legal paid employment, or to set up as a self-employed person, it was quite a shock to me, as I was utterly convinced that my total bilingualism would be such an asset back in France!

Still, your search for employment might be fruitful, best wishes for it.

Collioure_Bee

I started work as a chauffeur de livrasons in Perpignan (actually more up round Prades and Villefrance) about three weeks ago.
I signed on with the agencies, anpe etc but it was sheer determination and dogged searching that got me the work.
I just went round leaving CV's (French style ie one page of bullet points) at loads of places and it paid off. They seem impressed by the way some will get off their bums and use inititive. I speak very poor French so I hope that is some encouragement to you.

karunia

Collioure Bee, I had read earlier on the forum, that you had managed to find a job, and wanted to tell you "well done!".

Collioure_Bee

Thank you. The dream is sort of coming together now bit by bit, just got to avoid the sack lol.

Roon

Things have not get better in Herault since you first posted but as said in the above good old door to door selling yourself works... The locals do not get off their backsides much.
The ANPE may offer as well as the bilan de competances a bilan de accompaignement. This helped me find work in another field than my work in UK and leventually led to setting up my own business.

karunia

I just saw on the internauts website (French website), that towns like Lodeve and Pézenas have 18 to 20% unemployment. I think that says it all.

I see that it is slightly better in Béziers: 15,4%
Here is the link to that site, quite interesting, you can enter any town in France and find out all that date:
http://www.linternaute.com/ville/vil.../beziers.shtml

G-J-B

Ah, Villefrance (the one near Prade - that's a cool little place. Prade on the other hand was downright awful (apologies if anybody here lives in Prade!).

I also hear a lot of woeful tales about how hard it is to find work in France generally. Here in Paris there's a lot more on offer, though still with tough competition; my girlfriend speaks three languages fluently + a bit of Japanese, but language skills don't count for much and probably pay much more highly in the UK. Working for yourself isn't an easy option, and recessions can impact whatever you do and wherever you may find yourself, with only a few exceptions (e.g. funeral directors...)

karunia

Here is a map from l'Express, showing unemployment percentage per département in France. Hérault, for example, fares the worst (96th).
http://www.lexpress.fr/region/les-fr...ge_586671.html

Roger O

If you are in the IT business (programmer/sw engineer/system or functional analyst/LAN-intra-extranet expert, etc.) then your big chance in the south of France is in Sophia Antipolis (France's Silicone Valley) where there are major hightech world renowned comanies implanted - for example, Amadeus, where I was senior functional analyst till retirement. Good salaries with + + perks like bonus and profit share and reduced fare airline travel etc. Oh, and they pay your relocation too and help you find a place to live! 50 nationalities and everything is in English in the company, so no worries on that score!
Another bonus is Nice airport with real world connections!
.. Oh yes.. and Amadeus (currently ca.1800 people on site) has a large Human Resources department (for anyone with experience in that field!)