France is not the country to live and work in if you want to spontaneously show up and immediately earn cash. You need a game plan. The first component is; where in France do you want to be based? While some may see France as a small country, even still it is very diverse and the lifestyle differs from region to region.
If you want an ESL job, it means you must choose a city where there is a demand for English. Unfortunately, the small romantic village in the middle of the country, where most of us would love to live, has a population with an average age of 60. That means a low demand for work, let alone English teaching. You want to be based in or live near a large to medium size city. Solely on the basis of finding work, Paris is ideal as it offers by far the most options for jobs. However, the high cost of living may outweigh the benefits of finding a job rapidly. What’s more, many people don’t want to live in such a large city as France is a drop-dead gorgeous country. Outside of Paris, here is the criteria for choosing a workable city (not a village) in France or anywhere in Europe.
1. It has a university. University towns equate with young adults who might need English for their studies, for a semester abroad, for finding a job abroad or just because they enjoy speaking with foreigners. Young adults equate with a desire to learn new things as well as an openness for ideas coming from outside their home country.
2. It has an economic center that depends on an international community. Cities with office parks for technology or transportation, for example, are good because it insures a base of young professionals who need English for their job. Any industry that needs to do business internationally will have a need for English. Now more than ever before, this is almost any industry. For better or worse globalization has fueled the voracious demand for English.
3. It is a dynamic city. Cities that are/and promote a cosmopolitan attitude are best because ultimately our potential clients are people who are interested in foreigners or foreign things. Cities or towns where there are already a lot of foreigners and where there is constant change for improvement are ideal. This is indeed linked with items #1 and #2 above as all three concepts worked together in creating the ideal backdrop for a city with a real future for English, hence more jobs.
Once you’ve chosen the city or region where you’re interested, arm yourself with the appropriate qualifications. As a general rule, ESL employers look for a university degree of any discipline and a TEFL/TESOL certificate. Yes while there are exceptions, lacking one or both of these items makes your task more difficult. For those of you who already have qualifications for teaching in main stream education in your home country, French employers typically disregard them unless said qualifications were obtained in France. It’s not fair but the only solution around this is to get a TEFL/TESOL certificate.
With credentials obtained, you would next incorporate them in a C.V.(or resume) ideally written in French. Therefore it’s suggested that you have a C.V. and cover letter professionally translated if you are not fluent in French. In most other countries in the world where English is in demand, this is not necessary... a C.V. in English would be suitable. And, as the European Union is working to streamline many procedures it is now possible to input all of your past experiences in a “European formatted” C.V./Resume. So as things gradually change, a French C.V. may be slowly weeded out but, not yet at 100%. Despite this, know that any interviews for an English speaking post would be conducted in English. To emphasize, you do not need to speak French to obtain a job as an English teacher because only English should be spoken in class. It’s occasionally the preliminaries of getting in the door that may require the local language and for that again just a simple translator will do.
Lastly, get the English language school addresses for your target town or city and send them out. Now it’s super easy to look up the French Yellow Pages online at www.pagesjaunes.fr to find English language schools in your desired city. Once you see how many schools operate in your target location; this as well will give you an idea as to the demand for English in that particular city. If you only see 5 English language schools, that may be a hint that you should cast your net out a bit farther for finding work. Lastly, hiring times are early September, January, late March/early April. Forget looking for a job in the summer, as that is vacation time in France and everyone takes off. Ahhh, now that’s why we all want to live in France!