Job Discussion Forums

[Nicky_McG]

It seems to me that the OP might be a little bit old to get a position as a lecteur as they seem to go for people in their early-to-mid twenties. But, you're right, it's worth a shot. Whether it makes him contacts at private unis depends. The two systems seemed pretty separate to me but, then again, I wasn't looking for more work as I started at a private university first.

There are far more private universities than public universities. What you don't see on wikipedia is the number of private schools loosely affiliated with private universities and the number of private business schools that wouldn't be thought of as universities in the UK (though provide Master's degrees). This type of school doesn't really have an equivalent in the UK as everything would be in one university.

Take the Catholic University of Lille, for example. You have a few faculties, but then you have 5 or 6 other schools in the same street with their own staff and hiring practices. The connection between them and the university is weak but it just suits everyone to have it the way it is.

[kpjf]

Thanks for the information Nicky. It's very useful!

[madhatter109]

Hey everybody,

Sorry it took me so long to respond. It sounds like it might be tough to get a job more due to the job market at this time. Let me know if anyone hears of anything else, I appreciate all the responses!

[Femmeprof]

Hi, what is a speculative application? Also, the website poi is in French, I can't seem to access anything when I type in ESL in the search bar. Thanks kindly!

[grahamb]

A speculative application is rather like cold calling; you send your CV and covering letter without knowing if the organisation in question currently needs teachers.

Using English on a French language search engine is not recommended. Instead of "ESL", try "professeur d'anglais" or "formateur d'anglais."

[madhatter109]

How's it going everyone? Just an update - I've applied to about 10 lecteur positions in France in the past month. I'm impressed that the departments actually respond with a "thank you" message. We never get those when applying for jobs in the USA. All the schools say that they are going to be making decisions in May. How's the job market looking for next fall? Anyone have any news / luck / more advice?

[kpjf]

Good luck! Let us know if you get something.

[ISSAKAB]

I've been in France 2 years. If you've kept an eye on the news you'll know there's been street protests and strikes for several months over changes to the loi de travail or Labour law. Google it, I can't be bothered to explain it here but essentially it is very difficult to fire someone here if they turn out to be unsuitable which means that employers are very reluctant to recruit people.
My experience here is that you are more likely to get work through networking and building up relationships with people than cold calling or sending a CV. People want to be certain of someone before they take them on.
I got a few hours a week teaching in a public university in september, which went up to one day a week from January.
HOWEVER...and this is a cautionary tale. To work at this uni, I had to provide evidence that it wasn't my main job, and I worked a minimum amount of hours elsewhere and had a minimum revenue at other jobs. Not easy when you're working under the statute of autoentrepreneur or freelance. I got enough payslips and attestations from the various agencies and so on that I've worked for and put them together with all the other paperwork. My 'dossier' has been in the system now since April. I still haven't been paid, still haven't been given a contract so be warned. The whole thing has been a very demoralising experience. I'm surprised at the just how bad the unprofessionalism and sheer amateurishness of the uni is - no job description, nothing explained properly. They tend to react rather than plan, I get on average one e mail a week asking me for something that was meant to have been done last week.
I'm seriously thinking about leaving France. Unlike Spain, where I found the language schools I worked in had full classes, even places like the British Council here struggle to get enough students.
Be warned, France's labour market is in my experience largely a closed shop to other EU nationals, as a US citizen married to a French national I think the OP will struggle to work here legitimately.
I found the uni work through a personal contact which came from a private student. I have also found work here by sending my CV out. There's work teaching business English through training providers but getting enough hours on a sustainable basis is very tricky.

[madhatter109]

Hey Issakab

Thanks for the info! It's nice to see some life on this forum and I'm glad the strikers didn't shut off your internet yet lol. Yeah, I've been paying attention to the strike in the news. Sounds nuts. And just in time for the European cup We will be in France for 2 weeks in July to do our annual family visit. However, I kind of gave up on finding jobs there. I applied to about 25 lecteur positions and didn't even get a single interview. Oh well. C'est la vie. Thanks for the heads up on the working requirements though. That just sounds horrible. Where are you originally from? Any thoughts about just going home?

[Paris teacher]

I am an English teacher in Paris with an EU passport. You could look through les pages jaunes for listings for language schools. In addition, there is Craigslist.com, FUSAC, and the Language Network, Paris. For the last one, just go to Google and type those very words in. They will require a registration and an annual fee, but they have very good postings.

As for university work, there are a lot of private academies in Paris and the surrounding areas, particularly art and business schools. Personally, I would avoid public universities as they hire instructors on a vacataire basis. This means that you must have a teaching job elsewhere that comprises 300 hours per year; in addition to this, you are not paid until the end of the semester. I am sorry, but I find that last part an outrage. Every person should be paid at least monthly regardless of the work, so I advise not supporting this system by refusing to work within it.

Language schools, e.g., Berlitz, Wall Street, Business Language Skills, Telelangue, etc. are plentiful. The downside is that the highest salary I know of is 20 euros per hour gross, and this does not include travel time.

Look up private universities and academies in France. The Language Network, Paris often publicizes posts, and these schools do actually pay monthly.

Finally, get some business cards and post them in places where people will see them, e.g., laundromats, bookstores, libraries, universities, etc. In addition, put an ad in leboncoin.fr or vivastreet or craigslist.