Many people are looking for jobs in France. Job seekers often come to France because their spouse is being transferred or they just want to try out life in France for a while. Whatever the reason, I’m hoping to make this difficult process a little easier with this short two-part guide I’ve written.

If you’ve made it to this blog post, you’re probably looking for more information on getting a job in France. Although the task can be daunting… I mean, where do you start? There are many places that can help you find a job in France, but as in the US, you’ll want to be careful if it’s a service you have to pay for. There are many free sites that allow job seekers to find a job as outlined below.

Craigslist is not only a great site for those looking for a job (or pretty much anything) in the US, but can also be used to find pretty much anything in France. This can be a good place to start if you have no idea what you’re looking for. It’s great to kind of get ideas of what kind of jobs are available in France.

Jobs.com also has listings for France and is great for those with more of a professional or management background. Some companies offer salary information and job descriptions on jobs.com making it easier to tell between each job.

I strongly recommend those who are looking for jobs in France, to take a look at the ANPE website. This is likely the best place to find a job in France online. The website is in French, but you really should speak French anyway if you’re going to be working in France.

There are many Americans looking for jobs in France and whether it’s an American company in France or a French company, finding a job can be a daunting task. It’s not impossible, however, it’s just difficult when you don’t even know where to start. A large portion of available jobs aren’t even posted online so this can quickly make something that is already difficult and turn it into something that’s well… even more difficult.

If you are an American who already has a job in France, you will need a Carte de Sejour (a visa.) This will give you right to work in France. You cannot obtain a visa until your employer can verify with the French government that you’ll be working for them. There are many other things that are also required to get a French visa, so I recommend contacting a French embassy for more information. There is also some great information about About.com, but I really recommend talking with the embassy.

Upon getting a job in France, you will need to sign a work contract which is either for a fixed period of time or a permanent contract. This is to protect both you and your employer at your job in France.

In France, the work week is from 35 to 39 hours, depending on your employer’s status. If you employer has less than 20 employees the work week will generally be 39 hours. If the employer has more than 20 employees, the legal work week is 35 hours.

All employees in France that work a full year will receive five weeks paid vacation and nine paid holidays per year. An employer can allot you extra days off, if they choose, but they cannot offer you less. This is by French law, made to protect workers.

France has very strong labor unions and anyone is free to join a union in France regardless of where the worker is employed. In France it is up to the employee to join a union, not the employer!