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Finding a Student Job in Paris

Students Jobs in Paris - Erasmus of Paris

In the first part, we will explain you what kind of jobs you can expect and then we will give you tips about where to look for a job or a student job if you speak French or if you don't speak French.  

General Jobs Conditions in France: Training Period – SMIC

 

Working Time Basis:

 

In France, jobs are strictly supervised by the Labor Law.

For instance, the general working time is 35 hours per week. This make a total of 151,67 hours per month.
Depending on your employment contract and according to the labor law you can work less or more than the regular weekly basis. The working law limits the maximum of working hours than you can make in a week at 48 hours in a week. 

If you work more than the 35 hours per week there is two options:

  • You are paid for the extra hours you made
  • You can receive extra days off regarding the amount of extra hours you have

 

Training Period:

 

By working in France, you will always have a training period indicated on your employment contract.
During this training period, you and your employer can stop the contract of employment without a specific reason.
At the end of the training period if you or your employer want to stop the employment contract you and he must respect the legal delay regarding to the weeks’ notice before quitting the job. 
If your employer wants to end the contract with you, he has to tell you the reasons of the stop.

SMIC:

By working in France, your employer must pay you a minimum salary determined by the working law.
This minimum salary is called SMIC and represent an amount of 9,88€ per working hours in 2018.

You cannot be paid under this minimum SMIC salary apart if you do an internship or if you follow a work-study training program.  

 

Part time jobs:

In France part time jobs are jobs where you work less than 35 hours per week.

In sales shop or restaurants, you can easily find part time jobs to work between 25 and 30 hours per week.

There is also part time jobs between 10 and 16hours to work only during the weekend.

You can also find part time jobs for fewer hours like 2-3 hours in a day.

 

Full time jobs:

In France, full time jobs are jobs where you work 35 hours per week.

 

The different jobs by working statues: (Internship, CDD, CDI, Interim, Working missions)

In France, you will be able to find several working statues for a job.  The Internship (stage), the Fixed Term Contract (CDD), The Permanent Contract (CDI), the Temporary Work (Interim) and the working mission contact which is a look alike of the Interim.

The Internship (stage):

If you are a student and a young worker that need to gain in experience you might want to look first to do an internship (stage in French) before to get a real paid job.

By doing an internship, the company will show you the real job task in a work environment.

By working with the internship statue you might or not be paid. Some company can support you financially by giving you some money or sometimes they might take in charge some of your expenses like lunch or transportation fares.

Check below to find the internship job boards.

 

The Fixed Term Contract (CDD):

The easiest way to start a job in France is to start by a Fixed Term Contract job: CDD in French = Contrat à Durée Déterminée.
A Fixed Term Contract is easier to get than a Permanent Contract.

By working with a Fixed Term Contract, you will know for how long you will have a job and when it will end.
You must be paid at least as the level of the minimum salary.

At the end of the Fixed Term Contract your employer can:

  • Offer you to extend your Fixed Term Contract
  • Propose you a Permanent Contract
  • End up the contract without any particular reason

 

When you are in a Fixed Term Contract, you and your employer, if you want to break the contract must respect the rules defined by the labor law.

 

Check below to find the job boards.

 

The Permanent Contract (CDI):

The Permanent Contract, CDI in French for Contrat à Durée Indéterminée is a contact where you do not have any particular ending date.

It means that as long as the company have work to provide you, you will be employed.

When a company break a permanent contract, it is usually because one of those condition:

  • They do not have any more work to give you because of an economic breakdown.
  • You made a serious mistake so they took the decision to fire you


You can decide to break a Permanent Contract by following the rules defined by the labor law because you found an other job or just because you want to quit your actual job to do something else.

 

Check below to find the job boards

 

The Temporary Work (Interim):

 

A good way to find a job in your business sector is to apply for working mission (Intérim in French).
This is particularly true if you look a job in the IT industry, in sales or in the construction industry.

By choosing a working mission company, agence d’intérim in French, you will be employed by an outsourcing company that might sent you in one or several companies along your job mission.  
Missions are based on a Fixed Term Contract that can be for one day to several months. Your job might end when the mission date is over. The Working Mission Agency will try to help in to find other working mission if they have good offer to propose you.

Applying to working missions is a good way to start a professional career because you might have opportunities to see several different companies from the inside. Therefore, you might be able to choose which one is the best for you to do a deeper career.
Sometimes it’s even the company itself that will offer you a job.

Because working missions is classified as insecure jobs, you will be paid 10% more than the minimum salary basics.

Go ahead check our list of Temporary Work Agency that we have to offer you:

 

Ps: good news for you, all of those agencies must have an office near the place you live. You can meet them directly in their office with your CV to organize your job research!

 

The Working Missions (Interim look alike):

The Working Missions is a Temporary Work/Interim look alike!
Look alike, because in Working Missions you will have one employer that will offer different contract to work for a wide range of missions that he will get from different clients.

The Working Missions are easy to find in the biggest French cities like Paris, Lille, Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Montpellier, Lyon, Marseille, and Strasbourg.
For the smallest cities, you can find some missions to do but they probably will not be on a regular basic.

Most of the job you will find as Working Missions will be street marketing jobs (giving flyers, newspapers, product sample) or commercial promotion for product samples in supermarkets or shopping malls.

The Working Missions will perfectly suit to you if you are a student or if you look for flexible part time jobs.
Working Missions are flexible and will fit perfectly to your schedule because, once the Working Mission Company hire you, they will send you several jobs propositions that you can accept if you are free or deny without any consequences if you are already busy. So you will have the possibility to manage your job schedule as it pleases you!

 

Check our list of Working Mission Agency that we have for you:

 

General Job Requirements: CV+LM + mail or Presentation

To find a job in France, it is better to have a French CV and Cover Letter.
Of course, that will depend of the company you will go: if you only have to speak English or your mother tongue in the work you can apply to the position with a CV and Cover Letter in English or in your mother tongue.
But if you have to speak French while working, better to apply with a French CV and Cover Letter.

In all the case, when you apply to a job you will need to have those 3 documents in your bag:

  • An updated CV
  • A Cover Letter
  • The E-Mail Canvas that present you while you send your CV and Cover Letter (if you apply by e-mail)

 

Tips to make an impressive CV – Resume:

Your resume must introduce who you are to your future employer, how to contact you, what you like, what you did and do now and what are your skills.

Your resume must mention:

  • An answer to the question "What is the job you looked for?"
  • What are your skills?
  • What are your previous jobs and experiences?
  • What are your qualifications and degree with the job you look for?
  • What is your personality, what are your hobbies, pass-time and passions?


Your resume must be visually attractive, simple and organized, practical and he must fit on a single page!

 

Tips to write an impressive Cover Letter:

You must write the Cover Letter to make the recruiting manager want to call you back for an interview. 

The Aim of Your Cover Letter is to get a job interview!

Your cover letter must mention:

  • Your Contact Details
  • The Person and Service you are writing to
  • The job position you apply for
  • The date of the day
  • The following details in this order in the letter:

1 – Catching lines // Applying to a job proposition // Speculative Application
Why do you apply for a job? Are you responding to an job ad?   

 

2 – Tell what you can bring to the company 

 

3 – Describe what you can do, what you like to do, what you could do. Explain why you would like to do this. 

 

4 – Answer why you apply in this particular company. What do you like to this company / what do you like in this job offer?

 

5 – Call To Action: when are you free for a job interview, how to contact you back!

 

6 – Greetings

 

Your Full Name

 

 

Tips to send an impressive E-mail when you apply for a job:

The main aim of that e-mail is to make your employer want to read your CV and your Cover Letter. This e-mail must introduce you and your skills shortly and clearly. 

This e-mail must answer the question "why are you the ideal person for the job?"

Tips: you can copy and paste the most attractive part of your Cover Letter to create your E-mail Canvas!

 

 

Looking for a job in France when you speak French:

If you do speak French, looking for a job in France will be easier that if you don’t speak a word of French.

Speaking French offers you more options because you will be able to apply to a wide range of jobs like the ones you can have in offices, the ones that include contact with customers, the ones in industries…

If you still need to improve your French skills, try to apply to not so qualify jobs. Try to apply to jobs where you have direct contact that the ones you have in sales or tourism industry.
It is that kind of jobs where you will use practical French on a daily basis that will help you to improve your French skills quickly!

Check the jobs board below to find a job in France!

 

Looking for a job in Paris and in its suburbs when you do not speak French:

 

If you do not speak French you might look for some babysitting.

In France, you will usually babysit the child after they quit school school at 16:30. 
Usually part time work, you might work every school days of the week from 16:30 until that parents get back from work.

Many families are trying to develop a second language at home so they will appreciate to work with English, Spanish, German, Italian or Chinese native speakers.

If you are from another country than the ones listed below, it might be harder to speak in your mother tongue but you can apply to do the babysitting in English!

Baby Sitter Agencies in France:

  • Be My Nounou - https://www.bemynounou.com

    Be My Nounou Baby SittingBe My Nounou changes the game by promoting an innovating, fun and entertaining approach to babysitting. It delights everyone: parents, kids and nannies!
    Your mission as a BABYSITTER FOR BE MY NOUNOU is to spend time with children between the ages of 3 to 12 years old, after school and have fun with games and activities in your own language.
    The goal is for the children to learn a new language with the 'nounou's while having fun!
    Apply online for babyssitting on Be My Nounou website: https://www.bemynounou.com/english-speaking-jobs-in-paris

You can also look to do an Au Pair stay to keep the child in a French family while you are in France and to the housework task. In exchange, the French family will host you.

You can also try to work for the cleaning industry.
Think to apply to cleaning companies that operate for the hotel industry of for the big companies.

 

 

Students Jobs Board:

 

General Jobs Board:

 

Don't forget to share this article with your friends that are looking for a job ;)

Cheers,

The Erasmus of Paris Dream Team

 

Ps: Erasmus of Paris do not endorse any responsibility for what you can read or interpret on this article. Always refer to the law article and ask the help of a layer if needed ;)

 

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