Finding the "Dream Job" in France
Anything you could ever want to know about living and working in France can be found on Going Global! If French culture is not your thing, don't worry, Going Global has 43 other country guides to choose from!
As an American without an EU passport, the "Work Permits and Visas" section is highly useful. In my case, I am in the process of searching for a summer internship in France. Prior to discovering this site, I had heard that France had an internship visa program, but I didn't know much about it, and I certainly wasn't looking forward to searching for the information on Campus France (the website any TAPIF participant, such as myself, will be all too familiar, yet completely dissatisfied, with).
Indeed there is a student internship visa, Going Global explains all the types of work permits available to students and foreigners in other categories, as well as the process and paperwork needed to apply:
Student Internship and Internship Visa:
There is also information regarding summer internships (even more useful!) and salaries for stagières. France has a new law mandating that student interns receive a minimum 500 euro monthly stipend (even better!). The main takeaway from this section of the Country Guide was the importance of starting the job search early. Interns need valid passports, updated bank statements (with enough money available in them for the length of the internship), medical insurance that is valid in France and all the EU countries, proof of enrollment in an academic institution, and an internship contract. There is no possibility to receive a student internship visa without a company who has already agreed to hire you, so the leg work required in advance is quite lengthy.
In addition, for students studying for less than 90 days, as would be my case over the summer, students have even more requirements (more requirements for a shorter stay!? French bureaucracy at its best):
- round trip travel documents (purchased before you apply for the visa)
- proof of accomodation (easy if you plan to stay in a hostel, but more complicated if you have a friend or relative you wish to reside with. This person needs to go to their town hall to sign a contract indicated that they have given their permission for you to stay with them).
- an application fee
Going Global also includes a section detailing over 64 sites where one can search for an internship, how exciting! Some of my favorites include:
For those of us, including myself, who are interested in the non-profit sector, but who are unsure of how that sector looks in France, there is an additional section on Going Global devoted entirely to this kind of inquiry. The page lists all the French job search sites and "key organizations" in France. In the US we have so many NGOs, it's almost hard to know where to start looking for a relevant organization; in France, I have always felt underwhelmed by the number of non-profit organizations out there. I appreciated this section of Going Global for pointing me in the right direction, letting me know the "major players" in the French non-profit world and indicating where I can search multiple databases for interesting positions at the same time.
In summary, the good news is, interning in France over the summer is possible, is paid and can lead to longer term non-student work permits!! The bad news, you must navigate a whole lot of tedious French paperwork in advance. The solution: start early, use Going Global's resources and tell your potential employers all of these requirements up front, so you can be professional and warn them of what's to come in advance, rather then springing extra work on them later!
Bon voyage en France!
http://online.goinglobal.com/guides.aspx?context=Global&gu=11&topic=0&sub=239 (must be signed in through Zocalo to gain access)
