Visa Adventures: Finding An Employer

Hi guys! I’m writing this series of blog posts to share my adventures on how I got my French visa. It was a long process, almost lasting a year, and it involved multiple steps, so I’m breaking it into parts.

To start off, this is an outline of the steps I took:

1. Finding an employer
2. DIRECCTE: Employer’s application for a work permit
3. OFII, DIRECCTE, and the French embassy in the Philippines
4. Long Stay Visa Application
5. Filing at the POEA
6. Reporting to the OFII
7. Attending the integration seminars

In this part, I will talk about my experience in finding an employer. In France, non-EU citizens are not allowed to work without a work permit. Before even applying for a visa, you must already have found a French company who will be willing to apply for the work permit for you. Once the work permit is approved, that’s when you could personally apply for the long stay visa.

Search

I’m working in the domain of software development, so it was normal that I started my search with software companies and startups. I remember it was back in December 2014. Days and nights, I would scour job listings and profiles of companies. To share, I wanted to work for a company that: innovates, has an open culture, works with Big Data, and has a non-imposing and independent work environment.

I also took note of the type of contract of the job listing. In France, there are 2 main types of contracts: a CDD (contrat à durée déterminée, or temporary contract), and a CDI (contrat à durée indéterminée, or a permanent contract). I opted only for CDI as I would like to work here for an indefinite amount of time. There is more to the contract than just the length, but also the rights and privileges the worker has. I’ll write more about it in another post.

In our current era, software is one of the in-demand fields. English is also the main language of programming (the top popular programming languages are in English), and a huge amount of resources about software are written in English, so it is common to see English as a requirement in software job postings in France.

I guess I was lucky enough to be a developer and a native English speaker, otherwise the bar to getting a French working visa would have been even higher. The EU would first look into its pool of workers before seeking outside the EU, and it is necessary that your background matches the positions you are applying for.

Preparation

Applying for a foreign company is a different game, so I had to spend a few weeks tailoring my application. If you’re applying from outside the EU, you need to do everything to stand out!

I had to prepare my application in French. I had the help of a few friends to get the grammar and terminology correctly. I suggest that you get a French person, or someone who is accustomed to the French business culture, to review it for you.

Tips:

1. French is the official language, and the French use it everywhere. Unlike in the Philippines where English is considered the language for business, English is not used for business in France (unless of course, you are communicating with an English-speaking client).
2. Speaking French is a must-have skill. Even if your job will not require it, since you’ll be living here, you might as well learn it.
3. In the Philippines we call it the résumé. In France, they call it the CV (curriculum vitae).
4. It is necessary to submit a cover letter (lettre de motivation, as the French would call it), along with your CV. I had to do several drafts and ask for my friends to review my letter because I wanted it to be top-notch.

At around late March, I had my application all ready and I was set to submit it.

Initiated contact and submitted my application I sent out my CV and cover letter by email, and waited until I received a response. It took about a week before someone responded favorably, and after a few emails exchanged, they agreed to start the hiring procedure.

At first, a few questions were asked, such as if I already had the right to work in France. I was nervous at the thought that they might not agree, knowing that the procedure for hiring a non-EU citizen is rather cumbersome. But it was such great news to hear when they agreed nonetheless!

Receiving a favorable response was one thing, but it was only the beginning.

Tip: I cannot stress this enough, but patience is a valuable asset! Factor in time differences, workload, and decision-making on the employer’s part. Always be polite when following up. One thing I noticed is that the French use e-mail a lot, even outside of work. They also conduct business on the phone regularly.

Go through all hiring steps In the beginning, I had no idea of what sort of tests I would go through, but like most hiring procedures for software developer jobs, they were mainly:

A coding exam Interview with the CTO and Frontend Lead Interview with the CEO The steps were stretched out into 3 months, so just imagine the suspense I had when they were evaluating between steps!

Coding Exam

coding-screenThe coding exam was given right after they had formally agreed to start the hiring procedure. Since I was applying for a Frontend Developer position, I was tasked to write a javascript application. I was given the specifications of the application, such as objective, main features, and bonus features, and I was given a deadline to submit it.

A challenging part about it was that I had to learn the javascript framework from scratch (I’ve never used it before), and register 2 different APIs that my application will be using (of which 1, I had to choose among many and decide which is the easiest to work with, all under time pressure). It wasn’t a simple algorithm problem, but it also involved the UI layer and UX was also judged.

I also liked that they tasked me to submit a write-up on my experience writing it. I shared my approach on solving it, what challenges I’ve faced, and what improvements can still be made.

Finally, I assembled the last remaining bits, and submitted it.

Interview with the CTO and Frontend Lead After evaluation of my code, I was ecstatic when I found out my application satisfied their expectations. J’ai réussi ! (Success!, or literally, I have achieved).

I was scheduled for an interview with the CTO and Frontend lead to discuss more about the job’s responsibilities, and share my professional experience.

It went really well. I was happy that they were accommodating and allowed the call to be done in English. After communicating solely on emails for the past months, it was refreshing to finally see everyone in livestream.

Tips:

1. Nothing special. It was the same experience as interviewing, except done on video call, so read up on normal interview tips.
2. Take note of the time difference. Philippine Time is ahead by 6-7 hours (6 hours during spring-summer, and 7 hours during fall-winter), so our call was scheduled late at 8:30 pm. I was already at home by then, but I still made sure to dress up!
3. Get ready for all questions they could ask possibly ask. Make sure you know what you’ve written on your CV and cover letter, and you remember all the requirements they have written on the job posting.
4. And of course, ensure that you are in a quiet environment with a reliable internet connection.

Interview with the CEO

The decision will be sealed by none other than the CEO, so I prepped myself for the last round of interviews!

It was quick and straightforward. I shared my experiences, and what I can bring to the table. I also recounted all that I know about the company and its philosophies. We concluded the call by discussing our next steps.

Needless to say, the CEO officialized the hiring, and sealed the deal!

Tips:

1. French work regulations are a whole different thing, and I advise that you do your research to know your rights.
2. Read up on your field’s convention collective. It is a document created by a group of companies to standardize rights, remunerations, scope of work, etc. Each field/industry has its own convention collective. During the hiring process, you have the right to know under which convention collective your role belongs to.
3. Do research on your position’s market rate in France, as you will use this when negotiating your salary.
4. Also, familiarize yourself with the daily cost of living in the region you are planning to move to. Each region has different prices. For an idea on how rent, utility, transportation costs are, you can check this handy website: https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/paris.
5. And of course, familiarize yourself with French business culture.

This series of interviews ended up greatly. It really ignited my enthusiasm to come to France and work with them. I couldn’t get the drinks out yet, as there was still a loooong way to go!

Even though at this point they have agreed to hire me, it was not 100% sure that I will receive the work permit.

Knowing the French administration, they have a thing for long procedures involving a chain of institutions, so this is the first of the many steps outlined above. Just as I have gone through a series of evaluations, the company will be going through the same steps. Paperwork, here we come!

Next up: Employer’s application for a work permit. Stay tuned!

Photos courtesy of www.pexels.com. I will update the images with my own in the near future.