Jobs in France for International students: Top Recruiters, Top Sectors, Top-Paying Universities, MBA salaries, Work permit

France has over 2 lacs vacancies in different areas (reported 2021 start). There is no dearth of jobs for those who do not speak the native language, however, having the knowledge of French does increase your options. With Surgeons, lawyers, Bank Managers being the jobs having 5 figure salaries, there is no dearth of non-professional vacancies like Marketing managers, Insurance agents, etc. Foreign nationals recruited as Marketing Managers earn €101,000 annually. The Customer services executive gets €66,400 annually. Managers take home around €59,000 and management area jobs give high four or five-figure earnings.

Explore MBA jobs in France!

One easiest route to get into the job market in France is to study in France and get a job. The students who study for master’s degrees in France get to work on a 24-month permit without leaving the country. However, bachelor's degree holders need to have a job in hand; On the basis of this job, they have to apply for a work permit to stay and work in France. To apply for a temporary residence visa after study, the postgraduate students need the following documents:

• Passport
• Two photographs
• Proof of residence
• Proof of job, if you have one in hand
• Proof of health insurance
• Proof of finances
• Proof of completion of studies from a French institution

Any document that is not in French must be translated into the language prior to the submission.

Jobs in France: Effect of Covid-19

The French government has announced its plans to bring in migrant worker’s quotas for jobs in some industries. This will help the non-EU workers, however, a lucrative job offer would require knowledge of the local language. As last recorded the unemployment rate of France is around 8.43%, which is less than countries like the US. This ensures that having pursued your education in France will bring in the returns you expect.

The country observed a lockdown which was accompanied by a large spectrum of measures. These helped in sustaining the economy, firms, independent workers, and households. The expected total cost of these measures is around €110 billion, this makes 4% of the GDP. This was accompanied by a €300 billion budget to guarantee bank cash lines to companies. These measures dampened the impact of lockdown on employment and income. 

The French government also ramped up its support by earmarking €7 billion of the €100 billion stimulus package to the digital economy. €3.7 billion of this amount is getting injected into reinforcing startup financing.

Jobs in France: Top Recruiters

With some of the top global firms like HSBC, Capgemini, Morgan Stanley, EY, Deloitte, IBM, PwC having their centers in France, the country ensures a global standard of work. Apart from the global leaders, there are plenty of homegrown brands that lead the job sector in France. Here are some of the top recruiters and their salary packages:

Jobs in France with Start-ups

Startup businesses play an important role in generating employment. They are emerging at a great speed in France and many of them are backed by the government. These businesses are great employers for international students and the workforce and at the same time attract entrepreneurs from other countries too.

The French government highly supports the start-ups and rising firms in the country which in turn increases the chances of employment in the same for international graduates. Jobs in France for Indians are easily secured with these start-ups.

Some of the top, recently established start-ups in France and their venture capital is given below:

The list of startups is unending and they are growing at a good speed in spite of pandemics. The venture capitalists are employing and are in search of the best talent and the international workforce has a great scope of getting jobs in France with them.

Jobs in France after Studying with Top Universities

Students enrolled for short-term courses and having visas to complete them are not allowed to stay and work in France post studies but those who study bachelor or master full-time degrees on a long-term visa receive permission to stay back. Normally only those who successfully complete a master’s degree receive a 24-month post-study work visa.

After finishing bachelor or master’s degree students are required to leave France and get a resident permit and work visa only if they have secured paid employment. Though for bachelors this continues, the French government has allowed the postgraduate degree students to stay for further 24 months and work by applying for the temporary resident permit while being in the country.

Some of the French universities are recognized highly for their graduate employability rankings. The chances of getting jobs in France after having your higher education completed from any of the following universities are higher. The employers welcome graduates of these French universities with open arms and lucrative offers.

Jobs in France after MBA

Finding jobs in France after an MBA degree is a cakewalk. With some of the best business schools in the country, employers seek out MBA graduates with high salary packages in the industry. Discussed below are MBA salaries with some of the top business schools in France

A management degree leads to some of the best paying jobs also. Some jobs available to MBA qualified students and their salaries are as follows:

Besides this MBAs are able to get specialized field jobs like Human Resources executives and managers, Finance professionals, Supply chain executives, and managers.

Work Environment in France

Over two lac job vacancies existed in France in the mid of the year 2020. The professions that required immediate manpower were STEM professionals, medical professionals, carpenters, electricians, construction workers to name a few.

The labor laws of the country have fixed 35 hours of work per week and beyond that, the work done in a week will attract overtime payments. There has to be one or two hours break for lunch and a minimum of 5 weeks’ yearly holidays are inbuilt to protect the rights of the employees in the system.

Every year the government in France also keeps revising the minimum wage rate and in 2020 it was ascertained at 10.15 euro, a notch up from the last year. Now, this is the highest rate in all the EU countries for per hour workers.

Top Sectors for Jobs in France

Different sectors and professions have different salaries in France. This variation can be seen due to the location as well. Paris is the highest paying city in the country. The average salary of the country is calculated at approximately €40,000 per person. Top paying jobs in France by median salaries are discussed below:

Jobs in France by Location

There are some cities where salaries are higher than others. It may not be considered that higher salaries indicate higher vacancies. Given below are the Annual Average salaries in Euros as an indicator for some of the top cities and the job areas existing in France.

The multiple industries offering various jobs in France are in the areas of accommodation and Food, Construction, Utilities, Science and Engineering, Manufacturing, Finance and Insurance, Transportation and warehousing amongst others.

The salaries depend on your skill set and the area of specialization. What matters also is the location where you are working. Paris, Lyon, Nice, Toulouse, and Grenoble count in the list of cities where living and working opportunities are better and easier to find.

Salaries across Popular Job Roles in France

Home to fashion, luxury solutions, and restaurant companies, there are various other sectors where lucrative salaries are offered. Discussed below are the same:

How to Find Jobs in France?

You can find jobs in France with online portals like ABG – scientific/medical jobs, L’Agriculture Recrute – agricultural and viticultural jobs, Emplois Verts – green jobs, IAPA (International Au Pair Organization), Indeed France, Keljob, Les Jeudis, L’Etudiant – students and young graduates, L’Hôtellerie Restauration – restaurants and hotel jobs, Monster, Recruit, Stratégies Emploi – marketing, communications, and PR jobs, Cadremploi – managerial jobs to name a few.

There are a number of newspapers and other resources also that can be used. Momiji, Trovit are some sites that list English-speaking jobs for international immigrants and students. British Council, CIEP, TEFL are some world-renowned companies that offer to teach jobs for English as a second language. Volunteering jobs also exist in some areas.

Steps to Getting Jobs in France

• First of all you should be able to demonstrate good language skills in French as well as in English. Some jobs may require you to furnish the test score form to substantiate your claims.
• Your qualifications must be recognized by the French authorities. Centre ENIC-NARIC France is the agency that recognizes outside qualifications.
• You need to prepare an effective cover letter and Curriculum Vitae supporting it with all the relevant documentation to apply for any job.
• You must obtain the required health insurance or social security documents according to your eligibility and keep them ready in case required at the interview time.
• Once you get the job, find out if you need to register your employer with your insurance documents or not.

EU Blue Card

EU Blue Card is for highly qualified professionals living and working in France. You should have at least a minimum of 12 months’ employment contract and 1.5 times the average salary compared to that particular year’s salary fixed by the authorities.

You also need to have a university degree showing a minimum of three years’ study completed in France or you have desired qualifications with a five years minimum work experience.

Benefits:

• Allows you to stay in France for 5 continuous years.
• This card becomes a pathway for obtaining PR in the country.

Getting help for finding jobs with alumni associations, Bureau d’Aide à l’Insertion Professionnelle (BAIP - Professional Insertion Assistance Offices), company relations services, recruitment forums, etc is easy after studying in France.

French university graduates can also contact APEC who can help them look for work. You can also contact agencies like Pôle Emploi who assist all job-seekers, regardless of their level of studies.

Building a professional network also helps in finding jobs in France. Find out about the companies that are actively recruiting in the field of your interest. Social networks like LinkedIn, etc will also help you develop and maintain contacts and a professional network. All these efforts can ease the process of finding jobs in France after studying in the country.