[DogDoctor]

Bonjour!s I am a small animal veterinarian with eleven years of experience licensed in California, United States. Before attending veterinary medical school, I owned and managed a motel in Tahoe City, California, for over seven years. I have also worked as a legal secretary for over three years.

I want to move to the Nice or Marseille area as soon as possible. My level of French is beginner. I am learning French with Fluenz French. I study French two or three hours a day almost every day. I know that my French will improve greatly once I move to France and I am around native French speakers all the time.

I have been contacting many people in Nice and Marseille via LinkedIn trying to find a job. I am not a licensed veterinarian in France and the process to become licensed takes a long time. So I am looking for any kind of job. I have applied for two positions at Virbac which is a veterinary pharmaceuticals company in Nice. I have applied for a couple of caretaker positions at estates.

Does anyone have any leads on jobs in the Nice or Marseille areas that they feel I would qualify for? Please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you very much!

 

[Bevdeforges]

To find the sort of job that can get you the necessary visa to move to France, you really need to have a qualification of some sort with experience or training that isn't readily available in the French job market (and actually, in the EU job market, since EU nationals don't need visas to live and work in France).

The process for an employer justifying the hiring of a non-EU foreigner is somewhat expensive and generally a hassle, so you're best bet is going to be to develop a resumé that demonstrates some difference you have that makes it worth going through all that hassle to hire you.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[DogDoctor]

Cost to employer?

What is the cost to an employer to hire a non-EU foreigner?

 

[Bevdeforges]

The actual expense is in terms of time, effort and potentially legal fees to have someone handle it for them. This is the official word for employers, if you're interested: L'embauche d'un étranger. (Run it through Google Translate to get an idea.)

The main thing is that the employer first must post the job with Pôle d'emploi (i.e. the French employment service) to determine whether or not there is a suitable candidate available who already has authorization to work in France. If Pôle d'emploi agrees that there isn't a suitable candidate, then the employer has to apply to the direction régionale des entreprises, de la concurrence, de la consommation, du travail et de l’emploi (Direccte), providing details about the foreign candidate's qualifications. This is reviewed by Direccte to determine whether or not the foreigner does meet the job requirements as outlined by the employer and if the job falls within the guidelines for "difficult to recruit." If Direccte gives their consent, this is sent to your local consulate, who will contact you to come in and apply for a visa.

Basically, it takes a few months before the visa sponsorship can be approved and the job has to remain open throughout that time period.

One other tip - you should try to make yourself available for interviews. Very few employers are going to hire anyone without meeting them, and most employers are not keen to fly a job candidate over from the US. If you mention in your applications that you are "planning a holiday trip" to the area "in the near future" you may get a better response, as the employer can invite you around for an interview without having to spring for airfare and hotel. At the interview, it's up to you to convince them you're better than what's available on the local job market.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[DogDoctor]

Bonjour Bev,

Thank you so much for your helpful information.

Please see my resume posted in English and in French on LinkedIn under my
profile: Rachele Baker, DVM

Do you know of anyone that has a job opening in the Nice area that might be interested in me? If so, please pass along my resume to them. And if you could put in a good word for me, I would really appreciate it!

Bien cordialement,

-Rachele