The first step to getting a job is knowing what jobs are out there and if you’re qualified. I didn’t know what jobs I’d find when I got my Masters in TESOL. All I knew was I wanted to learn more and develop my skills. I also didn’t know anything about lecteur or maitre de langue jobs at the time. So I actually found it through the job listserv of Columbia University’s Teacher’s College. It was a PDF entirely in French , without much description of the job itself. When I saw that it paid only 1500 euros a month, I thought the salary was too low (I’d later learn that since rent is much lower in France, this is actually a decent salary). But when a friend forwarded me the same job, thinking I’d be a good fit since I knew French, I took it as a sign. This would be the beginning of the beginning, of how I moved to France to teach English.
The Application Process
I applied to the position with a resume, copy of my masters diploma, and a cover letter end of March. The cover letter was one page in length, quite long, but in English.
The email sent to the listserv only said the job was at a university, was full time, and listed the 3 documents needed to apply.
The job description itself, however, was a two page PDF entirely in French. It was very confusing for me at the time, since I wasn’t familiar with Maitre de Langue positions or what 192 “TD” hours meant.
The Interview Process
Four days after I applied, I got an email at 3:30am asking for a phone interview later that same day. I saw the email at 630am and replied, but also mentioned I’ be free at 10am during my 15-minute break. I didn’t think she’d go for this time since it was too short and last minute. However, after teaching the first half of my morning class, as I was dismissing my students I saw her email at 9:59am agreeing for the 10am interview. While my students started shuffling out, my phone rang with an international number. I was about to have my interview.
Our interview was very fast, only 15 minutes as promised. I had had coffee that morning so my adrenaline was in overdrive. The interview went well, I sent a thank-you email, and then I didn’t hear back for about a week. The email response didn’t provide good news, though.
They told me I was ranked 2nd, and should their first choice turn down the position, they’d then offer it to me. But they warned me that their first choice seemed “keen” on taking up the position. Nothing would be confirmed until after April 18th though, apparently.
On April 19th I sent the follow-up email asking if the position had been filled, since I hadn’t heard back. But I got no reply. For two weeks I heard nothing, and had assumed that I hadn’t gotten the post.
It wasn’t until April 30th, at the end of the month, that I got an email with some good news. Their 1st place candidate declined the post, so now they were offering it to me.
Accepting the Position and Next Steps
Once I accepted, it was only the beginning. In 1 month I was set to get married, so my wife could in theory come with me. But I needed to get us both visas and I had NO IDEA where to start! The person who hired me directed me to their HR department and a past Maitre de Langue, Jeremy, who could help since he was American too. I had so many questions like:
- How do I start the visa process?
- How do I find housing?
- What about our phones?
- What about health insurance?
- Any general tips for this big undertaking?
I was lucky he was kind enough to help me with all the questions I had. Not everyone’s that lucky, though. I wish I’d known someone who could have helped me more along the way. Everyone should have a Jeremy to help them out too. That’s one of the reasons why I decided to start Move to France and Teach English. So I can lend a hand to those who need it too, if they want it, when moving to France. To check out the list of all the services I offer to help you move to France, you can look at my services page. You can also check out many of my other blog posts about moving to France.
