After a French Job Interview:
Why Silence Doesn’t Always Mean Rejection
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As an expat looking for a job in France, you are finally invited to a French job interview:
- You prepare your interview carefully (your professional French, the questions you plan to anticipate).
- You leave the French job interview feeling it went well.
- But nothing happens, days go by… silence.
- Is my Professional French not good enough?
- Maybe I lacked confidence because I’m not a native French speaker?
- Did I do something wrong when I answered technical questions?
The Context: My first experience in an ESN / SSII
In 2003, I was hired by my first employer, an French ESN (IT consulting company). and I admit it was not that easy.
Job opportunities decreased after the 9/11 events, and I only had one work experience:
- My final-year project at TPS (a satellite television company), where I developed a test bench software in C using the LabWindows/CVI environment.
In 2002, in a difficult economic context, it was not easy to find a job as a newly gratuated engineer.
I had already experienced the silence many times after leaving a job interview in France.
So when I met my future employer, I had the same feeling:
- I was invited by the sales person for a first French job interview.
- The interview went well, I talked about my final-year project at the engineer school.
- I left the job interview with a good feeling… and the silence came back.
Despite feeling disappointed once again after the job interview, there was a slight difference:
- The sales person explained that her client needed someone to develop a similar test bench software (same environment).
What I thought After The French Job Interview And What Actually Happened
After feeling rejected many times after job interviews in France in 2002, I thought it was just another disappointment, as the silence remained.
Moreover, after 9/11 events, some French ESN companies took advantage of this situation to invite graduated engineers in order to collect new professional contacts.
So I became increasingly distrustful of company promises.
What I didn’t know is that the sales person was validating the final client needs.
The whole French recruitment process took two months, as there are a lot of reasons we can’t control as a candidate (budget. priority of projects, organization within the final client).
Two months later, the sales person eventually contacted me to talk about the project mentioned in the first interview. This time it was real.
After meeting the final client, I signed my first contract to develop a software in C (LabWindows/CVI environment) for the client’s test bench.
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Why Silence Happens After French Job Interviews
There can be many reasons why silence settles after a job interview in France, whether you had a good feeling or not.
1. Multi-Step French Recruitment Process
In France, the recrutment process can be long because of the different steps:
- First job interview with HR
- Following job interview(s) with technical employees and manager
- If the recruiter is a French ESN: interview with final client and validation
- Last interview to talk about the contract
Depending on the size of the company, the deadline of the project and the budget allocated to it, the process can last more or less.
The more steps there are, the more likely you are to experience silence between steps.
As a expat waiting for an answer, it can be frustrating and discouraging.
2. Internal decision Within The Company
This is the part we have less information, and there can be many reasons why silence remains after a French job interview:
- There are many candidates to interview.
- The company temporarily switched to another priority.
- If the recruiter is a French ESN: the final client takes time to validate a candidate for internal reasons.
And sometimes, one of these reasons can lead to an complete silence from the recruiter.
3. Some Companies Don't have Clear Intentions
Sometimes the reasons why the French recruitment process takes longer than expected or the silence remains are motivated by dishonest intentions:
- Some companies invite the candidate for a job interview to get professional contacts for project opportunities.
- The candidate can be called for a new interview for the recruiter to gain technical information from the last employer (if this company is a competitor).
- In the case of the French ESN, the company could use an false “interesting” IT project as a hook to attract a candidate and later suggest him a completely different and less interesting project.
What Expats Should Know In Order To Manage Silence More Wisely
As an expat having a French job interview soon, there are green flags and red flags to take into account.
1. Green Flags During a Job Interview In France
We can consider that, during the call with HR and the job interview, there are higher chances to be hired when :
- The job is clearly explained, the tasks are also clearly explained are understandable.
- The recruiter shows no hesitation during the interview.
- The recruiter clearly explains the different steps of the French recruitment process, which then proceeds smoothly.
Bonus: two tips that can lead to a successful interview:
- In France, during the last steps of the process, the recruiter can show slight signs of impatience or excitement that he made up his mind and wants to recruit you.
- The recruiter can also use “tu” instead of “vous” without being aware of it.
Tips for expats:
- Ask specific questions about the job, projects, organization, deadline etc… to validate the green flags.
- Always do a polite follow-up by email after each job interview to thank for the interview and show your interest.
2. Red Flags During a Job Interview In France
On the other hand:
- If the job description is vague and not well explained
- If the job tasks change many times during the process
- If the recruiter never replies to any of your emails
- If new interviews or calls are suddenly added during the process without any specific reason
Conclusion: Silence Is Not Always Rejection
When you are an expat and you’ve just finished attending a job interview in French, keep in mind that:
- Silence doesn’t always mean rejection.
You have to be prepared for each job interview in French, but you also have to detect both green and red flags during the French recruitment process by:
- Asking questions to clarify everything about the job, the projects, the environment, the team, the contract.
- Observing how the whole recruitment process goes.
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