French Job Interviews:
When a Vague Job Description Leads to The Wrong Job
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When you are an expat attending a French job interview in France, you will often be focused on practicing your professional French to master your resume presentation and anticipate the questions from the recruiter.
But sometimes, the biggest misunderstanding during the French job interview won’t be linguistic:
- You may be surprised to discover that you don’t really understand what the company expects from you.
In 2005, I accepted a job that looked exciting on paper. Four months later, I resigned.
The Context: Why I Was Interested in This New Job
At the end of 2004, I was working for an ESN (French consulting company) in the automotive industry.
I was developing scripts using an in-house programming language, in order to test electronic boards.
I was no longer passionate about working on this project, and as the ESN was benefiting from keeping me in that IT position, I knew I wouldn’t have access to interesting new IT projects.
I decided to find a new employer that would offer me two challenges:
- Linux projects so that I would expand my Linux skills.
- International projects that would give me the opportunity to eventually travel.
I found on a Linux job board a small telecommunication company based in Paris:
- They were looking for a new Linux engineer to be hired very shortly.
- Their solutions were Linux-based.
- They had customers all over the world.
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The First Warning Sign: The Job Description Was Too Vague
The job description that I found in the job board was presenting the company briefly and had some very vague lines about the following job:
- Linux Engineer
Let’s be honest, despite the fact that I understood the company was developing Linux-based solutions for Telecommunication projects, I didn’t know much about the tasks involved in the job.
As I felt very motivated to leave my current ESN and join a small international company, I accepted an interview with HR.
First Job Interview With the HR: Talking About Languages
The first job interview gave me a very good impression of the company.
As I indicated in my resume that I was learning Italian at that time, I was lucky to be in front of an HR perfectly bilingual in Italian.
We exchanged some words in Italian, I talked about my passion for languages and how excited I was to be part of international projects.
The HR manager presented the different departments to me.
I showed my interest in the consultant role, as they were travelling a lot in different countries to install the solutions at the customer site.
The HR manager reassured me that I could access this job later after spending some time in another department.
The problem was obvious but I didn’t see it coming:
After this first interview, I still didn’t know what I would be hired for.
I was too excited about the possibility of travelling for the company later on that I didn’t ask questions about the job.
This first job interview was eventually as vague as the job offer.
The Second Warning Sign: The Job Interview with the IT Manager Was Surprisingly Short
HR contacted me very quickly for a second job interview with the IT manager.
He was managing C-language projects in Linux environment, and needed a new programmer to develop solutions around electronic boards.
The interview lasted about ten-fifteen minutes.
He barely asked me questions about my resume or my experience in C-language and Linux.
I barely asked questions about the projects I would be involved in, to assess whether I could even handle it.
We didn’t talk anymore about travelling as a consultant.
A few days later, the HR manager contacted me again for a job offer.
The contract was as vague as the job offer and the job interview.
As I was also motivated to leave my former ESN, I signed the contract, thinking that I could progress later within the company.
What I Discovered After Joining The Company
I soon faced the consequences when discovering what I had to do whithin the IT department:
- Developing low-level modules in C-language for Telecommunication standards.
And the problems added up:
- I didn’t have enough knowledge on these standards.
- I barely programmed in Linux environment.
- I wasn’t experienced enough to respect the short deadlines.
The job I discovered was too technical for me, and I felt that I was further and further from the initial promise of the company:
- Travelling and visiting customers.
Four months after trying hard on programming every day, I decided to quit the company. I didn’t fit the job.
The Problem Was Not The Company
The company was really looking for a technical profile to develop modules and solutions for the company.
The real problem is that we didn’t have the same understanding of the role during the interview.
I should have asked more questions about:
- The tasks of the Linux engineer job.
- The level required for both Linux knowledge and C-language programming in Linux environment.
- the organization within the IT department (how many people in the team, interactions with colleagues and customers).
An Interesting Discovery Within The Company
As I felt less and less comfortable after weeks of trying to prove that I could handle the job, I decided to have lunch and exchange more with colleagues from other departments.
One of them caught my attention: he was a member of the pre-sales department.
At that time, I didn’t know what this job was about, so I came to him and he gently took time to explain his job to me.
This unexpected encounter was one of the best things that happened to me in this company.
This led me to apply for a pre-sales job in Belgium some years later.
Tips for expats: Always engage conversations with colleagues from other teams if you can, you can learn a lot.
What Expats Should Learn From This French Job Interview Experience
As an expat looking for a job in France, you may think your professional French will be the most important thing to focus on during a French job interview.
But there are other important points to consider.
1. Be Careful With Vague Job Titles
If you discover a job description with:
- A vague job title like “consultant”, “specialist” or “engineer” in France.
- No clear list of detailed tasks.
You can ask for information to the company, for instance during the first call.
This situation can have different interpretations:
- The company doesn’t really know what they need for the job.
- The company wants someone who can adapt to various types of tasks.
2. Ask Precise Questions During the French Job Interview
If the job description was too vague and you decided to go to the job interview, prepare your questions to ask to the recruiter:
- What are the tasks included in the job?
- Which technical level is required for the job? (ask precise questions regarding their projects)
- How is the team organized?
- Am I supposed to meet customers?
- How often am I supposed to travel?
3. Don't Let Enthusiasm Replace Clarity
If you are in the situation where you really need to change job, be careful if you feel too enthusiastic during the job interview:
- You can have high expectations and it can be different from the recruiter’s expectations.
- You hear what you want to hear from the recruiter and you skip the relevant questions to ask.
In both cases, you may be disappointed, like it happened to me.
This experience also reminded me of another lesson I learned during job interviews in France:
- Recruiters do not always reveal their real intentions immediately, so learning to identify red flags early can save you a lot of time.
Conclusion
Practicing and improving your professional French is important for a successful job interview in French.
But don’t forget that the job you apply for has to be very clear for you and for the recruiter.
You also need to prepare the questions you want to ask during the interview.
Keep in mind that sometimes the biggest misunderstanding is not linguistic, it’s about expectations.
In French job interviews, expectations are just as important as language skills.
Do you have an upcoming French job interview in France or another French-speaking country?
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