Job Interviews in French in Canada:
What Expats Should Expect
Job Interviews
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In countries including several official languages, it’s not always easy to know in advance which language will be used during the job interview (you can check the Belgium example in my previous article).
Besides the choice of language, expats also have to take local cultural codes into account during a job interview in French.
The Context: Needing to Find a New Job
In 2014, unfortunately, my former employer in Montreal decided to close the distribution division of the company.
As I was part of the sales team for Lenovo products, my contract ended one year after I had been hired.
This sales experience was a great one, as I had the opportunity to visit my customers all across the provinces of Quebec and Ontario by car.
I liked selling, but I missed the technical part of my previous jobs, so I decided to apply for all pre-sales jobs that I could find in Canada.
I eventually found an interesting job description at HP Canada: pre-sales solution architect.
HP was a good opportunity for various reasons:
- The exhaustive range of technical products leading to challenging solutions for prospects
- HP was a global company, so it would be easier to join a subsidiary in another country
Before the Job Interview: Preparing Professional French
In Canada, there are two official languages: English and French.
I had noticed that in Quebec, English would be used most of the time during calls and job interviews with HR, especially within IT companies.
That was also the case with HP Canada.
The following interview with the manager could be either in English or French, depending on the prerequisites of the job description.
As the job required me to deliver technical pre-sales presentations to French-speaking customers, I had to prepare my professional French carefully.
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- Are you an expat? Do you speak French?
- Do you struggle in real work situations? (job interviews, presentations, meetings with customers…)
As I was looking for a new pre-sales job for several months already, I prepared my upcoming job interview in French by gathering technical information about the products/services mentioned in the job description.
The only thing I didn’t know is that none of this would be useful.
How Local Cultural Codes influence Job Interviews in Canada
As I attended a few job interviews in French and English in Canada, I felt very confident when I arrived at HP Canada.
I had been living in Canada for four years, and as an expat I knew the local cultural codes of Quebec well enough to avoid surprises.
And to be honest, I couldn’t imagine what could happen.
After 5 minutes of conversation in French with the manager, he asked me (in French):
“The job requires you to give technical pre-sales presentations to customers, will you be able to do it?
Me: “Yes, I will.“
The manager: “OK, go to the whiteboard and deliver a 10-15-minute technical presentation. You can choose the topic and you have to cover the whole board.“
Me: “Can you give me a couple of minutes to figure out a topic?“
The manager: “Sure.“
I admit I was stunned and after 4 years living in Canada, I didn’t expect this.
Canada is more pragmatic than France when it comes to job interviews, employers barely talk about degrees, diplomas, or certifications.
They want to see what you are capable of. This is especially true in Canadian and North American French-speaking workplaces.
I now had proof.
During my free time I was always enjoying studying new IT topics, and as Cloud Computing was becoming mainstream at that time, I read a lot about it, so I had a lot to say.
After a couple of minutes putting together a plan in my mind, I said:
“Ok, I’m ready.”
I took a deep breath and began to deliver a general presentation composed of diagrams:
- The three cloud models (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS)
- The benefits and drawbacks of cloud computing
I managed to improvise this technical presentation within 10-15 minutes by covering the whole whiteboard.
After the presentation, the manager insisted on giving clear pre-sales presentations to customers.
Another interesting detail about the local cultural code in Canada is that the recruiter barely shows whether you succeeded in your job interview even though the conversations with Canadian recruiters are always pleasant and friendly.
I dared asking:
“Do you think I have the skills to give good pre-sales presentations for HP Canada?“
The manager simply pointed at the whiteboard filled with my presentation.
I had my answer.
What Expats Should Learn from This Experience
As an expat attending a job interview in French in a French-speaking work environment, you may be focused on speaking professional French properly.
But don’t forget that the recruiter will assess your skills according to his own local cultural code that may be very different from your own culture.
Final Advice for Job Interviews in French Abroad
When you live and work in a French-speaking country as an expat and you need to find a new job, sometimes you may not understand the local cultural codes during a job interview in French.
You could be surprised by what the recruiter might ask you, just like it happened to me during the job interview at HP Canada.
It’s totally normal, as job interviews in your own country may work differently.
Don’t forget that before a job interview in French:
- You will need to practice your professional French for job interviews
- You will need to understand local workplace cultural codes
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