Go France! I love having a croissant and coffee every morning

  • Career Center
  • Le 14 décembre 2022

Audencia's Career Center and Alumni teams are delighted to to bring you “Go France!”, the guide to working in France.

Following the success of the first guide in 2019, this new updated edition revisits advice from HR professionals, input from intercultural experts and shares yet more experiences of working in France for internationals. Alumni say they choose France for its corporate culture and impact-driven working environment but also for its croissants!

“Go France!” is a valuable resource for students staying in France after their studies at Audencia.
 


This week, discover what Hyojin Yoo from South Korea has to say.

About Hyojin:

  • GRADUATED FROM THE MSC IM PROGRAMME IN 2020
  • FROM SOUTH KOREA
  • CURRENT POSITION PRODUCT MANAGER AT AMOREPACIFIC EUROPE IN PARIS
  • NATIVE LANGUAGE KOREAN
  • DAILY WORKING LANGUAGES FRENCH, ENGLISH AND KOREAN
  • OTHER LANGUAGES SPOKEN SPANISH
  • FRENCH LEVEL ADVANCED (B2/C1)
  • LIVING IN FRANCE SINCE 2019

Hyojin's key message: “One of my favourite parts of living in France is having a croissant and coffee every morning. I love it!"


My biggest challenge
Working and integrating perfectly in a French workplace was difficult even though I spoke French. I’m not saying that French people are particularly close-minded, but I felt like there is a strong bond among French people and it was not easy to feel completely integrated into their society.

Myths & realities

  • MYTH ‘French people do not work.’ I have never seen anyone around me doing just 9 to 5! I feel like there are many people working late although this depends on the corporate culture.
  • REALITY People seem very friendly even with their managers but there is definitely a strong hierarchy. I think French people are also very competitive when it comes to work.


My advice & top tips
Learn French! I’m not saying it’s impossible to find a job if your
FRENCH LEVEL is not good enough but it allows you to have more opportunities when it comes to finding a job.

Quirky & cultural
When I was doing my internship, I was really surprised by how people are friendly even in a professional context. I also saw some people become best friends with their colleagues. I also find that we can express our opinion more to someone who is in a higher position, and I even feel like managers consider it a good thing – as in taking initiatives.

And finally
Sometimes it is a bit difficult for me to understand the boundaries in a professional context. Often, I am not sure what is OK to say or not. I sometimes feel a bit intimidated when people ask me a question that is too personal.




 
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