On graduating this summer I faced, alongside many friends, the prospect of a bleak job market coupled with the fact that I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do - civil service, no thanks; banking, not quite up my street; a law conversion, my heart's just not in it at the moment.
So on one fine rainy day, just after that dreaded dissertation deadline, when a job advert for a language assistant at a business school in Paris (sent by a TEFL France job-list service I had subscribed to) appeared in my Hotmail inbox I was hopeful I had found a suitable short-term solution – one that may hold great appeal for many recent graduates.
The first thing to know is that I have a childhood (and somewhat over-romanticised) dream of moving to Paris - baguettes, berets and cheese are among just a few of my favourite things. Second, I hoped that such a job would give me the chance to improve my French as one of those "transferable skills" that careers advisers always talk about. Finally, I hoped the year would give me a chance to organise my thoughts, rather than having to rush into a job or course just for the sake of it. I know many people may already be on a determined career path, but if not I believe a year abroad after graduation is the perfect opportunity to increase your language skills and get some work experience while getting the finances back in order.
I applied, and by some chance of luck got offered a job with some pretty cheeky perks, one of which is a free room on campus. This meant no stress in trying to find an affordable room in an overfull Paris. The downside? I do live miles out of Paris, but I am gradually learning to master the erratic and complicated RER C. Saying that, I still wouldn't say no to a free car right now.
It would be unkind not to warn anyone thinking of moving to Paris of the other difficulties that come alongside an often non-functional transport system. Moving to France brings all the joys of great culture and awesome food and wine, plus the beauty of the capital itself never fails to astound me. However, on a practical level French strikes are quite honestly a pain in the backside, plus getting things done in France can be unnecessarily complicated. Administration is impossibly long and difficult to master – for example setting up a bank account or getting a phone contract is an achievement in itself. As a result, I have decided to have ridiculously low expectations so that when anything actually gets done it is a pleasant and welcome surprise. Also beware of a little thing called a 'convention de stage' - if you want to do an internship you have to have one of these to cover insurance. If you want to get said convention, you have to be enrolled in a French university, which I am not. I have, however, been advised that it is possible to get one if you just pay the fees to enrol in a state university and don't attend the classes. Which of course makes perfect sense.
Yet, the pros outweigh the cons from both a personal and career point of view. I have met a lovely group of interns, the opportunities to speak French are many, and I'm in Paris! Plus, being on a campus full of overambitious future asset managers is starting to rub off - I am thinking about what I want to do (as well as what I definitely do not, under any circumstances, ever want to do - banking/translating/sit in front of a computer for a straight eight hours a day - no offence intended). Slightly less relevant to this post, but all the same a crucial part of my Parisian experience is the discovery that I am incredibly English by nature when it comes to forming a queue - NO LADY, I AM NOT STANDING BEHIND THESE 20 PEOPLE FOR FUN. And breathe.
All in all, I feel lucky to have gone to university, to be living in Paris and to have been offered the chance to take what is in a sense a break. I have time to think over what it is I want to do with my life, and where better than to do this than in Paris. I recommend a year working abroad after university, if only for this reason, and also because I am hoping it will add to my CV. By next July, I hope to have developed my French, gained some more work experience and had time to reflect on my future plans – for these reasons, and at the risk of sounding too like a self-help guru, I see a year out after graduation as a brilliant, if somewhat indulgent, time to grow in both terms of personal and career development.
