The job search is over! Victory at long last is mine!
For the last 2 weeks I’ve been babysitting/teaching english to a lovely almost 4-year-old in the 18th Arrondissement. I’m doing 7 hours per week at 10€ per hour which is not bad at all. Actually a lot of my job is transport… I bring her to/from school and home and art classes and dance lessons… the preschoolers of Paris keep very active schedules! When I’m watching her I speak only English, which she understands quite well. It’s pretty hard to get her to speak English back to me though… but I hear that’s a common thing when teaching a foreign language. I know I myself have a much harder time speaking French than understanding it right now. C’est la vie, I suppose.
I work right near Sacre Coeur!
Before I got the job babysitting with this family my employment adventure was slow and disappointing. My first attempt was with Babylangues, an agency that matches native English speakers with French families for babysitting work. I arrived a few hours early (when I double-checked the interview time I looked at the wrong email) and was in a rush so I showed up sweaty and out of breath. I answered the questions alright but I was uncomfortable and nervous and I know they knew it. I did not get the job.
Next I tried Baby-speaking. It was a similar agency looking for the same kind of employees… kind of like a second try for me. I scheduled an interview with them and at the same time sent out online applications to Cafe Oz and Frog Pub. Only one of them ever replied and it was only to say that the position had been filled already. When it came time to interview with Baby-speaking I took all precautions. I knew they’d be asking similar questions but I rehearsed answers in my head anyway. I dyed my hair again so it would be uniform and less sloppy-looking and wore it up in a conservative bun. I put on a simple green dress and made sure everything matched. I looked mad responsible, yo. I managed to arrive exactly 5 minutes early and I thought the interview went really well. There was hope for me yet!
A few days later I got the rejection email. I was sad and ate a lot of french bread and chocolate. It was a dark time. Then I thought to check the recent MICEFA emails- they were sending us updates about odd jobs babysitting or tutoring English from time to time. Lo and behold I found something promising and sent the family an email (not expecting anything but hey, you have to keep trying). I was surprised to get a quick response and met with the mother the very next day. She was fine with the hair (she’d actually had a babysitter in the past with a ton of facial piercings so I was a daisy or a rose or something pleasant in comparison). We brought the daughter to her new art class and she was very shy but I can totally relate. The mom sensed some sort of silent approval from the little girl and just like that I was hired! Yay!
The babysitting gig seems to be a great part-time job here. The parents get bilingual kids and we get a nice hourly wage and work experience abroad. As long as you’re sane you can probably get a job with one of the larger agencies. The benefit with them is that you get special teaching books, training, and a safety net if there’s trouble with the family or your schedule. The downside is that you’ve often got a contract to work for them until you leave France.
It was suggested by an advisor that my crazy hair was most likely the cause for my lack of success with the agencies. I’ll admit this upset me a little- my hair is totally rad and I’m not going brunette for anybody any time soon. I felt a little better after I got to crash a boat party on the Seine though. Anyway now I have a good job with a nice family and everything is formidable. Thank goodness I didn’t get totally desperate and try to pull a “Walter White.” Yay for legitimate work!
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