“Nous avons une bonne nouvelle pour toi”

So begins an email I received from EUSA, the organization that organizes the internship aspect of our program. The internship is in fact the focal point of the Paris program, the first half of the semester spent learning skills and vocabulary necessary to be effective in the French workplace, the second half- in doing the internship. Today I had my first internship interview, with a contemporary art gallery in Marais. But what exactly happens leading up to this point?

EUSA starts early in the year (last semester for me) sending out questionnaires and asking for a draft of a CV so that they can begin researching internships for the students. The first week we arrive in Paris, we have scheduled interviews with EUSA to help further pinpoint specific interests and discuss the work in different sectors. It’s kind of exciting and nerve-racking at the same time, just thinking about the opportunities that are opened to you. What sector is good for me- fashion, galleries, non-profit, history, publicity, public health? By the time you walk out of the interview, you and your advisor have narrowed the choices down to three sectors, which may not seem at first obvious, but are meant to provide the most interactive and valuable work experience while abroad. I was placed in the gallery, journalism, and marketing sectors, though my advisor assured me a position with a contemporary art gallery considering my interests in modern culture, contemporary art, and working with my hands.

The next step is to await an interview. EUSA does the research- finding and contacting businesses (entreprises)- and eventually, you receive an email, as my title suggests, offering you an interview. Now the real work begins- you begin to research the company, you go over your responses to any number of questions the employer might ask and . . . you plan your own questions (because surely you want to make sure the position/company will fit you just as much as the interviewer wants to see if you will fit the company/position). Yet, no matter how much research or preparation you do, you’ll still never be quite prepared for the interview.

If you think interviewing for a job in America is nerve-racking, try interviewing in another language! This is not to say you are set up to fail, these interviews simply provide a unique challenge in that you never know what exactly is going to happen (or how well you’ll understand what the employer is saying!). It’s exciting, and following with my initial goal for this program, it is a great personal challenge.

So see what you can accomplish, and be confidant in your abilities. Your whole life has been a learning experience, so utilize the tools you’ve gained, perhaps unwittingly, to – as I was prompted to do- convaincre l’entretien (an interesting mix of conquer and convince, one must truly show their stuff during the interview). Now here’s to hoping I did just that.

Galerie Eric Mircher