Despite the pre-departure orientation, nothing could
quite prepare our group of 16 Business School students for what it really means
to be an intern in Paris! Armed with French phrasebooks and Excel cheat sheets
to help us manage whatever came our way, most of us began our placements
feeling reasonably confident we were up to the task.
What quickly became clear is that the true challenge of
being an intern in France is not so much adapting our skills and knowledge,
which most of us found reasonably easily done, but rather to get used to the
huge differences between doing business in Australia and in France. This
experience of course varied among the group, as we are in placements of many different
kinds of French and international organisations, all with their own distinctive
style of work.
However, there are definitely some common themes! For
starters, le déjeuner
(lunch) is one of the most important parts of the day, and team members usually eat
out together at a nearby restaurant. Sometimes business is discussed, but it’s
often just a nice way to socialise. It’s wonderful as an intern to be included
in this kind of thing (especially for the chance to try some more Parisian
food)! Lessons I’ve learned over business lunch is not to order Orangina, which
is apparently akin to ordering a chocolate milk at a fancy restaurant, and not
to eat too much so as to avoid spending the rest of the afternoon in a food
coma! While the French have a career’s worth of experience eating a huge lunch
and heading straight back to work, inexperienced Australians may find
themselves nodding off in an afternoon meeting if they’re not careful!
Another difference between the French and Australian style
of doing business is more subtle, but very important to understand. The French
adopt a much more consultative approach to projects, spending a lot of time
discussing and debating, and trying a few things out before concrete decisions
are made. To an Australian used to ticking boxes and meeting targets this may
seem like a waste of time, but the French are used to their style and may
regard schedules and fixed goals as impediments to good results. That being said,
the French appreciate Australians’ motivation to get the job done on time,
which seems to go down well with the boss!
There’s often talk of Parisians behaving rudely to people
who don’t speak French, and with a group of students with varying abilities in
the language some of us were a little apprehensive about this! Fortunately, it
quickly became clear at work that a friendly bonjour in the morning and an à
demain in the afternoon (and an apparent French fondness for Australian
accents!) smoothed the way.
Office attire, especially for the girls, has also been an
interesting one. Preparing for the bipolar weather, finding something clean and
then attempting to dress as glamorously as the Parisians is of course the goal,
but it’s usually a matter of picking one or two of the three!
While adapting to the French style of doing business has involved
many a faux pas, we have come a long
way in four weeks and can’t believe there are only two more to go!
Iona Main
Current student at the University of Sydney Business School and participant in the International Placement Program in Paris, France, interning with Kimberly Wealth Management
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