Ellen: Swedish Business developer at TextMaster

Could you please introduce yourself and tell me about your professional background ?

My name is Ellen, I am of Swedish origin and I have been living in Paris for 7 years. I studied business and marketing, but I felt more commercial. When I arrived in Paris, I first worked as a sales manager for Northern European countries, then as a business developer in start-ups that wanted to enter the Scandinavian market. Today, I work at TextMaster as a business developer, so I work between France and Sweden, which is a real pleasure!

Why did you come to France?

I came to Paris for personal reasons (laughs)... One should not underestimate the number of people who expatriate for love (laughs)! And then Paris is still romantic!

How were you recruited by this company?

Léa (recruitment consultant at MisterBilingue) who contacted me! She was adorable, our exchanges were really smooth, she helped me a lot, it was a real pleasure.

Would you recommend MisterBilingue to your expatriate friends?

Without hesitation! For international profiles who don't master French yet, I find it really practical. Moreover, Léa (recruitment consultant at MisterBilingue) was able to understand the linguistic dimension of my profile and the passion that came out of it!

Have you noticed any differences between your country of origin and France in the job search process (application format / interview process)?

In France things are much more "serious" (laughs)! Swedish people are much less formal, for example if tomorrow I communicate with a Swedish person, even if he is the CEO of a huge company, I will start with the equivalent of "hi, how are you?”. Way too familiar for the French!

What difficulties did you encounter during your job search?

None (laughs)? I think you just have to adapt to the environment you're in and seize the opportunities that come your way!

What was your first impression when you started working in France?

I have the impression that exchanges are much faster in France! Maybe it's because French is not my mother tongue, but I find that everything goes faster in France. The pace of work also seems faster to me.

Any advice on how to integrate into a new French company?

In truth, I find that it was not really difficult. I find that the French are very welcoming, cordial and really nice. So I would say that you just have to be yourself and normally, everything goes well!

What are the differences between the way of working in France and in Sweden?

As I explained, Swedes are much more familiar than the French. As for the rest, everything is really very similar to Sweden; the working conditions seem to me to be the same, there are also 5 weeks of paid vacations... That being said, in Sweden we tend to do more 40 hours / week than 35 hours.

What is the French word that you have the most difficulty to pronounce?

I don't think I'll ever be able to tell the difference between “cousin” (cousin) and “coussin” (cushion) (laughs)...