After writing my CV (known as a resume in other parts of the world) for the two thousandth time, I finally started sending it out. I figured that even though everyone had more opinions on how I could improve it there could be no better proof than actually sending it out to prospective jobs.

So I got myself all ready the night before by looking through everything in the FUSAC newspaper. I didn't have a current one but I figured that it was better to use an old one and get myself moving than wait more days until I took the long trip into town and to pick up the new one. FUSAC is a newpaper in Paris for English speaking people and has been around for many years. It has all sorts of classified ads for jobs and housing and friends etc.

On Monday morning, I woke up, turned on the computer, and sent out 11 CV's to various companies. The same day I got a couple of form letters saying that they had received my CV and would put it into their files for future reference because they no longer needed anyone. You know the letter. The day after that, I got a call from one company asking me if I could come in for an interview. We arranged to meet on Wednesday afternoon. Later that day I got another call from another company and I set up that interview for the Thursday afternoon.

I went Wednesday to the first interview which lasted an hour and was what I felt to be a good interview. The woman seemed interested in knowing if I really knew how to teach and asked very good questions about theory and style etc. She explained how their company worked. She offered me 21 euros an hour and said that the average number of hours a week that people seemed to take on was 25. I would not get anything for holidays or vacation though and had to be prepared to keep money myself for that. She also said that I would be travelling to companies around the city and perimeters but that it would be structured so that it was one location or close to one area per day. I told her that I would like time to think about it.

The next day I went to the other interview. It was a completely different experience. First thing when I walked in, I felt uncomfortable because everyone was too friendly. I was asked three times if I had been helped and if I wanted anything. The office looked very plain with office partition walls and very smiley people everywhere wearing black and white clothing. At the first place, I had found myself in an old converted Parisian apartment with 2 cats and people that looked like individuals. They helped but they did smile at you like it was on the list of things that they must do to keep their job. I was taken by the interviewer into a small room and handed a stack of papers to fill out. The first paper was a standard info paper but the others were odious. It was full of those kinds of questions like "what do you see for yourself in 5 years" and "what are your strenghts and weaknesses". I got to the point where I was talking to myself in the room because I was getting so annoyed. I finally just stopped writing and then the girl came back. Yes, I called her a girl. I think that she might have been all of 22 at the most and blonde and perky. Yuck.

First she tried to sell me the companies idea of teaching English, using computers that talk and answer. She told me all about the success rate and blah blah blah. Now I am really getting annoyed. She tells me that after the students have spent x number of hours in front of the computer they come in for an evaluation and that is what the "teacher" does. I mentioned that perhaps that wasn't really teaching and she let me know ever so strongly that this was when you really had a chance to teach because the students were full of questions.

So now she has explained the system and the company and how great it is. Next on her agenda was to tell me all the perks of the job. You get half of your metro card paid for (required by the state), you get restaurant tickets of 6 euros (you have to pay for half of that and then try to find a restaurant where you can eat for 6 euros) or you can just take the cash. You will get a mutual (she didn't say if they pay the charges or if you do and the mutual is like an addition to your regular medical coverage that covers more or all of the costs). Now she finally is ready to tell me the salary. 1368 euros brut (gross) per month, plus a 32 euro bonus for good work like being on time. So 1400 euros brut equals 1100 euros per month to live on.

I was stunned. I told her that this was not enough money to live on. I said that I was nearly 45 years old and not living with my parents and not being supported by a husband. I mentioned that with the prices of apartments in Paris that you would not be able to buy a cup of coffee with a friend after you had paid all your necessary expenses. She tried to tell me that there were many teachers living just fine on the salary. She couldn't tell me how though. At they end of all that and the look in my eye, she humbled and said that she would let me call them if I was interested.

I went home and called the first job offer back and accepted the position.