Career Strategies for the French

Professional French Masters Program
French 618
Career Strategies for the French-Speaking World (2 credits)
Note: this course is taught in French and is for Professional French Masters Program students only. It is
required for completion of the Master of Professional French Studies degree (MFS).
Course description
WHO WILL TAKE THIS COURSE :
Professional French Masters Program students in all six PFMP concentration areas : business,
education, European Union affairs, international education, international development, and
media/arts/cultural production. Students working toward the post-baccalaureate Capstone
Certificate of Professional French Studies may also take this master’s-level course, per instructor
consent.
WHAT THEY WILL STUDY IN THE CLASS :
Current French-language published writing on career strategies for emerging professionals or
professionals in transition in Europe, Africa and North America. This writing includes books and
articles for the general public, books published by scholarly presses, scholarly articles, popular
business blogs in France and Quebec, popular "how-to " writing, and contemporary film and video.
Students at this level can be expected to learn and practice particular linguistic and cultural nuances
that vary from region to region in the French-speaking world, from professional vocabulary to
culturally acceptable recruiting practices.
WHAT THEY WILL NOT STUDY IN THIS COURSE, BECAUSE IT IS COVERED IN OTHER PROGRAM
COURSES OR ACTIVITIES :
Students in this course will not study literature on profession-specific skill sets (like issues or
techniques in marketing research or fundraising), general current events in target Francopone
countries or regions, case studies, or professionally specific research methods.
WHAT KINDS OF MAJOR QUESTIONS WILL COURSE MATERIAL, DISCUSSION, READING AND OTHER
ACTIVITY ANSWER?
To what extent do materials destined for business school students in France (especially in MBA or
MBA-like programs) appear to be adopting traditionally American styles of professional
presentation and career planning? How do non-academic, general-public books on managing
career change dovetail with larger social trends in France, and in particular with the ways career
change is discussed by non-specialists (i.e. "regular people") in the press, on the Internet, and in
venues devoted to the subject of career planning? How can an American fluent in French take
advantage of cultural stereotypes about Americans in the workplace in France? To what extent are
scholarly debates about changing attitudes in career planning in France and Quebec useful to
Americans who are otherwise linguistically and culturally prepared to work among native speakers
in those countries or regions? How does networking differ in professional environments where a
diverse group of Francophones dominates, in Europe, Africa, and North America?
HOW OFTEN WILL THIS COURSE MEET?
This 2-credit course will meet twice weekly, for periods of 50 minutes per class.
Course learning goals
Students finishing this course will be able to:




speak, read, listen and write fluently, in French and convincingly, about career strategy debates
and trends in the target cultures where French is the major language of daily life;
create and present a strong professional profile appropriate according to current norms in
French-speaking professional environments, prior to beginning the required PFMP international
internship abroad;
understand how major professional etiquette norms differ between France and French-speaking
Europe, North Africa, Subsaharan Francophone Africa, Quebec and the United States, especially
in terms of concepts of personal initiative, professional networking, and the difference between
personal and professional life; and
conduct basic research on career mobility strategies, using techniques expected by professionals
working in the student’s concentration, for careers requiring French in business, international
education, international development, government agency or arts/cultural organizational
settings.
Printed Texts
Bosetti, Alain et Mark Lahore, Comment développer votre activité avec votre réseau relationnel :
méthodes , outils et attitudes pour réussir en toutes situations. Paris : Dunod, 2012.
Dany, Françoise et Laetitia Pihel. La gestion des carrières. Paris: Vuibert, 2013.
Boyer, Annabelle. Relations sous emprise: Comment s'en libérer sur le plan personnel et
professionnel. Longueuil (Montréal): Belliveau, 2015.
Various articles distributed on line and in class (see course schedule for specific texts and
assignments)
Films / Television (full and excerpted)
Samuel Collardey, L’apprenti (2008)
Sébastien Pilote, Le vendeur (2010)
Canal+, Le Bureau (French version of Ricky Gervais’ The Office, 2006, excerpts)
Radio-Canada, La job (Quebec version of Ricky Gervais’ The Office, 2008, excerpts)
Video will be available for at least a week prior to assignment due dates, via instructor and Learning
Support Services (Van Hise).
Course grade
25% participation (including non-final-project-related oral presentations) and discussion
20% written personal responses
25% critical essay (10 pages)
30% final project (annotated career strategy vision), oral presentation + 10-page final draft
A = 93-100% / AB = 88-92% / B = 83-87% / BC = 78-82% / C = 70-78% / D = 60-69% / F 0-59%
Evaluating Participation in the Course
The “participation” percentage of a student’s grade in this class requires several things of the
student, in equal measure: active oral participation in discussion, full attention to and respect for
classmates when they have the floor during discussion of texts, regular and attentive engagement of
classmates during those discussions, timely arrival in class, evidence of preparedness for discussion
(including having all texts, relevant notes or other required class materials at hand when class
begins), and a sense of alertness to the course goals at all times. These things may take all kinds of
different forms and styles, as long as they convey student focus and effort during class.
Participation grades will be recorded weekly and tallied as an average at the semester’s end.
Course schedule
WEEK
THEME
TEXTS (readings/viewings)
WRITING and other
assignments due
Present introductory
professional and educational
profiles (CV +1-page narrative)
1
Education and/vs.
Experience
Brafman, Nathalie, “Les
entreprises confrontées au
boom des faux diplômes”
(2013); Raphaëlle Granger,
“Gérer et établir un plan de
carrière - Pourquoi ? Comment
?”
L’apprenti (2008, scenes)
2
Cultures of
Initiative: France
and Europe
1-page personal response: lived
example of “taking initiative”
3
Cultures of
Initiative: Quebec
Pascal Baudry, Français et
Américains (excerpts);
Bosetti et Lahore, Comment
développer 1
Boyer Relations sous emprise 1;
Legris et al, “Les jeunes et le
marché du travail québécois”
4
Cultures of
Initiative: North and
Subsaharan Africa
Groupe l’Étudiant marocain,
“Formation professionnelle: la
Vision 2020”;
Observatoire de la jeunesse,
“Les formations à distance dans
le contexte africain”
Career Strategy Vision,
preliminary draft
5
Personal Branding 1
Panel 1: Oral minipresentations: social network
and Internet profiles
(France/Belgium), 5 minutes
each + whole-group Q&A
6
Personal Branding 2
Bosetti et Lahore, Comment
développer 2
Dany, La gestion 1
Julie Le Bolzer, “Le marketing
personnel au service de
l’efficience RH”
Boyer Relations sous emprise 2;
Identité et réputation
numériques, “Comment créer
et gérer votre ‘marque
1-page written response +
debate : “Anglo-American”
Initiative Style in Quebec ?
Panel 2: Oral minipresentations: social network
and Internet profiles
(Quebec/Africa), 5 minutes each
personnelle’ sur Internet?”
Mercure et Vultur, La
signification du travail (2010,
excerpts);
Radio-Canada, La job
Canal+, Le bureau
(excerpts)
Mercure et Vultur, La
signification du travail (2010,
excerpts);
Anne Kupiec, “Éléments de
réflexion pour une déontologie
professionnelle”;
Le vendeur (2010, scenes)
+ whole-group Q&A
1-page written response :
compare the portrayal of
professional ethics in Mercure
and Vultur and in TV satire of
work life in Le Bureau and La
Job.
Critical Essay, draft 1 (10 pages)
7
Professional Ethics
8
Professional Ethics,
cont.
9
Continuing
Education
Martine Jacot, “La formation
continue se réinvente en
ligne”;
Jean-François Mignot,
“Formation continue des
salariés en Europe”
Career Strategy Vision, Draft 2
10
In-House Mobility
and Training
11
Blogging as Career
Strategy
Dany, La gestion 2;
T’enseignes-tu?, “Les 10
commandements du formateur
de formateurs”
Dany, La gestion 3;
Conseils marketing, “10
conseils pour lancer un blog
pro et le faire connaître”
12
Professional
Associations
1-page written response: How
do the suggestions at the
T’enseignes-tu website compare
with those of Dany and Pihel?
1-page written response to a
particularly effective personal
blog strategy in your field
(France or Quebec); brief oral
mini-presentations in class.
Critical essay, final version (10
pages)
13
Professional
Associations and
Conferences
14
Final Projects
15
Final Projects
Exam
week
Final Project
Dany, La gestion 4;
Charlotte Arce, “Reconversion
professionnelle: 7 étapes-clés
pour changer de métier”
Simon Baron, “Ce que disent
les employés sur leur plan de
carrière”;
Vallon et Chambaud,
Associations mode d’emploi
(excerpts, 2006)
1-page written response : find
and briefly present a real-life
professional conference that is
happening this year in a Frenchspeaking country this year,
which you would attend if you
could, and tell why.
Oral presentations of final
project (Career Strategy Vision)
Oral presentations of final
project (Career Strategy Vision)
Written final draft due (10
pages); please incorporate
commentary following oral
presentations of Weeks 14 and
15