What would your life look like in 10 years? Joshua probably knows.
Visa admin, where to actually compete for a job, and the mistakes that cost the most time — the questions that come up in every incoming-student group chat, answered in one sitting. Then it's your turn to ask whatever's still unclear.
Joshua Balata
Global Data & AI Product Owner, L'Oréal
What 10 years in France taught me about moving, surviving, and actually fitting in.
The session
Language
The one asset that moved the needle more than anything else I did — and how far “conversational French” actually needs to go.
Where to compete
Picking a market that leverages your strengths will save you plenty of frustration down the road — how to audit your own strengths to find the right one.
Finding the opportunity
It's never going to be easy to find your first job. But you can learn from people who've done it before you, and put your best foot forward.
What to avoid
Time saved is time available to invest elsewhere — the specific mistakes that cost me the most of it in year one.
Then, coffee
Q&A runs as long as there are questions. After that, coffee (or a meal) with whoever wants to keep talking.
What you'll leave with
The opening chapters, printed and yours to keep.
A printed copy of the first chapters of Fit-in in France — the guide to the visa, the housing search, the bank account, and the first year in general, written for exactly your situation.
The book I wish I had when I first arrived in France in 2016.