Working in Montreal without french? possible?

is there ANYWAY i can get a job in Montreal without speaking french? inch:

- pleaseeee not english telemarketing..... :blink::sad::sad:

damn cannot find a summer job heree:shock:


[ I use to work in Ogilvy.... ><
but then I quit to go back to Vancouver...
so that's work experience in Montreal....? ]

pretty sure you atleast have to have a basic knowledge in speaking and writing french. it's definitely an asset to have. but good luck!

yeah I guesss, but some places cut you some slack :blink:
LoL Ogilvy hired mee lol. inch: in Nov last year. even tho I didn't speak a word of french.. lol
it was awesome I got 20% off Mac and stuff.

i just know that when i went to montreal last year, most of the people I encoutered were Bilingual. They were fluent in both English and French. In that regard.. I can see that knowing French would be ideal, but alot of people there speak fluent English, so I would think just Enligsh would be sufficient. Of course that also depends on where you wanna work too.

I've been to Montreal a couple of times and was surprised to see/hear that most people spoke English as their first language. Montreal is definitely more English-oriented that some other Quebec cities. My friend moved from Toronto to Montreal back in grade school, and she told me that she didn't need to speak French outside of French class in school, and that her French mark was the highest in her class >.<

Hi there,
Generally, most of the people who live in Montreal are bilingual. If you are looking for job that is service-based, then French is definitely an asset, since some Quebeckers prefer and feel more comfortable to speak French; so that’s also what most employers are looking for. But, all you need to know is only some basic conversation in French that is related to your job (even a few sentences can help you get the job), and it shouldn’t be too hard to pick up; like me, I only have some basic knowledge of French. But of course, it depends on what kind of job you are looking for. You can try to find job in English-dominated area (especially in West Island and in the Western half of Montreal), or English-dominated companies and schools, or jobs that do not require a lot of communication. If you have a specific experience or skill related to job that you are looking for, then working in Montreal without knowing French is possible. I know immigrants who don’t know any French, but have specific skill or background, work in bilingual companies here. Since you have already worked in Ogilvy, why not try there first, showing that working experience should help you to get job there again.

Good Luck!

wow thanks guys~

idofish -
lol i don't want to apply at Ogilvy again becauseee I don't know... I'm shy LOL ><
like I didn't say bye to them when i left....to go back to vancouver... which was really rude i know!! ><
what i reallllyyyyy want is to work at Holts.... lol... ><

and what are english dominated companies in MTL??
I'm looking for like.... part time sales etc.....

English-dominated companies will be like English newspaper (The Gazette, The Global and Mail), magazines, theaters or probably those international companies.

If you are going to school, on campus job will be the best, since all you need is English.

If you are looking part-time sales, then learn some sentences in French related to that kind of job, you may show that you know some basics in the interview if they ask. Your working experience at Ogilvy should help you to find related job, then try HR as you wanted.

This may also help:
"For more immediate assistance navigating the barren English job market, try Youth Employment Services (YES) Montreal, located at 666 Sherbrooke W. YES Montreal offers a wide range of services, including job search tools, resume-building workshops, self-employment strategies and French classes. With a diverse list of funders including the federal and provincial governments, YES is a non-profit organization, and program fees range from free to definitely affordable." (Mirror)

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Good Luck and Welcome back to MTL! :sideways:

U can be an english teacher My sister's english teacher speak only english

good luck

Try Aldo group... they always have position open for new graduates.. especially for fashion marketing, general marketing and some IT ...

Since you had experience in Ogilvy, you have more possiblities~

Good luck~

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Hey!!!! OMG I've been SO busy but
I'm making time for mallvibes at least once every 2 days so its good :kissing:

Its was pretty coldd today.. and it rained like ALL day yesterday..
reminds me of good old Vancouver haha // speaking of that

- I'm thinking of getting a pair of Hunter boots...

but they kinda look ugly?? well not ugly.. just a question? what are they famous for?

- I've been seeing a lot of people wearing the Burberry rainboots..?
are they cheap?? or there's just a lot of fakes out there?

oh yeah and a update to thisss thread.. I found a job HAHA! YESSSSS :sideways:

Good for you! Glad you could find a job I do tutoring, so I don't need French, but for sure a lot of jobs you need to have at least some basic conversational skills.

Hello, I am from Toronto planning on moving to Montreal in September, but I don't speak any French. Could you let me know how difficult to find a job without speaking French. no telemarketing...! Thank you

Lulu_sag, It is VERY possible to find a job in montreal without knowing what "Bonjour" means. You wouldn't believe the number of students/adults in montreal who dont speak french.

In retail, sales, customer service etc... they will all regard billingual as a plus, even a necessity. West Island is more english so you have better luck there in retail. But if you broaden your horizon a bit, you can find better jobs elsewhere that do not require you to communicate much with customers nor have any special skills.

Try the local paper or job sites, there are many jobs that dont have the "glamour" of Ogilvy, but will pay you much more (and not require you to buy seasonal clothing).

So that's my advice to you guys, broaden your search to beyond boutiques and telemarketing, look ad "help wanted ads" and if they dont state bilingual, go for it.