EF Education First

Placement organization

Name of organization: EF Education First
Town/city: Paris
Country: Frankrijk
Website: http://www.ef.fr/

Student

Name of student: Esther Prevoo

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2016-2017

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: EF combines language training with cultural exchange, academic achievement and educational travel to deliver courses and programs that transform dreams into international opportunities. Their main mission is to ‘Open the world through education’.
See this site page for more information; http://www.ef.fr/about-us/
Target group of the organization: Students USA and Canada (North America)
Company culture: Employees from all ages – mostly young people. The atmosphere is both formal & informal. In Paris, the regional office is small. We were 4 in the office, so it was more informal (we worked hard, but we also laughed and talked a lot). But through emails and over the phone, it is more formal.
Number of employees: Millions all over the world. In the office, 2 full-time workers
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? I’m working in the Regional Office (RO) in Paris, in the ‘operations’ department. But as the RO is responsible for hiring, allocating and dealing with the tour directors – the ‘guides’ accompanying the groups, also in the ‘human resource’ department.

Brief description of your daily activities: – Send pre tour contacts and flight itineraries to the Tour Directors.
– Be responsible for the tablets which the Tour Directors use to fill in during their tour to see their itinerary and to fill in their evaluations
– Answer emails and phone calls.
– Assist Tour Directors with any questions or problems they have.
– Be responsible for local transport tickets (metro/train/Oyster/etc.)
– Work with the internal system (to allocate tour directors to tours, etc.)
– Help the service team with emergencies

Brief description of your company assignment: I make a booklet with activities which will help the tour directors to animate and give a personal touch to their tour. Out of unexciting moments (like long travel hours, waiting hours, etc.), they’ll have the chance to spent a great time as a group, by doing those group bonding activities described in the booklet.
To be sure that the students are interested in doing such activities, I created a survey which the students travelling with EF have to fill in.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My collegues are really very nice! They are always willing to answer every question I might have, and they really take the time to explain everything clearly.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? team player, flexible, stress-resistant, multitasking, independent, social
Additional company requirements for this placement? Excel,
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French: Basic
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Car/train

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Myself ; Cité international universitaire de Paris (Dutch College)
How did you go to work every day? public transport, bicycle

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents:
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents?
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance?

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? It’s not mandatory to speak French for this placement, but if you speak a bit, it will facilitate many things

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 90 – 180 €
Accommodation (monthly): € 550 – 800€
Local transport (monthly): € 73 (the company pays for it)
General costs of living (monthly): € 250 – 300€ (depends on you, but Paris is quite expensive)
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? The public transport pass (monthly), 10€ lunch per work day, one allez-retour back home.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
internet, articles
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: esther.prevoo@hotmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Paris is an expensive city, don’t underestimate that… Rent is very expensive and a room is really hard to find. Therefore I really advice you to check the ‘Cité International Universitaire de Paris’.
I stayed there and it was really really really nice to meet people from all over the world. I stayed in the Dutch College (but there were not that much on Dutchies in that place, there are people from all over the world), but you are free to apply for a room in another house.
There is a park closeby, there are opportunity to exercise any sport you want, there are parties organized, etc.
If you want to know more about it, check their site or contact me! But I really recommend this place.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: EF’s office is located in the 9th arrondissement, which is a very nice district with lots of shopping opportunities (Galerie Lafayette, etc.). There are many little lunch restaurants and take-away restaurants.
PS little tip for lunch: buy something to takeaway and go to the rooftop of Galerie Lafayette to eat in the sun!

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link