How to Apply to Tous Les Jours (CJ Foodville)

10 min read Last updated April 20, 2026 10 open positions
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

Key Takeaways

  • Tous Les Jours is a CJ Foodville brand inside CJ Group, the Lee-family-controlled Korean chaebol — joining means joining the broader CJ ecosystem, not a standalone bakery startup.
  • Two distinct hiring paths exist: CJ Group's recruit.cj.net portal for Seoul corporate roles, and a fragmented mix of LinkedIn, Indeed, Tous Les Jours US careers page, and franchisee direct hiring for the US and other markets.
  • Paris Baguette (SPC Group) is the dominant global Korean bakery competitor and will come up in interviews — be ready to articulate why Tous Les Jours specifically.
  • The US K-bakery boom is a real tailwind, but most US stores are franchise-operated, which means store-level employment is with the franchisee, not the corporate brand.
  • Korean F&B long-hours culture is genuine; bakery operations require early shifts, weekends, and holiday coverage in both corporate ops and store roles.
  • Korean language ability is a meaningful differentiator for US corporate roles and effectively required for Seoul HQ positions.
  • The interview process is more structured and formal in Korea (multi-round, presentations, essay prompts) and more standard American-style in the US, with a chaebol overlay either way.
  • Be honest about your fit: corporate hires need to handle global Korean conglomerate dynamics, and store hires need to handle real bakery operational demands.

About Tous Les Jours (CJ Foodville)

Tous Les Jours (뚜레쥬르) is a Korean French-style bakery cafe chain operated by CJ Foodville, the food and beverage subsidiary of South Korea's CJ Group conglomerate. Founded in Seoul in 1997, the brand has grown to roughly 1,300+ stores worldwide, with a heavy domestic footprint in Korea and aggressive international expansion across the United States, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Mongolia, the Philippines, and select Japanese markets. The chain pairs European bakery aesthetics — baguettes, croissants, pastries, cakes — with Korean innovations like cream-filled buns, mochi-textured breads, sweet potato cakes, and seasonal Asian fruit creations. The US operation, headquartered in New Jersey, has emerged as one of the fastest-growing pieces of the business, riding the broader 'K-everything' wave that has lifted Korean food, beauty, and entertainment brands across North America. CJ Foodville sits inside CJ Group, a sprawling Korean chaebol controlled by Chairman Lee Jay-hyun and the Lee family, with sister companies including CJ CheilJedang (KOSPI: 097950, food manufacturing — Bibigo, Spam Korea), CJ ENM (KOSPI: 035760, entertainment — Mnet, Studio Dragon, tvN), CJ Logistics, and CJ Olive Young (the dominant Korean health and beauty retailer now expanding into US physical stores). CJ Foodville itself is private under the CJ umbrella and operates several restaurant brands beyond Tous Les Jours, including T.G.I. Fridays Korea, A Twosome Place coffee, and Bibigo restaurants in select markets. This means Tous Les Jours roles often plug into a broader chaebol ecosystem — internal mobility, group-wide HR systems, and shared services exist, but so do the cultural expectations that come with large Korean conglomerates. The workforce blends a Seoul corporate headquarters (R&D bakers, brand marketing, supply chain, franchise development, international operations, finance), a network of franchisees who operate the majority of Korean stores, and an expanding international footprint with regional corporate teams in the US and Southeast Asia. The biggest direct competitor is Paris Baguette, owned by Korean rival SPC Group, which is materially larger globally with roughly 3,000+ stores including ~140+ in the US and ~700+ in China. Other domestic competitors include Starbucks Korea (Shinsegae-Eland JV), Twosome Place (sister CJ brand), Hollys Coffee (KOSDAQ: 089470), Compose Coffee (KOSDAQ: 281410), Mega Coffee, and Ediya. In the US, Tous Les Jours competes with Paris Baguette, 85C Bakery Cafe, Panera Bread, Au Bon Pain, La Madeleine, and local artisan French bakeries. The 2024-2025 K-bakery boom — TikTok-driven discovery, Korean-American diaspora demand, and broader Asian-American interest — has been a real tailwind for US growth, but the Korean domestic bakery market is saturated and Paris Baguette remains the global category leader.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Identify the right hiring entity: corporate Seoul roles post on the CJ Group car

    Identify the right hiring entity: corporate Seoul roles post on the CJ Group careers portal at recruit.cj.net, while US corporate and store-level roles typically appear on the Tous Les Jours US careers site, Indeed, and LinkedIn — these are separate pipelines with different recruiters.

  2. 2
    For Korea corporate roles, expect the CJ Group recruiting portal flow: bilingual

    For Korea corporate roles, expect the CJ Group recruiting portal flow: bilingual Korean-English application, a self-introduction essay (자기소개서) with structured prompts about motivation and competencies, plus uploaded resume and academic transcripts.

  3. 3
    For US corporate roles in New Jersey or regional positions, apply through the To

    For US corporate roles in New Jersey or regional positions, apply through the Tous Les Jours US careers page or LinkedIn with a standard English resume and cover letter — call out any Korean language ability, F&B operations experience, and franchise or multi-unit retail background.

  4. 4
    For store-level positions (baker, cake decorator, barista, shift lead, store man

    For store-level positions (baker, cake decorator, barista, shift lead, store manager), apply directly at the location or through the store finder on the Tous Les Jours website; many US stores are franchisee-owned, so the hiring manager is often the franchise operator, not corporate.

  5. 5
    Tailor the resume to the specific track: corporate roles want brand, marketing,

    Tailor the resume to the specific track: corporate roles want brand, marketing, supply chain, or international ops keywords; store roles want POS systems, food safety certifications (ServSafe in US), bakery production volume, and customer service metrics.

  6. 6
    Expect a multi-stage process for corporate hires: resume screen, recruiter call,

    Expect a multi-stage process for corporate hires: resume screen, recruiter call, hiring manager interview, panel interview, and for senior roles a presentation or case task; CJ Group seasonal hiring cycles in Korea run on a structured calendar (spring and fall public recruiting drives).

  7. 7
    Prepare to discuss why Tous Les Jours specifically versus Paris Baguette

    Prepare to discuss why Tous Les Jours specifically versus Paris Baguette — interviewers know the Paris Baguette comparison is the obvious one and want to see that you understand the brand differentiation and CJ Foodville's broader portfolio.

  8. 8
    Reference checks are standard for corporate roles; for franchise-operated US sto

    Reference checks are standard for corporate roles; for franchise-operated US stores, background checks and food handler certification verification are typical.

  9. 9
    Salary negotiation is more constrained inside the CJ Group corporate structure t

    Salary negotiation is more constrained inside the CJ Group corporate structure than at startups — bands are tighter, but total compensation includes group benefits, employee discounts across CJ brands, and internal mobility opportunities.

  10. 10
    Follow up with recruiters within a week of each stage; in Korean corporate cultu

    Follow up with recruiters within a week of each stage; in Korean corporate culture, persistence balanced with respectful formality is valued, while US-side communication is more standard American business etiquette.

Resume Tips for Tous Les Jours (CJ Foodville)

recommended

Lead with relevant F&B, retail, or hospitality experience — Tous Les Jours hirin

Lead with relevant F&B, retail, or hospitality experience — Tous Les Jours hiring managers scan for bakery, cafe, QSR (quick-service restaurant), or specialty retail backgrounds before considering adjacent industries.

recommended

Quantify everything: store revenue managed, units produced per shift, customer t

Quantify everything: store revenue managed, units produced per shift, customer transactions per hour, team size, food cost percentage, waste reduction, or franchise expansion numbers if applicable.

recommended

Call out Korean language ability prominently if you have any — even intermediate

Call out Korean language ability prominently if you have any — even intermediate Korean is a meaningful differentiator for US corporate roles given CJ Group's Seoul-centric structure and parent-company communication.

recommended

For corporate marketing, brand, or international ops roles, demonstrate familiar

For corporate marketing, brand, or international ops roles, demonstrate familiarity with Asian consumer trends, K-food/K-beauty cultural context, and ideally direct experience with Korean or broader Asian markets.

recommended

For supply chain, R&D, or operations roles, name specific systems: SAP, Oracle,

For supply chain, R&D, or operations roles, name specific systems: SAP, Oracle, ERP platforms, food safety frameworks (HACCP, FSSC 22000), and any experience with cold chain, frozen dough logistics, or commissary production.

recommended

Include relevant certifications: ServSafe (US), HACCP, food handler permits, bar

Include relevant certifications: ServSafe (US), HACCP, food handler permits, barista certifications, allergen training, or culinary degrees from recognized institutions.

recommended

If you have franchise development, multi-unit management, or new market entry ex

If you have franchise development, multi-unit management, or new market entry experience, surface it — Tous Les Jours US growth depends heavily on franchisee recruitment and area developer relationships.

recommended

Avoid bloated 'objective statements' or generic summaries; CJ Group recruiters a

Avoid bloated 'objective statements' or generic summaries; CJ Group recruiters and US franchise hiring managers both prefer compact, evidence-driven resumes that get to results within the first ten lines.

recommended

For international or Asia-Pacific roles, translate any local-market work into gl

For international or Asia-Pacific roles, translate any local-market work into globally legible terms while keeping the brand names — recruiters will recognize Lotte, Shinsegae, SPC, Aeon, and similar regional players.

recommended

Keep the format ATS-friendly: standard fonts, no graphics-heavy templates, clear

Keep the format ATS-friendly: standard fonts, no graphics-heavy templates, clear section headers, and a PDF export — the CJ Group recruiting portal in particular handles plain-formatted resumes more reliably than design-heavy ones.

ATS System: Custom (CJ Group recruit.cj.net portal in Korea; mixed US systems)

CJ Group operates a centralized custom careers portal at recruit.cj.net for corporate hiring across all CJ subsidiaries including CJ Foodville (Tous Les Jours). It is bilingual Korean-English, requires account creation, and uses structured self-introduction essay prompts in addition to resume upload. US Tous Les Jours roles are not consistently routed through a single ATS — corporate positions may appear on LinkedIn, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, or directly on the Tous Les Jours US careers page, while franchise store roles are often handled by individual franchisees using whatever local hiring tool they prefer.

  • For Korean corporate applications, set aside several hours for the self-introduction essay (자기소개서) — the CJ portal expects substantive responses to motivation, competency, and growth-story prompts, not one-line answers.
  • Create a CJ Group portal account early so you can save drafts and reuse them across multiple subsidiary postings (CJ CheilJedang, CJ ENM, CJ Foodville, CJ Logistics, CJ Olive Young all use the same portal).
  • Upload a clean PDF resume in addition to filling structured fields — recruiters cross-reference both, and inconsistencies between portal data and resume PDF can flag the application for re-review.
  • For US roles, treat each posting as potentially routed through a different system; tailor a generic clean PDF resume that parses well across LinkedIn, Indeed, and direct uploads rather than over-optimizing for one ATS.
  • Watch for Korean-language postings on the CJ portal that aren't translated — if you can't read them, ask a Korean-speaking contact or use a translation tool to confirm whether the role is open to non-Korean speakers.
  • Do not rely on email follow-up alone — for Korean roles, the portal status updates are often the only signal, and US franchise stores frequently respond by phone or in-person rather than email.

Interview Culture

Tous Les Jours interview culture varies sharply by geography and level.

For Korean corporate roles inside CJ Foodville, expect a structured, formal multi-round process consistent with broader Korean chaebol hiring norms: a recruiter screen, a hiring manager interview, a panel interview with multiple senior leaders, and for some tracks a presentation, group discussion, or case task. Interviewers ask competency-based questions tied to CJ Group's stated values, probe motivation for choosing CJ over rivals like SPC Group (Paris Baguette's parent), and expect candidates to demonstrate familiarity with the brand portfolio. Honorifics, formal Korean business etiquette, and conservative dress are standard, and English-only candidates are rare in Seoul corporate roles unless the position is explicitly international. For US corporate hires in New Jersey or regional roles, the process is closer to standard American F&B corporate interviewing — recruiter screen, hiring manager video call, in-person or final-round panel — but with a recurring undercurrent of CJ Group reporting structure and Seoul headquarters alignment that surfaces in questions about cross-cultural collaboration, willingness to work across time zones, and openness to Korean business norms. Strong candidates show that they understand they're joining a global Korean company, not a US-native independent brand. For store-level roles, US franchisee-operated locations interview informally — a manager conversation, often same-day or next-day, with a focus on availability, customer service instincts, food handling experience, and reliability. Korean language is often helpful but not required. Across all geographies, the long-hours culture endemic to Korean F&B operations is real: be honest with yourself about willingness to work weekends, holidays, and early bakery shifts before accepting a role.

What Tous Les Jours (CJ Foodville) Looks For

  • Genuine interest in the bakery and cafe category, not just generic retail or F&B — candidates who can speak to the craft of bread, pastry, or cake stand out.
  • Cultural fluency or at least cultural curiosity about Korean business norms, especially for corporate roles plugged into the Seoul HQ communication chain.
  • Operational discipline: store leaders who hit labor cost, food cost, and waste targets; corporate operators who can manage complex multi-unit systems.
  • Brand differentiation literacy — candidates who understand how Tous Les Jours positions versus Paris Baguette, Starbucks Korea, and US bakery competitors.
  • Franchise relationship skills for development and field roles: the ability to coach, support, and hold accountable independent franchise operators rather than command-and-control management.
  • Language ability: Korean for HQ roles, English for US/international, and Vietnamese, Mandarin, or Bahasa for specific Asian market positions.
  • Resilience under chaebol-style hierarchical structure; the ability to navigate group-wide approvals, internal politics, and parent-company priorities without losing momentum.
  • Customer experience instincts that translate the European bakery aesthetic into specific local markets — what works in Seoul may not work in Houston or Hanoi.
  • Numeracy: comfort with P&L, unit economics, traffic and ticket data, and the ability to defend recommendations with data rather than vibes.
  • Reliability and longevity signal — Korean corporate hiring still rewards stable career arcs over rapid job hopping, and franchise store hiring puts a heavy premium on attendance and dependability.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Tous Les Jours a publicly traded company?
No. Tous Les Jours is operated by CJ Foodville, which is a private subsidiary of CJ Group. The CJ Group conglomerate has multiple publicly traded entities — CJ CheilJedang (KOSPI: 097950) and CJ ENM (KOSPI: 035760) among them — but CJ Foodville itself is held privately under the CJ Group umbrella, controlled by Chairman Lee Jay-hyun and the Lee family.
What is the difference between Tous Les Jours and Paris Baguette?
Both are Korean-headquartered French-style bakery chains, but they are owned by competing Korean conglomerates: Tous Les Jours by CJ Foodville (CJ Group), and Paris Baguette by SPC Group. Paris Baguette is materially larger globally — roughly 3,000+ stores including ~140+ US locations and ~700+ in China — versus Tous Les Jours at around 1,300+ stores. They overlap heavily in product category and target customer, especially in US Korean-American markets.
Are Tous Les Jours US stores corporate-owned or franchised?
The majority of Tous Les Jours US stores are franchise-operated, with some directly-operated locations and a corporate support team based in New Jersey. This matters for job applicants because store-level hiring is typically done by the local franchisee, not by corporate, while corporate roles in marketing, operations support, supply chain, and franchise development go through the US corporate office.
Do I need to speak Korean to work at Tous Les Jours?
It depends on the role. For Seoul corporate positions inside CJ Foodville, Korean is effectively required. For US corporate roles, Korean is a meaningful advantage given communication with the Seoul headquarters but is not always mandatory. For store-level roles in the US and other international markets, English (or the local language) is sufficient, though Korean is often helpful in markets with large Korean-American customer bases.
What ATS does Tous Les Jours use for applications?
There is no single ATS. CJ Group corporate hiring in Korea routes through the custom CJ Group careers portal at recruit.cj.net, which covers all CJ subsidiaries including CJ Foodville. US corporate roles appear on LinkedIn, Indeed, the Tous Les Jours US careers page, and various job boards. Franchise-operated US stores often handle hiring locally without a centralized ATS.
What kind of self-introduction essay does the CJ Group portal expect?
The CJ Group recruit.cj.net portal uses structured Korean-style self-introduction essay prompts (자기소개서) covering motivation, competencies, growth experiences, and career plans. Each prompt typically expects several paragraphs of substantive response, not one-line answers. Plan to spend several hours on a strong essay, and reuse it across CJ subsidiary applications since the format is consistent group-wide.
Does Tous Les Jours hire baker and pastry chef talent directly?
Yes. Both the Korean R&D and product development teams hire trained bakers, pastry chefs, and food scientists, and store-level baker positions exist across all markets. Korea has a deep formal bakery training pipeline; US hiring tends to draw from a mix of culinary school graduates, hotel and restaurant pastry backgrounds, and experienced multi-unit bakery operators.
What is the work culture like at CJ Foodville?
Honest framing: it is a large Korean chaebol subsidiary with the cultural patterns that come with that — hierarchical structure, formal communication norms, long working hours typical of Korean F&B, group-wide approvals, and a strong brand-portfolio mindset. There is internal mobility across CJ Group brands, real career stability, and meaningful global expansion opportunities, but it is not a flat-hierarchy startup environment.
Are there opportunities to move between CJ Group brands?
Yes, internal mobility across CJ Group subsidiaries — CJ CheilJedang, CJ ENM, CJ Logistics, CJ Olive Young, and other CJ Foodville brands like A Twosome Place and T.G.I. Fridays Korea — is a real career path, especially for corporate employees. The shared CJ Group recruiting portal and group-wide HR systems facilitate this, though most internal moves still require formal transfer processes.
Is the K-bakery boom in the US a real growth opportunity?
Yes, with caveats. Korean food, beauty, and entertainment brands have all benefited from the broader K-everything wave through 2024-2025, and Tous Les Jours US has been opening stores at a meaningful pace in markets like New Jersey, New York, California, Texas, Georgia, and Hawaii. That said, Paris Baguette is still the larger US Korean bakery player, and the US market includes strong non-Korean competitors like 85C Bakery Cafe, Panera, and local artisan French bakeries.
Does Tous Les Jours hire international transfers from Korea HQ to US?
Limited. Most international transfers are senior corporate roles tied to specific market entry or operational support assignments, with sponsorship and visa logistics managed through CJ Group's HR. Direct entry-level transfers from Seoul to US store operations are rare; the more common path is local hiring in each market with HQ coordination at the corporate level.
How honest is this guide about pay and benefits?
We do not publish specific salary numbers because they vary widely by role, market, and franchise versus corporate employment. As a directional honest framing: corporate compensation inside the CJ Group structure is competitive within Korean conglomerate norms but more constrained than tech or finance peer companies, with meaningful group-wide benefits and employee discounts. US corporate roles are benchmarked closer to American F&B industry norms. Store-level franchise pay varies by operator and market.

Open Positions

Tous Les Jours (CJ Foodville) currently has 10 open positions.

Check Your Resume Before Applying → View 10 open positions at Tous Les Jours (CJ Foodville)

Related Resources

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Sources

  1. Tous Les Jours - Official US Website —
  2. CJ Foodville - Corporate Site —
  3. CJ Group - Recruiting Portal —
  4. CJ Group - Corporate Overview —
  5. CJ CheilJedang - Investor Relations (KOSPI: 097950) —
  6. CJ ENM - Investor Relations (KOSPI: 035760) —
  7. Paris Baguette / SPC Group - Competitive Reference —
  8. Tous Les Jours - Wikipedia —
  9. CJ Group - Wikipedia —
  10. CJ Foodville - Wikipedia —
  11. Tous Les Jours - LinkedIn Company Page —
  12. CJ Foodville - LinkedIn Company Page —
  13. ServSafe Food Handler Certification (US Reference) —
  14. Korea International Trade Association - Bakery Industry Reports —