Category: Getting a job

Overall

Writing a CV (curriculum vitae) or resume, is not specific in France compared to other countries, but a few sections may only appear in a French CV. Here is a list of the basics you should know to write a CV for a French recruiter !

What should be in your CV

• Personal information
  • Picture
  • Name
  • Address
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • Linkedin profile (with a clickable link)

• Education
  • French people are very big on diplomas, so if you have one or more, mention it !
  • Mention the equivalent of your diploma in French (e.g. A-level or Abitur = Baccalauréat)
  • If you are a beginner or a junior, fill that section with your grades, favorite subjects, title of a research paper that you did and can be relevant…

• Professional experiences
  • The most recent first !
  • Mention the name of the company, the dates you worked there, the geographical area 
  • Add a little description of the role you held and the tasks you performed and begin with active verbs 

• Skills
  • Skills range from general IT (MS office, G suite etc…) to training/courses you may have taken (first-aider)…
  • Regarding IT, only mention the software that you actually handle. E.g : if you write “Microsoft Office”, it is very possible that you’ll be asked to perform some tasks under Microsoft Access, even though you’ve never heard of it.
  • Mention if you have a driving licence and what kind of vehicle you can drive

• Language
  • As a foreigner, you can make a difference in that section. Keep in mind that French people are quite terrible when it comes to language. So mention as much as possible and precise your level.

• Hobbies and pastimes
  • French recruiters are used to seeing this kind of section in a CV, don’t forget it, it could make the difference !
  • Mention the sports you practise, the instruments you play, how you busy yourself outside of work.
  • Keep in mind that French recruiters love a nice work-life balance, on paper.

Tips 

• Mention your soft skills too (team-worker, good listener, efficient under a deadline,…) !
• Enhance your presentation with some graphical elements, but don’t go crazy

Mistakes to avoid in your CV

• Spelling mistakes
  • Make sure you correct all of your mistakes before sending.
• Incoherences in your work history
  • Make sure that the experiences you mention in your CV are explained in your cover letter
• Sending a .doc file
  • You should turn your .doc file into a pdf before you send it.
• Leaving blanks
  • Try as much as possible to fill all the gaps in your curriculum. E.g. if you did not work for a year, mention it as a sabbatical.
• Mentioning everything
  • Don’t put your full work history on your CV, only select the most relevant experiences to the job you are applying for
• No more than one page
  • a French CV should fit on one page
• Chunk of the text
  • Lighten up your CV and bolden the most important words.

Overview

Writing a cover letter is paramount in France. Most of the jobs you’ll apply to will require you to explain your motivation, what excites you about the job and how you qualify for it. This can be a bit annoying sometimes, usually when you apply for a day-job, or temp-job.

Should you write the cover letter in French ?

Most of the job listings won’t mention the language in which you should write your cover letter. We can safely assume that being a foreigner applying in France, you can write this letter in English and mention that French is not your mother tongue. 

The Header

The header will help the recruiter to know you better and how to get in touch with you. You should add as much information as you can. It is usually recommended to mention your : 

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Email address
• Linkedin profile (with a clickable link)

What should be in your cover letter

Your cover letter should underline your motivation, skills and ambition to apply for the job. I recommend you get these two sections in your cover letter : 

1. The job offer and the way you understand it, what are your motivations, what is at stake for you in the job ?
2. Your previous work history and how the experiences you had taught you the requested skills to perfectly fill the position.

Here are some suggestions to add to these two sections : 

• Personal experiences and reasons why you fit the job description : it could be a previous project, a passion…
• A global and refined, thought concise analysis on the company, market or product related to the job offer.
• Illustration of your remote working skills and explanation of how you managed to organize your work through the COVID-19 pandemic

Mistakes to avoid

• Don’t begin with “I’m writing to apply for …”.
  • Recruiters will prefer if you mention a few words about the company, the market or your studies.
• Spelling mistakes
  • Make sure you correct all of your mistakes before sending.
• Incoherences in your curriculum / copy/paste from your résumé.
  • Make sure that the experiences you mention in your CV are explained in your cover letter but not repeated.
• Sending a .doc file
  • You should turn your .doc file into a pdf before you send it.
  • Also check the name of the attachment if the listing suggested one. Otherwise go for something classic like NAME SURNAME – Cover Letter.
• Sending a blank email
  • If you send an email to the recruiter, write an abstract of your cover letter in the email. It can appeal to the recruiter and catch their attention.
• Mentioning a weak point
  • If you have one (which is good, it means you’re human)  don’t mention it, it will naturally pop up in the interview.
• No more than 1 page
  • Your cover letter must be short 
• Chunk of the text
  • Lighten up your cover letter in short paragraphs and mark the most important words in bold !
• Not explaining the acronyms
  • If you’re not talking about the UN or the FBI (which everyone knows about), you should write what the letters stand for.
• Getting fancy in the end
  • French people are known to like literature and style. For a cover letter, it is better to keep it simple like “Hoping my application will catch your attention”.