The French CV: one page, a title on top, and what to leave off

A French CV fits on one page, or two once you have several years of experience. It opens with a title naming the job you're applying for and two or three lines about you, then your experience, newest first, your education, skills and languages. No law sets what it must contain, but what you give should relate to the job, and everything in it must be true.

This is for anyone applying in France, whether you're French or moving there. What changes between countries, from the photo to the date of birth, is in our main guide to CV conventions across Europe; here is what a French recruiter expects, from France's public services.

What does a French CV look like?

Short and classic. Onisep, France's public information service on studies and careers, asks for a clear title, a readable structure, short sentences and action verbs, with the usual section headings rather than creative ones such as "My career" or "What I can do". France Travail's guide to writing a CV describes the same order, top to bottom.

1. 01
   Name, contacts and a title

   Your name, phone and email, and a title that says which job you want: the job as the posting names it.

2. 02
   Two or three lines about you

   The accroche, or résumé professionnel: your goal and your key skills, with a few of the posting’s keywords.

3. 03
   Expérience professionnelle

   Newest first, with what you did and what came of it. Dates as month and year, as Onisep writes them: MM/YYYY or the month in full.

4. 04
   Formation

   Your education, newest first, after your experience. France Travail says to keep it short as it gets older, and to give it more room when you are just starting out.

5. 05
   Compétences and Langues

   Skills as short points, and languages with a certificate where you have one (such as TOEIC), rather than a level you rate yourself.

6. 06
   Centres d’intérêt

   Optional. France Travail suggests interests that say something about how you work, such as volunteering or a team sport.

How long should a French CV be?

One page. Onisep answers the question directly: yes, a CV should fit on one page, never more than two, and two only once you have a number of experiences behind you. Being precise doesn't need long sentences.

The layout should stay plain. Onisep recommends a simple PDF, not a scan, a readable font such as Arial, Calibri or Tahoma at 10 to 12 points, and no columns, tables, text boxes or images, because some recruiters use software to pre-filter the CVs they receive. Our free ATS check shows what that software reads in yours.

What goes in the title and the opening lines?

The job you want, in the posting's words. Onisep says to change the title of your CV for each job you apply for, and to add a résumé professionnel of two or three lines at the top with a few keywords. France Travail calls the same lines the accroche: your professional goal, your key skills, or both.

1. 01
   Title

   Assistante commerciale export (export sales assistant)

2. 02
   Résumé professionnel

   Sales assistant with four years in export, handling orders and customer follow-up with clients in Germany and Spain. Looking for an export role in industrial equipment.

In French, a "résumé" is that summary, not the whole CV: our post on CV or résumé explains the false friend. The title can also be a line that puts forward an experience, a role or a rare skill, Onisep adds.

What should you leave off a French CV?

Anything that has no link with the job. Service-public.fr, the French government's official information site, says no text sets what a CV must contain: you choose what to give, and what an employer asks must have a direct link with the job and help judge whether you can do it. An employer may not ask for information that would discriminate.

• Personal details the job doesn’t need. Service-public.fr says you don’t have to state your health, a pregnancy, or your union, political or religious beliefs. A photo is listed only as an option; Onisep adds it is not a selection criterion.
• A skill or a level you can’t back. Onisep warns that inflating skills or experience can cost you the recruiter’s trust, since references can be checked and the interview finds out. Give a certificate rather than a self-rated level.
• A date or a diploma that isn’t right. Service-public.fr says the employer may check your diplomas, and that knowingly false information on a CV can lead to dismissal for misconduct, even after you are hired.

On a French CV, what you leave off says as much as what you put in.

If you're coming from another country, most of your CV carries over: our guide to the German CV shows how much the two share, and how the length and the photo differ.