CV format for France
In France, you apply with a CV. It runs to one or two pages, and a photo is common. It lists personal details such as your age, place of birth, marital status and nationality. Work experience comes before education.
At a glance
Format: French-style CV
Shared with Belgium and 24 other countries.
- Photo
- Common
- Length
- 1 to 2 pages
- Personal details
- Standard
- Your état civil: age, place of birth, marital status and nationality, sometimes the number of children too.
- Section order
- Experience first
- References
- On request
- Local name
- CV
- Special fields
- Projet professionnel (career goal)
- Paper
- A4
- 210 × 297 mm
These are each country’s usual conventions, not rules. Real practice varies by employer, industry and seniority, and it is changing with anti-discrimination law, screening software and remote hiring: photos are fading even where they were traditional, and multinationals usually expect none. Treat this as a starting point.
How it is written
Concise and built on compétences, sometimes with a projet professionnel.
- Short and direct, under a strong headline or job title.
- Built around your compétences (skills), each backed by concrete results.
- Sometimes includes a projet professionnel: a statement of your career goal.
- Gives your full état civil: name, age, place of birth, marital status and nationality, sometimes the number of children too.
- Written in French.
What to leave out
The photo and personal details, at a multinational
Multinationals usually expect the international format: no photo, and contact details only.
Questions
Do I need a photo on a CV in France?
Usually, yes. A photo is common in France. Multinationals usually expect a CV without one.
How long should a CV be in France?
One or two pages.
Which personal details go on a CV in France?
Your état civil: age, place of birth, marital status and nationality, sometimes the number of children too.
Does education or work experience come first in France?
Work experience comes first, then education.
Should I list references on a CV in France?
Not on the page itself: references are given on request.
Applying for a job in France?
CVMake detects the job’s country from the posting and formats the CV for it.
Start my CV