A French CV template that actually follows French conventions
A correct French CV template fits one page and contains, in order: a header (name, target job title, city, phone, email), « Expérience professionnelle » in reverse chronology, « Formation » with Bac+X levels, « Compétences », and « Langues » with CEFR levels. Optionally: a two-line profile and « Centres d'intérêt ».
The structure, section by section
Header: your name in large type, the exact title of the job you target underneath (mirror the offer's wording), then city, phone with +33 prefix if applying from abroad, and a professional email address. No full street address needed.
Expérience professionnelle: reverse chronological. Each entry: job title, company, city, dates (MM/YYYY), then 2-4 bullet points of facts and numbers — « ce que vous avez accompli », not « ce dont vous étiez responsable ».
Formation: degrees in reverse order with their French equivalent (Bac+5 / Master, Bac+3 / Licence), institution and year. After a few years of experience, education moves below experience and loses detail.
Compétences: hard skills and tools, grouped and scannable. Langues: every language with its CEFR level (A1-C2) and certificates. Centres d'intérêt: optional, one line, only if it says something real about you.
Why generic templates fail in France
Most « French CV templates » found online are American layouts with translated labels. The failures repeat: two pages, a large summary block, « References available upon request », skill bars (meaningless to recruiters and unreadable to parsing software), and heavy graphic layouts whose exported PDF scrambles the text order.
CVScore's templates are built the other way around: French section names native, one-page discipline enforced, and every export checked as a PDF file for machine readability. Start free, keep your data in the EU.
Frequently asked questions
Is one page really enough for 15 years of experience?
Two pages are accepted for senior profiles in France. But even then, the discipline holds: recent roles detailed, older roles compressed to one line. One focused page beats two diluted ones for most applications.
Should I use the Europass template for France?
No. Europass is an EU administrative standard, useful for some institutional programmes, but French private-sector recruiters widely see it as rigid and impersonal. Use a French-convention CV instead.
Word or PDF?
Always send a PDF (layout survives every device) unless the employer explicitly asks for Word. Name it clearly: prenom-nom-cv.pdf.