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 and get it translated.
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 a good idea 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 :
- The job offer and the way you understand it – what are your motivations – what is at stake for you in the job offered ?
- 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 your are fit for the job : it could be a project, a passion…
- A global and refined, concise analysis of the company, market or product related to the job offer…
- Illustration of your remote working skills and explanation of how you managed to organise your work through the COVID-19 pandemic
Mistakes to avoid
- Don’t begin with “I’m writing to apply for …” => Recruiters will prefer it if you mention a few words about the company, the market or if you begin with your studies.
- Spelling mistakes => make sure you correct all of your mistakes before sending.
- Inconsistencies / copy/paste from your CV => make sure to explain in your cover letter the experiences you mention in your CV.
- Also check the name of the attachment, if the listing suggested one (otherwise go for something classic like NAME SURNAME – Cover Letter)
- NEVER SEND a .doc file => you should turn your .doc file into a pdf before you send it.
- Never send 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.
- Don’t mention 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, it’s not a biography.
- Chunks of the text are the worst to read => 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 like literature and style but for a cover letter, it is better to keep it simple like “Hoping my application will catch your attention”.
One thought on “Cover letter in France”