Looking for a job in France

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can look for and take a job in France on the same terms as French nationals; a valid ID is enough to register with France Travail.

Other nationals need a residence document that authorises work. Some cards allow you to work for any employer without further steps, including the "private and family life" card, the "talent" cards, the "job search / company creation" card, resident cards and working holiday visas. With other permits — or if you are still abroad — the employer must usually apply online for a work authorisation before you start.

For that application, the job must generally have been advertised for three consecutive weeks in the six months before, unless the occupation is on the national list of shortage occupations (métiers en tension) or another exemption applies. The prefecture decides; no answer within two months counts as a refusal. Highly qualified candidates may be eligible for a talent passport instead.

• France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) publishes job offers, registers jobseekers and offers advisers, workshops and training. You can search offers without registering; registering gives you an adviser and, if eligible, unemployment benefit. Non-EU nationals need a residence document authorising work to register.
• Apec (Association pour l'emploi des cadres) serves managers and professionals (cadres) and graduates with at least a three-year degree. Its job offers, advice and coaching are free.
• 1jeune1solution, run by the labour ministry, gathers job offers, internships, apprenticeships, training and support for people aged 15 to 30.
• Cité des métiers at the Cité des sciences in Paris (19th arrondissement) gives free, anonymous advice without appointment on career choices, job search, training, workers' rights and starting a business. Advisers are available Tuesday to Friday.

Besides the public services above, offers appear on general job boards, sector-specific sites, company career pages and professional networking sites. Recruitment agencies and temporary-work agencies (agences d'intérim) are another channel. HomiStart does not rank private platforms; use several, and set up alerts with French keywords as well as English ones.

Read each offer carefully for the type of contract (CDI permanent, CDD fixed-term, intérim temporary), the location, the required level of French and how pay is stated — often as a gross amount (brut) per month or per year.

Not all vacancies are published. France Travail encourages unsolicited applications (candidatures spontanées), which work particularly well in sales, cleaning and housekeeping, hotels and restaurants, and for managerial roles such as engineers and project managers.

• Target companies you genuinely want to work for.
• Address your application to the right person: the manager in a small business, the HR department in a larger one. Company websites and professional networks help you find names.
• Use France Travail's La Bonne Boite tool to identify companies likely to hire in the next six months.
• Tell your personal and professional contacts what you are looking for; they may recommend you when a post opens.
• Follow up politely if you get no answer.

• CV: clear and adapted to each offer. If your diplomas are foreign, give the name of the qualification, the country and an indication of its level; see the guide on recognition of qualifications for official comparability statements.
• Cover letter (lettre de motivation): still commonly expected. France Travail advises keeping it short, precise and personal — explain why this company and this job, and what you bring. Beyond about 20 lines, recruiters may lose interest.
• Application email: if you apply by email, keep the message itself to around ten lines, in short paragraphs, with the CV and letter attached.
• Interviews: prepare examples of your experience, and questions about the team and the role. For a job requiring French, expect part of the interview in French.

France Travail's website has free advice pages on CVs, cover letters and application emails.