Spot the mistake: false friends in a French CV and cover letter
Actuellement, éventuellement, expérience, formation: tap the English-influenced word in eight job-application sentences and replace it with natural French.
- B1
- 8 sentences
- Tap the wrong word
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
English speakers often slip false friends into French job applications: actuellement means currently (not actually), éventuellement means possibly (not eventually), une formation is training, and une expérience can also mean an experiment. A CV is un CV, a cover letter une lettre de motivation.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
Tap the word that's wrong in each sentence.
Actually, I've never worked in sales.
Actuellement = currently; for "actually", say en fait.
I hope to become a project manager one day.
Éventuellement = possibly; "eventually" is un jour or à terme.
I'm used to difficult clients.
Correct in many contexts, but j'ai l'habitude des clients difficiles sounds more natural here.
I'm very motivated by this position.
Excité can sound sexual or over-agitated; say motivé or enthousiaste.
I took a course in digital marketing.
Professional training is une formation.
I'm in charge of the sales team.
Responsable de, or je suis chargé de l'équipe.
I can support the technical team.
Supporter = to tolerate; to support a team is aider or soutenir.
I'm attaching my CV to this email.
Un résumé is a summary; a CV is un CV.
Which false friends should you avoid in a French CV?
| Don't say (for this meaning) | Say |
|---|---|
| actuellement (actually) | en fait |
| éventuellement (eventually) | un jour, à terme |
| excité (excited about a job) | motivé, enthousiaste |
| une éducation (training) | une formation |
| supporter (support) | soutenir, aider |
| un résumé (CV) | un CV |
French recruiters read a lot of applications, and false friends signal translation from English straight away. Une lettre de motivation is short (one page), formal and structured: vous (the company), moi (your profile), nous (what you'd do together).
- Ami
« Je suis très excité par ce poste »… euh, non.
"I'm very excited by this position"… er, no.
- Toi
Pourquoi ?
Why?
- Ami
Mets plutôt « très motivé ». Excité, ça fait bizarre dans une lettre.
Put "very motivated" instead. Excité sounds odd in a letter.