Write a lettre de motivation the French way: address blocks, an 'Objet :' line, the Vous–Je–Nous structure and the formal closing formula — on A4, in English or with French formalities. Free, with no sign-up.
Cover letter studio
United States · cover letter
0 of 2 ready
You can switch at any time; nothing you typed is lost.
Key skillsoptional
Achievementsoptional
Educationoptional
Sets the paper size, date format, layout and length recruiters in United States expect.
Use United States conventions
Writes the local greeting, sign-off for a cover letter.
Off: an international English letter on United States paper. Turning it on writes the local greeting and sign-off below.
Preview — cover letter
Dear Hiring Manager,
Sincerely,
Add the hiring manager's name to personalise the greeting.
Tone
Measured and businesslike. The safe default for corporate, finance, legal and public-sector roles.
Career level
2–7 years. Leads with ownership and delivered results.
Letter length
240–320 words. The length most recruiters expect. In this market letters usually run 250–400 words.
Layout
Meridian · US & EU
Technology, product, marketing and most corporate roles.
Single column, plain text, no tables or images.
Paste the job description to begin.
Vocabulary
Using the wrong word for the document is the first small signal that an application was not written for France. These are the terms you will see in job adverts.
lettre de motivation
French
The standard name; literally 'motivation letter'.
lettre de candidature
French
Used for speculative applications (candidature spontanée).
candidature spontanée
French
An unsolicited application — a letter with no advertised posting behind it.
The conventions
The French lettre de motivation is a formal letter first and a marketing document second, and its shape is taught in school. The applicant's address sits top left, the company's address top right slightly lower, the place and date top right ('Paris, le 16 septembre 2026'), then an 'Objet :' line that names the position, then the greeting. Skipping the address blocks in a PDF application still reads as incomplete.
The argument inside follows Vous–Je–Nous. Vous: what the company does and why this role exists — one short paragraph that proves you understood the advert and the business. Je: your evidence, the qualifications and results that answer it. Nous: what the combination produces, and the request for an entretien. This order is not a stylistic quirk; a letter that opens with Je inverts the courtesy the form is built on and is noticed.
The closing formula is the part non-French applicants get wrong most often. A formal paper letter ends with a full sentence of politeness — 'Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées.' — and the greeting inside that formula must match the greeting at the top of the letter. An email application can shorten this to 'Cordialement,' or 'Bien cordialement,', and the trend in tech and start-ups is towards that shorter form.
At a glance
What recruiters expect
01
Your address top left; the company's address, with the recipient's name and function where known, top right and set slightly lower. The generator's Kontor template renders both blocks when you choose France.
02
'Objet : candidature au poste de chef de projet digital (réf. 2026-44)'. For a speculative application it becomes 'Objet : candidature spontanée — poste de …'. The objet is not optional in a formal French letter.
03
The company first, your evidence second, the fit third. Two sentences of Vous are enough — the point is that they are specific to this employer and could not be pasted into another application.
04
If you open 'Madame, Monsieur,' the closing formula repeats 'Madame, Monsieur'. If you open 'Monsieur le Directeur,', it repeats that. Mismatching the two is the French equivalent of the British sincerely/faithfully error.
05
Vous throughout, no contractions, no humour in the opening. But avoid the heavy bureaucratic register in tech: 'J'ai l'honneur de solliciter' belongs to a prefecture, not to a start-up in Station F.
06
A photo on the CV remains common though not required, and employers may ask for age or driving licence details in some sectors. In the letter itself, keep to professional facts.
Paragraph by paragraph
The generator follows this order. You can see it in the preview before you export anything.
Applicant block top left, company block top right, then 'Paris, le 16 septembre 2026' aligned right beneath it.
One line naming the position and the reference. Then the greeting: 'Madame, Monsieur,' unless a name and title are known.
The company and the role: what they do, what the position exists to solve, and why it interests you. Two or three specific sentences.
Your evidence — two paragraphs of results and qualifications that answer the advert, with figures where they are true.
What you would do together in the first months, then the request for an entretien: 'Je serais heureux de vous exposer mes motivations lors d'un entretien.'
The full closing formula matching the greeting, then your name. A signature is added on a printed or PDF letter.
The shape on the page
Layout only — the generator fills this with your own facts, never with placeholder text you have to remember to delete.
Jane Doe
12 rue de la Paix · 75002 Paris
jane.doe@email.com · +33 6 12 34 56 78
Acme SAS
À l'attention de Madame Alvarez
45 avenue de l'Opéra
75002 Paris
Paris, le 16 septembre 2026
Objet : candidature au poste de chef de projet digital (réf. 2026-44)
Madame, Monsieur,
[Vous: what the company does and why this role exists — specific to them.]
[Je: your evidence against the advert, two paragraphs, with figures.]
[Nous: what you would deliver in the first months, and the request for an entretien.]
Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées.
Jane DoeReady to use
Copy one straight into the letter — the generator already uses the greeting and sign-off for this market when conventions are on.
Greeting, neutral
Madame, Monsieur,
The safe default, and the one the generator uses for France.
Named woman
Madame Alvarez,
When the advert names a woman; the closing formula then repeats 'Madame'.
Named man
Monsieur Alvarez,
When the advert names a man.
By title
Monsieur le Directeur,
Formal sectors: law, public administration, luxury, banking.
Objet line
Objet : candidature au poste de chef de projet digital (réf. 2026-44)
Always, above the greeting.
Vous opener
Votre ouverture d'un poste de chef de projet digital accompagne la croissance de votre activité retail, que je suis depuis le lancement de votre marketplace.
Specific to the employer — never reusable.
Closing, formal
Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées.
Paper and PDF letters.
Closing, email
Bien cordialement,
Email applications and tech employers.
Before you send
Finding the posting
France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
The public employment service; adverts carry a reference number to quote in the Objet.
APEC
Cadre-level roles; the letter is expected and formal.
Dominant in Paris tech, where 'Bien cordialement,' and English applications are both common.
Welcome to the Jungle
Start-up and scale-up channel; a shorter, more direct letter fits the culture.
Questions
Yes in most sectors — particularly finance, law, luxury, industry, the public sector and any role advertised through APEC or France Travail. Start-ups increasingly treat it as optional; follow what the advert says.
The conventional order of argument: the company first (Vous), your evidence second (Je), what you would achieve together third (Nous). It is taught in French schools and expected by French recruiters.
On a PDF or printed letter, use the full formula and make it match the greeting. In an email, 'Cordialement,' or 'Bien cordialement,' is now normal, and in tech it is expected.
In the language of the advert. French-language adverts expect French; adverts written in English, particularly in Paris tech, accept English. If your French is intermediate, a clear English letter beats a shaky French one.
Place and date top right in the form 'Paris, le 16 septembre 2026', with the month in lower case and no leading zero on the day.
A photo on the CV is common and accepted, though never required. The letter itself carries no photo and no personal identifiers beyond the address block.
Applying elsewhere
Each guide sets the generator up for that market: paper size, date format, layout, length and the local greeting.