Published on 15/07/2026 · Sources last reviewed: 15/07/2026 · Our method

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Is your CV ready for a Swiss recruiter?

Paste the text of your CV. The tool checks it against the nine differences between a French CV and a Swiss one, and tells you what to fix, point by point.

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Made-up example, fictional personYour CV text 131 wordsJob ad optional: measures how many of the ad’s terms you use

Does your CV have a photo?

Its layout?

Target region

Still a French CV

Points a Swiss recruiter will notice first: 6.

To fix: 6To check: 4In order: 1

✕
Document title
Your CV starts with CURRICULUM VITAE.
Replace it with the job you are applying for, for example “Acute care nurse”. The word “CV” does not appear.
✕
Nationality and permit
No nationality, no permit status.
At the top, under your contact details: “French nationality, eligible for a G permit” if you do not have it yet. Do not write “G permit” if you do not hold one: the employer applies for it, based on the contract (SEM).
✕
Phone
National format: 06 12 34 56 78.
The recruiter calls from Switzerland: add the country code (+33 for France) and drop the leading 0.
✕
Languages
Level cannot be measured: English: read, written, spoken.
Give a CEFR level for each language (B2, C1…). Do not overstate it: it gets tested in the interview.
✕
References
You write References available on request..
In Switzerland this is a section of its own: two or three people, with their role and contact details. Tell them beforehand: they will be called.
✕
Signature and date
Found: Signed in Annemasse, 02/10/2026.
Remove it. A Swiss CV is neither signed nor dated; the cover letter is.
!
Length
About 1 page(s) for 11 years of experience (senior profile).
At this stage, Swiss practice expects {attendu} pages: describe your tasks and results. The extra page is normal.
!
Availability
Given as a notice period: Notice period: 2 months..
Give a date (“Available from 1 December 2026”): that is what the recruiter looks for, and notice periods are not counted the same way on both sides of the border.
!
Photo
No photo (as you said).
A photo is common and expected in Switzerland: simple, professional, neutral background. It is not mandatory.
!
Ad terms used: 40 %
Main terms of the ad found in your CV: internal, medicine, nurse, care, patients, students of 15.
internalmedicinenursecarepatientsstudentsgenevaprovideacutemultipleconditionswithinmultidisciplinaryhelpsupervise
Use the crossed-out terms if they match what you can do, in your experience or skills. Screening, human or software, looks for the ad’s words.
✓
Layout
Plain layout (as you said).

What this tool cannot do. It reads text: it sees neither your photo nor your layout, hence the two questions. No Swiss authority sets a CV format: these criteria are observed practice, explained in the guide below; the cross-border status relies on the SEM. A 10/10 does not guarantee an interview.

The Swiss CV, explained by people who reformat them every day

Your French CV isn’t bad: it’s unreadable to a Swiss recruiter. Nine codes separate them — photo, permit, references, languages, length — and each one is fixed in a few minutes once you know what to change. Here is the full list and the special case of the cross-border worker.

At Relokea, reformatting French CVs to the Swiss standard is daily work. This guide describes what we observe in July 2026: market practices, not rules of law — where an official source exists, it is cited and dated.

Why your French CV ends up in the unread pile

A Swiss recruiter sorts fast and looks for three markers: your right to work (permit), your real language level, contactable references. A French CV doesn’t give them — not through carelessness, but because French conventions exclude them, sometimes for good reasons that stayed on the other side of the border. Your file therefore demands an effort to decode. Nobody makes that effort for a stranger.

The 9 differences that count

#	Element	French practice	Observed Swiss practice
1	Photo	discouraged (non-discrimination)	common and expected — a sober professional photo
2	Length	1 page	2 pages standard; more accepted for experienced or technical profiles
3	Nationality + permit	never mentioned	expected at the top: nationality and permit status (see cross-border case)
4	References	“on request”	a section in its own right: 2-3 people, role, contact details — genuinely called
5	Languages	“read, written, spoken”	precise CEFR level (B2, C1) per language
6	Document title	“Curriculum vitae”	the TARGET ROLE as the title; the word “CV” doesn’t appear
7	Signature	sometimes signed/dated	no signature and no date on the CV (the cover letter, yes)
8	Phone	06…	international dialling code: +33 6… (the recruiter calls from Switzerland)
9	Design	creativity tolerated	clean sobriety: content comes first, “designer” CVs work against you outside creative jobs

Each line is a small change; the nine together change the category of your file. It becomes readable without effort — exactly what a quick sort rewards. One point no table settles remains: your status.

The cross-border case: state your status, without over-playing or hiding it

You don't have a G permit yet

You don't write "G permit" (you don't have it). The right wording: "French national — eligible for a G permit". The EU/EFTA cross-border authorisation is issued on the basis of the employment contract, for an activity of more than three months; it is the employer who applies for it to the cantonal authority (source: SEM). The G permit guide.

You already have a G permit

State it as-is. Validity: five years for a permanent contract or a contract of at least one year; for a contract of three to twelve months, it follows the contract's duration (source: SEM).

Your French address

Leave it — hiding it shows and worries. Add what reassures: the real distance ("Annemasse — 15 min from Geneva"), your mobility, your car if the job calls for it.

Your availability

Give it as a date ("available from 1 October") rather than as a notice period — that's the information the recruiter is looking for, and it avoids misunderstandings between French and Swiss conventions.

French-speaking or German-speaking Switzerland: two different CVs

French-speaking Switzerland (Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura…): CV in French, the codes above.
German-speaking Switzerland (Basel, Zurich, Bern…): the expected document is the Lebenslauf in German — a close but not identical structure; applying in French there hurts you badly outside English-speaking multinationals (observed practice).
The CV’s language follows the ad’s language. Ad in English → CV in English possible, but state your level in the local language: it counts for team life.

Before / after: what reformatting changes

Same experience, same person — but permit shown, references named, CEFR levels, title = target role. The substance doesn’t change; Swiss readability does. A real anonymised example (with the person’s consent) will be added here.

References: the section that makes the difference

In Switzerland, references are not a courtesy formula: they are verified. Two to three people, with role and contact details, warned of your consent — former managers preferably. The Swiss work certificate — which any employee can require from their employer, during employment as well as at departure (art. 330a of the Code of Obligations, a mandatory provision) — plays a similar role for your future Swiss experience; for your French experience, your work certificates and attestations do the job, translated if the ad is not in French.

Key points

Nine concrete differences separate the French CV from the Swiss one — all fixed in a single work session.
Cross-border worker without a permit: “eligible for a G permit”, never “G permit” you don’t have.
Language levels in CEFR, contactable references, title = target role.
German-speaking Switzerland = a Lebenslauf in German, not a translated French CV.

Practical tips

Have your language level assessed by someone who’ll put you through a real 10-minute test: over-rating your CEFR is paid for at the interview.
Warn your references BEFORE listing them — a referee surprised on the phone is a counter-reference.
Reuse the ad’s vocabulary in your skills section: the sort, human or software, looks for the ad’s terms.

Common mistakes

Translating your CV word for word (or having it turned into a "Lebenslauf" without adopting its structure): the format shows before the substance.

"Read, written, spoken": unreadable to a Swiss recruiter — CEFR or nothing.

Hiding your cross-border status: the recruiter infers it from the address; the unsaid becomes a doubt. Say it, and reassure on mobility.

The "creative" CV outside creative jobs: sobriety is a code of seriousness.

Frequently asked questions

Is a photo mandatory on a Swiss CV? Mandatory, no. Expected, yes, in most sectors (observed practice, July 2026): its absence gets noticed. A sober professional photo — not a cropped selfie.

How many pages for a Swiss CV? Two pages are the comfortable norm; one can be enough early in a career, three are acceptable for a long technical profile (observed practice).

Do I have to translate my French diplomas? For the CV: no, keep the official titles and add a readable equivalence line ('equivalent to a Bachelor'). A certified translation is only produced if the employer or a recognition procedure asks for one.

Bring your CV up to the Swiss format. The CV Coach reformats your CV to these nine codes, section by section — you see every change and you stay in control.

Reformat my CV

Official sources

SEM — G permit EU/EFTA (accessed on 15/07/2026)
CO art. 330a — work certificate (accessed on 15/07/2026)

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