Luxembourg CV format: the CV, the cover letter and the language you write them in

Pick the language first, then the template

In Luxembourg the language decision comes before layout. The government's portal luxembourg.public.lu says the Languages Law of 1984 lets French, German or Luxembourgish be used with the administration, calls French the main language of communication, and says English has become the language of business and finance. EURES Luxembourg adds the rule for applications: write the letter in the language of the advertisement unless told otherwise, and send speculative letters in French, or in English to a large multinational.

1. Read the ad and note the language it is written in and every language it asks for, with any level stated.
2. Write the CV and the letter in the ad language. For a speculative application, choose French, or English if the company is a large multinational.
3. List at least two languages, one of them Luxembourgish, French or German if you have it; EURES calls that combination advisable for a good chance of a job.
4. Collect the keywords of the job: ADEM points to its ROME database, which lists the competencies sought for each type of job.
5. If you are not an EU or EEA citizen, settle the line on your work permit status before you send anything (see the permit section below).

Which language goes with which workplace

When an ad is silent on language, the official portal's description of each setting is the best guide.

How ADEM's guide builds the CV

ADEM, the national employment agency, links a 40-page English brochure, How to draft your Curriculum Vitae, from its CV page. It says no single correct CV exists, then lists indispensable sections and annotates good and bad examples. The points below come from it.

A tag line instead of the words Curriculum Vitae

ADEM wants an eye-catching tag line that picks up the title of the post, backed by qualifications, experience or core strengths, and sees no need to print Curriculum Vitae as a header. For a speculative application, it suggests the company's own internal job titles.

Mandatory and recommended personal data

The photo: optional, but specified in detail

ADEM says a photo is not obligatory, while EURES Luxembourg says the CV usually includes a professional photograph and the 2025 SEPE sheet on Luxembourg calls it habitual. If you add one, ADEM's specification is precise:

• A recent, well-lit portrait on a plain, neutral background, front-on or three-quarter, looking at the camera.
• About 3.5 cm by 4.5 cm; nothing horizontal or oversized.
• A slight smile, sober clothes matching the dress code; no selfie, holiday snap or passport photo.

Experience, dates and education

Experience goes newest first: job title, employer and town, plus the country outside the Grand Duchy, then tasks and key figures. Dates take months and years (02.2001 to 08.2001) or years alone, never days, in one style throughout. Education follows experience unless you are a recent graduate. ADEM asks you to give the Luxembourg or Bologna equivalent of a foreign diploma (bachelor, master, doctorate) and any official equivalence you hold.

Languages get a section of their own

ADEM says languages deserve their own section in a multicultural country, not a line at the foot of the page. Put your mother tongue first, then a level for each language, as a CEFR level or a graphic scale. ADEM warns the interview may switch to a language you claim, and EURES says declared skills are checked.

When two pages are justified

ADEM allows a second page if you are highly qualified, apply for a post with responsibilities or have more than ten years of experience, provided the first page carries the most impactful information. EURES and the SEPE sheet both put the norm at one or two pages.

What ADEM tells you to leave off

• Political or religious affiliations in the interests section.
• A disability or reduced work capacity, as a general rule; ADEM says the interview is the place to raise it.
• Precise addresses of former employers, and handwriting.
• Unemployment written as a bare gap: name it, for example as actively seeking employment, because ADEM says inactive periods are part of your path and should be mentioned.

The cover letter Luxembourg employers read

EURES Luxembourg expects a covering letter with every CV and says it is more than an accompanying note: personal, punchy and tied to one post, it shows you understand the position and the company's needs, names your strengths and explains why this company above any other.

Four paragraphs under an object line

The Maison de l'orientation, a Luxembourg state guidance service, publishes a short letter guide aimed at young applicants. Its model has an object line, four paragraphs and a closing formula, and its order puts you before the company:

1. Object: the reference of the ad if there is one, or the words speculative application, and in every case the post you want.
2. Introduction: why you are writing and how you learned of the vacancy, kept short.
3. Moi: your path and your technical and soft skills, linked to what the offer asks for and to what you can bring.
4. Vous: show that you researched the company and share its values.
5. Nous: say you are available to meet, restate your motivation, and close with a sentence offering an interview at their convenience.
6. A polite formula, such as Veuillez agréer, Madame, Monsieur, ma considération distinguée, in a French letter.

The same guide caps the letter at one A4 page, asks that it not copy the CV, recommends a third person proofread it, and advises against negative words such as problems, unemployment, dismissal or difficulties.

Layout and what travels with the letter

The SEPE sheet on Luxembourg puts the employer, and the recruiter if known, on the left under your details, then place and date, the offer reference (title, code, where you saw it), the letter, closing and signature. It recommends adding a copy of your diplomas, sending PDFs, and not phoning the company.

Sample: a Turkish fund accountant applying in Luxembourg City

The applicant is invented: Elif Kaya, seven years in fund accounting at an Istanbul portfolio management company, answering an English-language ad for a fund accountant at a fund administrator in Luxembourg City. Because the ad and the sector both run in English, so do her documents; the right-hand column names the advice each line follows.

The opening of her cover letter

Had the ad been in French, her B1 would make a French letter risky: both EURES and ADEM warn that claimed language skills get tested.

ADEM, EURES, SEPE and guichet.lu compared, 20 October 2026

Each cell paraphrases the source as read today. Not stated means the source is silent on the point.

Dates: ADEM's CV page shows a last update of 3 September 2025 and its brochure's PDF was last modified in June 2025; the EURES page is dated 3 July 2026; the guichet.lu permit page was last updated on 1 October 2026 and the recognition page on 11 February 2026; the Maison de l'orientation letter guide dates from 2022; the language page shows no date.

The permit route for non-EU applicants

Guichet.lu sets two steps for a third-country national staying over 90 days as a salaried worker. Before entry: a long-stay visa D from a Luxembourg mission, or a Belgian one where Luxembourg has none. After entry: declare arrival at the commune, pass a medical check and apply for the residence permit before the visa expires. The file holds your CV, diplomas, a contract paying at least the social minimum wage and an ADEM certificate, which the employer may request if ADEM offers no suitable local candidate within three weeks of the vacancy being declared. The answer comes within four months in principle. The EU Blue Card has its own page; check both before applying.

Where this guide stops

• Jobs in the Luxembourg civil service were not researched for this guide.
• Regulated professions: guichet.lu says health, socio-educational and certain liberal, commercial and craft professions need recognition of equivalence first, for a EUR 75 fee as of its 11 February 2026 update. The CV cannot replace that step.
• No official source read for this guide asks for a CV in Luxembourgish; none forbids one either.

Next steps and free help

• ADEM's Club Emploi, in its Diekirch, Esch/Belval and Luxembourg (Hamm) agencies, offers computers, internet and tailored help with the CV and letter, free of charge.
• Anelo's eportfolio, listed on ADEM's CV page, stores diplomas and builds a CV and letter from your path.
• Our guides on CEFR levels and Europass, before you fill the language section; the Belgium, France and Germany guides if you apply across the border too.
• CitedCV, if you want the English or German version drafted from facts you confirm, with EU conventions. It does not write French or Luxembourgish.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. ADEM, How to write my CV and cover letter (updated 3 September 2025)adem.public.lu/en/demandeurs-demploi/postuler/rediger-son-cv.html
2. ADEM, How to draft your Curriculum Vitae (guide, PDF)adem.public.lu/dam-assets/fr/publications/adem/guides/Guide-CV-EN.pdf
3. EURES, Living and working conditions: Luxembourgeures.europa.eu/living-and-working/living-and-working-conditions/living-and-working-conditions-luxembourg_en
4. Luxembourg.public.lu, What languages do people speak in Luxembourg?luxembourg.public.lu/en/society-and-culture/languages/languages-spoken-luxembourg.html
5. Guichet.lu, Titre de séjour travailleur salarié (third-country nationals)guichet.public.lu/en/citoyens/immigration/vivre/non-luxembourg/immigration/pays-tiers/salarie/salarie-pays-tiers.html
6. Guichet.lu, Applying for recognition of equivalence of professional qualificationsguichet.public.lu/en/citoyens/travail/recherche-emploi/documents-utiles-candidature/reconnaissance-equivalence-diplome.html
7. Maison de l'orientation, Petit guide pratique pour rédiger ta lettre de motivationmaison-orientation.public.lu/dam-assets/fichiers/publications/2022-and-prior/guide-lettre-de-motivation-version-finale.pdf
8. SEPE, Herramientas de búsqueda de empleo en Luxemburgo (2025)www.sepe.es/SiteSepe/contenidos/personas/encontrar_empleo/encontrar_empleo_europa/pdf/2025/CV-y-CARTAS-de-PRESENTACION/2025_CV_Carta_Luxemburgo.pdf