These expertly designed CV templates are unique to our online builder. Our customizable templates allow you to add or delete sections based on your job goals and professional accomplishments.
- Featured in:
Best CV Templates
Refined
A traditional CV template that uses simple linear borders to indicate the start of a brand-new section.
Professional
This elegant CV template uses generous margins and whitespace to mark the start of a new section.
Esteemed
This modern curriculum vitae uses bold section headings and a simple border marker to indicate each CV entry.
Simple
This CV template leans into modern trends by including a photo section and simple borders between sections.
Standout
This modern template includes your stylized initials beside your contact info and a narrow column designated for section headings.
Clean
This contemporary CV template uses a bold border to highlight your contact information and narrow borders to mark new sections.
Charismatic
This conventional CV template uses two fonts, bolded text and simple section borders to make your qualifications easy to find.
Distinguished
This simple curriculum vitae template uses different font colors and ample white space to elevate your contact information and section headings.
Free CV Templates
These examples of CV templates feature all-purpose designs that suit multiple industries and academic disciplines. We crafted these templates from our most popular designs to help you create a starter CV.
The CV Reviews Are In
Why Our CV Templates Work
Professionally developed
Our library features dozens of expertly designed resume and CV templates for your domestic or international job aspirations.
Fully customizable
Our templates include five standard CV sections: contact information, professional summary, skills, work experience and academic background. You can add and customize additional CV sections as needed.
Expertly written text suggestions
Our professional resume writers and researchers continually review live job openings to update our CV Builder’s text suggestions. Find dozens of customizable text suggestions based on your job goals, experience, training and education.
Created with ATS and recruiters in mind
Expert hiring professionals, designers and resume writers developed our templates to score well on applicant tracking systems (ATS) and for easy reading, making them ideal for online and in-person applications.
Time-saving
Our builder saves you writing, editing, and designing time and effort with preformatted CV templates and pre written content suggestions based on your history.
Helpful CV articles
- How to Write a CV: This helpful writing guide covers everything you need to know to create a job-winning CV and provides examples for every essential CV section.
- CV versus Resume: Curriculum vitae and resumes are helpful job application tools that summarize your qualifications. However, that’s where the similarities end — this useful article covers four key differences and explains when to submit one style over the other.
- CV Examples: These CV examples cover the most popular careers that typically request CVs, so you can learn which sections and skills best benefit your job search.
Helpful job-seeking guides
- Career path advice: We’ve discussed how to customize a CV template for a job, but you need to know how to earn the proper training and qualifications. This helpful how-to guide spans multiple jobs and industries. It suggests the best ways to gain education and experience for entry-level roles.
- Essential career guides: From prepping your application materials to practicing interview questions or navigating salary negotiations, these essential career guides offer helpful advice on making the most of your career.
- Common interview questions: Our interview questions guides have you covered no matter your situation, whether you’re preparing for your first interview, a managerial interview or looking to answer specific questions like “What motivates you?”
- Interview preparation: Learn how to avoid a nightmare scenario like poor cell service, dropped video calls or poor interview backdrops by preparing for in-person, phone and video interviews.
See All Our Examples
- Resume examples: This library covers thousands of jobs and features resume examples for every career stage, from entry-level to career veterans.
- Cover letter examples: Our library includes hundreds of cover letters to match your resume style and expand your qualifications and expertise.
CV Templates FAQ
What is the best CV format?
There’s no best CV format because a CV is highly customized to fit the applicant and the job opening. However, follow these formatting rules to create the best CV for your application.
- Use 1-inch margins: Generous 1-inch margins help balance a page and provide visual framing around CV sections. This balance between blank space and text helps reduce eye strain, making your CV more legible for hiring managers.
- Use paragraph breaks between sections: Make sure you have one complete paragraph break between your CV sections. This white space helps break up blocks of text and makes it easy for hiring managers to skim and locate information.
- Use a 12-point font: Your font size can vary depending on your font choice. For example, Arial font is more prominent than Cambria. So, use 10-point Arial and 12- or 14-point Cambra. However, a 12-point font is a safe default size for most CVs.
- Use bullet points: Break up your previous responsibilities, accomplishments and additional qualifications with bullet points. These line-by-line entries are more straightforward, skimmable and identifiable than lengthy paragraphs, making them the preferred CV format for hiring managers.
- Use a universal file format: Some operating systems may resize your document, making it less legible. Opt for a computer-scannable format like a text PDF or a Microsoft Word document.
Are these CV templates ATS-approved?
Our CV templates are designed for hiring managers and ATS (applicant tracking systems). These templates use labeled sections in the preferred order that ATS scans, making these programs more likely to parse and grade your application correctly.
What is the best template for a CV?
Similar to how there is no ideal format, there isn’t a perfect CV template. However, the best CV templates share the following design elements.
- Clear section headings: Choose CV templates that use a second font, unique font colors or special font treatments to mark the start and end of each CV section.
- Ample line breaks: Reading thick blocks of text takes a lot of mental energy. Hiring managers prefer CV templates with short, impactful lines of information or paragraph-heavy documents.
- Impactful design elements: Whether it’s the strategic use of font color to mark new sections, elegant section borders or secondary fonts to make information pop, intelligent design choices can make your CV more skimmable and hiring manager-friendly.
Is a CV different from a resume?
Although similar, they have fundamental differences. A resume is typically used for most job applications in the United States. In contrast, a CV is generally used for international careers or U.S.-based academic, scientific, research, entertainment or government-affiliated jobs.