Pick the best CV template

No single CV template is the most successful for everyone, because the design is only one part of what an employer judges. The best CV template for you makes your experience quick to find and easy to trust, in your field and at your level. These checks help you find yours.

What successful CV templates have in common

Successful CV templates make the reader’s job easy. Whatever the style, the templates that work share four traits:

• Your latest job title, employer and dates are visible within seconds.
• Headings use plain names such as Work History and Education, so readers and screening software find each part.
• Spacing and type size stay consistent from top to bottom.
• Nothing decorative competes with your results.

Judge those four things before colors and fonts. A design that passes all four is worth shortlisting; one that fails any of them makes a strong CV harder to read, however polished it looks.

Which CV format do employers prefer?

For most jobs, reverse-chronological: your newest job first, then the ones before it, each with dates, employer and results. A skills section near the top can help a career changer bring transferable skills forward, but most readers still expect the job-by-job history below it. Pick a template whose layout makes that order obvious.

Check the CV template against your field

The style list above pairs common situations with a look. Before you commit, compare your pick with a few finished CVs from your field. If most of them look formal, a bold design will be remembered for the design rather than for you, so lean toward what your field expects.

Fit the design to your experience

A short work history looks stronger in a design that uses space well, with education and skills near the top. A long career needs room for results, so choose a layout that keeps each job compact. Changing careers? Choose one with room for a skills section near the top, so transferable skills are seen before your job titles. In the builder you can change the section order to suit any of these.

Make My CV

What fonts and colors should a CV template use?

Plain, readable ones. Look for a classic serif or a clean sans-serif at a comfortable size, dark text on a light background and one accent color at most. Color works best on headings and dividers, where it guides the eye, while your job titles and results stay in the plain text a reader takes in fastest.

Test the template with your own details

A design can look perfect with sample text and cramped with yours. Fill in your real jobs, then compare two or three designs. Keep the one where a stranger could find your current role, your biggest result and your key skills in a few seconds. Trying another design keeps every word you’ve typed, so compare as many as you like.

Which website is best for CV templates?

The one that helps with the writing as well as the look. Check for a range of professional designs, suggested wording for your job title, editing that’s easy to follow and the freedom to switch designs without retyping. Rocket Resume offers all four, so you can judge it on your own CV before you decide.

Where the real difference is made

The wording decides most of the outcome: a plain template with sharp, specific bullet points does more for you than a striking one filled with duties. Swap duties for results, use the job ad’s own terms for your skills and check every date. Look at CV examples by job for examples that work in your field, and our guide to writing a CV for help with each section.