Professional CV builder with polished designs

A CV looks professional when it's easy to scan, consistent from top to bottom and specific about what you achieved. Before anyone reads your CV, they notice how it looks. The design you pick handles the look and consistency; the rest comes down to how you write and what you choose to include.

Which parts does the design handle?

The design handles everything about how your CV looks, so you never set a margin or match a font by hand:

• Fonts and spacing that match in every section
• Headings styled the same way, so each part of your CV is easy to find
• A clean layout with enough white space to breathe
• An ATS-friendly structure that screening software and recruiters can follow

Because those details come with the design, you can compare a formal look with a modern one without reformatting anything. Our CV templates show each style filled in.

How do you make your CV sound professional?

The words are where a CV starts to sound professional. Four habits make the biggest difference:

• Lead with results. "Cut invoice errors by a third" says more than "Responsible for invoices."
• Keep each line to one idea, opening with a strong verb such as led, built or improved.
• Use the job ad's language where it's true for you, so the match is easy to see.
• Keep names, dates and job titles accurate and consistent.

Cut labels such as "results-driven self-starter" unless a line below proves them, because a recruiter believes a result faster than an adjective. Vary your opening verbs too: managed, trained, organized, reduced and launched each say something different.

How do you show results without numbers?

Not every job comes with figures, and that is fine. Describe the scale instead (how many people, how often, how large an area), the change you made (what worked better after you stepped in) or the recognition you earned, such as a promotion, a commendation or being asked to train others.

What order should a professional CV follow?

Reverse-chronological order, newest role first, is what most employers expect. Under your contact details and profile, lead with whichever section proves your fit fastest: recent experience for most people, education for new graduates. Changing careers? A short key skills section above your work history can help, and our CV guide explains when a skills-based CV makes sense.

How much detail should each job get?

Spend most of your space on the roles closest to the one you want, and give older or unrelated jobs a line or two. If your career is long, group early roles under one heading such as "Earlier experience", with a single line for each.

A line earns its place when it proves a skill the ad asks for or a result you'd happily talk through in an interview. Anything else can go, and the CV reads sharper for it.

Build My CV

How do you tailor a professional CV to each job?

Read the job ad and mark the three or four things it asks for most. Move the bullet points that prove those to the top of each job and echo the ad's terms in your profile. Before you start, duplicate your CV in My Library, so every tailored copy leaves your main version as it is.

What's the last check before you send it?

Read your CV aloud, check every date and phone number, and ask someone you trust to look it over. On a polished layout, a small typo stands out more, not less.

Last, compare your draft with two or three CV examples for your field. If they all mention a license, a tool or a kind of result that yours leaves out, add it where it's true for you.