CV Resume Templates Examples Docx Word download

How to write a professional and effective CV (or a Resume)?

Spend more time than you originally expected to create a professional CV. Every element of your CV needs to be worked out so that you can be remembered by your employer. As a result, your document can be distinguished from other applications, and this may be an opportunity to pass to the next stage of recruitment.

How to start writing a CV (or a Resume)? Read the job offer carefully!

In every official recruitment process, or at least the vast majority, the candidate is required to send a CV. Based on the information contained therein, the employer or HR specialist checks whether the candidate meets the specified requirements, and if so, the person is invited to an interview. After this stage of the recruitment process, a decision is taken to recruit the candidate. The sectors and jobs are different and therefore the requirements for candidates vary. Why do I mention this and why is it so important? I wanted to remind you that there is no single template, no single universal document, no CV template designed and adapted for all jobs. The CV is the answer to a specific job offer. Remember to adjust your CV to the chosen job offer.

How to do that? Compare the required competences to your skills. If the requirements and your competences coincide, that means only one thing, you are the right person for the job. Use similar vocabulary, phrases from the job offer while writing your CV, it will make you well understood and appreciated as their perfect candidate. Your CV should be consistent. Your experience, skills and interests must be compatible with each other. What else can you do? Even if there is no direct request in the job offer, consider writing a cover letter. Attach a cover letter to your CV template (we have ready-to-use templates, general examples for selected positions.

The right CV (or Resume) format, professional CV template – what to choose?

Most CV templates can be divided into three main categories. Classic, modern and creative templates.

Classic CV / Resume, this form of document will work in almost every industry. Simplicity, minimalism and clarity are the most important advantages of this type of documents. The classic CV will prove itself in technical professions and it is also a good choice for employees from the financial and insurance sector.

Modern templates are a good choice for all those who want to show that they are up to date with new trends. A modern CV / Resume is an ideal choice for all IT professions (programmers, network administrators). It is also a good option for managers, traders, analysts.

Creative templates will prove effective for creative positions such as computer graphics, advertising and marketing specialist, designer, photographer, copywriter.

The most important clues:

Download a CV template suitable for your sector (we have prepared classic, modern and creative examples for you to download).

You must know that a recruiter spends an average of 7 seconds reviewing a CV, that’s not much time, so type the most important information on the first page of the document, because if the employer does not find interesting information on the first page, you can be sure that they will not look at the second page.

The candidate’s photograph, yes I know in the UK, USA, Canada or Australia we do not add a photo to the Resume, but in other countries the regulations are different. According to the administrators of LinkedIn, a profile with a candidate’s photo is more trustworthy and people who have published their photo receive more offers to cooperate. The same dependence applies to application documents.

Write only the relevant information in the document, appropriate to the specific job. Add information that adds value to your professional profile or is interesting for your future employer.
Develop the Career Summary section – the reader’s attention will focus on the content of this section first.
Use listed information in your professional skills and experience, this form will make your CV more transparent.

Check what skills are required in the job advertisement. If your competences match those of the job advertisement, it is perfect. Remember that those listed in the advertisement are the most important for the employer, pay attention to those that are at the top of the list of requirements (usually those requirements are the most important). Use a list of points to present your skills.

Always post information in reverse chronological order, i.e. add the latest experience at the top of the section (as in our sample CV templates, which you can download from the site for free).
Write briefly and about yourself (you will tell more about you during the interview), make your CV powerful and short.
You have a hobby that interacts with the job, great, write about your interests in your CV. The hobby works well for candidates with little professional experience. Remember, do not add any interests to your CV that may lead to embarrassing questions.

Avoid creating large blocks of text, make the space between the sections to make your document more transparent and legible.

Before sending your CV to your employer, save your document in PDF format (you have this option in Microsoft Word or use the free online CV wizard). The PDF format ensures that the recipient receives the document exactly as you saved it.

Improve your chances of finding a job, prepare a CV that distinguishes itself from other documents. Remember that a good CV format is not everything, the most important thing is the CV content. I will use a metaphor here. The content, not the cover, decides whether a book is good, while a good cover may make you want to pick up such a book in a bookstore.

Classic CV template, to download and edit for free.

DOCX / WORD format single-column traditional document. A simple and clear one-page combination. Right under the photo and contact details, there is a professional summary section. From this section the employer should start reading the candidate’s CV. The next sections are skills, work experience and education.

A modern template, ready to complete.

Modern two-column template. Photograph, personal and contact details of the candidate are on the left side of the document. The colours used are grey and white. Fonts used, headlines: Arial Black, other content: Calibri.

A modern template. Strong colours.

Elegant, stylish two-column professional résumé template with navy blue and gold accents. You can easily replace the colours used with others. Are you applying for an office job? Are you a salesman, a manager? This is the perfect CV template for you. The versatility of the template allows to use it for many different positions.

A creative template.

A creative and elegant 2-column document with graphic elements. Are you applying for a job position where creativity, inventiveness, conceptuality is valued? Are you a graphic designer, designer, marketing specialist? This is a good choice for you.

Remember the appropriate name of the file/document, use your first and last name (separated by dashes or underlining sign) e.g. Donald_Smith.pdf

Should the graphic form be used in the CV / Resume to present information about the candidate?

Did you know that the graphic presentation reaches the reader much faster and more precisely than the text.
1/10 of a second – that’s exactly what the reader needs to understand the graphic message (it’s much faster if we use the text). The right colours can raise the reader’s interest in this part of the application even by 80 percent. The graphic form of presentation of skills will work well for creative positions such as IT graphics, or in the IT sector such as the position of a developer.