Minimal
Clean lines, generous white space and a single accent colour. Lets the candidate's experience speak for itself.
TechStart-upsCreative
◐ CV templates
Designed around your agency's brand
Choose from four professionally designed starter templates — or send us your own branded layout and we build it for you in about 48 hours. Swap designs instantly and anonymise on any send.
- 4 designer templates included
- Custom template in 48 hours
- Swap designs instantly
Starter templates
Four professionally designed templates
Ready to use on day one, with your logo and colours applied.
Classic
Traditional centred header, conservative typography and clear rules. Familiar to senior readers.
FinanceLegalPublic sectorAcademic
Serif typography with room for publications, grants, teaching and research interests.
Higher edResearchMedicineModern
A bold brand band and confident headings for commercial roles where presentation matters.
SalesMarketingConsultingOne candidate, any template
Same candidate. Four templates. One click.
Swap designs instantly
Match the format to the client
A fintech start-up and a magic-circle law firm do not want the same CV. With FormatMyCV the candidate data is structured once, so you can present it in any template without retyping a line.
- Switch templates in the editor
- Keep per-client defaults
- Anonymise in any template
Custom templates
We build your house style for you
Already have a branded CV format? Send it over. Our design team rebuilds it as a live template — logo, fonts, colours, section order and all — in about 48 hours. Essential and Pro include one custom template free.
Guidance
Which template fits which industry?
| Industry / role type | Recommended template | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Technology & start-ups | Minimal | Modern, uncluttered, skills-first |
| Banking, finance & insurance | Classic | Conservative and familiar to senior readers |
| Legal & professional services | Classic or custom | Firms often have strict document standards |
| Higher education & research | Academic | Space for publications, grants and teaching |
| Healthcare & life sciences | Academic or Classic | Qualifications and registrations up front |
| Sales, marketing & consulting | Modern | Confident presentation for commercial roles |
| Engineering & construction | Minimal or Classic | Clear project and certification sections |
| Executive & board | Classic or custom | Understated, board-ready typography |
Compare
The four templates side by side
| Minimal | Classic | Academic | Modern | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Layout | Single column | Single column, centred header | Single column, long-form | Colour band + clear sections |
| Typography | Sans-serif | Sans-serif, conservative | Serif | Sans-serif, bold headings |
| Best length | 1–2 pages | 2–3 pages | 2–10+ pages | 1–2 pages |
| Logo & colours | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| PDF & Word export | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Blind CV version | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
Included
What ships with every FormatMyCV template
Your logo & colours
Branding and logo customisation on every plan, including the free Trial.
PDF & Word export
Polished PDF for clients, editable DOCX for your own systems.
Blind CV mode
Every template has an anonymised version with a candidate reference.
ATS-readable
Real text, clear headings and logical reading order.
Multilingual
The same layout works for translated CVs.
Always up to date
Update a template once and every new CV uses the new version.
Best practice
What makes a great recruitment CV template?
Principles our designers apply to every template.
- Hierarchy first. Name, headline and key skills should be readable in five seconds.
- One accent colour. Brand colour for headings and rules — not for body text.
- Consistent dates. One format (e.g. "Mar 2021 – Present"), right-aligned or in a fixed column.
- Scannable experience. Role, employer, dates, then three to six achievement bullets.
- No decorative clutter. Skill bars and icons rarely help a hiring manager decide.
- Print-safe. Good contrast, sensible margins and page breaks that do not split a role.
Customer stories
Templates that read like real, professional CVs
★★★★★“As a headhunter I'm constantly buried in CVs. Automatic formatting to our agency standard has saved us countless hours every week.”
★★★★★“Hands down the best automatic resume formatter I've used. I switched firms and brought it with me — and recommend it constantly.”
★★★★★“We're sending close to 50 formatted CVs to clients each week. Genuinely an incredible find for high-volume desks.”
Anatomy
What goes into every FormatMyCV template
Each template defines the same building blocks, styled to match your brand.
| Section | What it contains | Design rule |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Candidate name (or reference), headline, agency logo | Readable in five seconds |
| Profile summary | Three to five lines on scope and strengths | Optional AI summary |
| Key skills | Grouped skills and certifications | Scannable, no skill bars |
| Experience | Role, employer, dates, achievements | Consistent date format |
| Education | Degrees, qualifications, memberships | Most recent first |
| Additional | Languages, publications, interests | Only if relevant |
| Footer | Agency details, confidentiality line, page numbers | On every page |
Before & after
What a template does to a real CV
Candidate's original
Before
- Three fonts and two colour schemes
- Photo, date of birth and home address
- Dates in four different formats
- Skills buried on page three
- Two-column layout that breaks when printed
Agency template
After
- Your fonts and brand colour only
- Personal details removed or standardised
- One date format throughout
- Key skills up front
- Clean single-column layout that prints perfectly
Customisation
How much can you customise?
| Option | Trial | Essential | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logo & brand colours | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| All standard templates | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Premium templates | — | — | ✓ Yes |
| Custom template built from your house style | — | 1 free | 1 free |
| Extra templates per client or office | — | On request | On request |
| Full branding control | — | — | ✓ Yes |
Blind CVs
Every template has a blind version
Switch on anonymisation and the same template renders without name, contact details, photo or links, showing a candidate reference instead. The CV still looks finished and on brand — not like a redacted document.
Key terms
Key terms explained
Plain-English definitions of the terms used on this page.
- House style
An organisation's rules for how documents should look and read: fonts, colours, logo placement, section order, date format and tone. In recruitment, the house style defines how every candidate CV is presented.
- Branded CV template
A reusable CV layout carrying an agency's logo, fonts, colours and section order, so every candidate submitted to clients looks consistent and recognisably from that agency.
- Applicant tracking system (ATS)
Software that recruiters and employers use to store candidates, manage vacancies and track applications through each hiring stage. CV formatting tools such as FormatMyCV work alongside an ATS rather than replacing it.
- Resume
The North American term for a CV — usually a shorter (one to two page) summary of experience and skills. FormatMyCV formats CVs and resumes alike.
Set-up
How to choose and set your default template
Test all four
Format the same three CVs in each starter template and share them with a couple of friendly clients.
Add your branding
Upload your logo and colours so the templates look like yours.
Set a default
Make your preferred template the workspace default so every consultant uses it.
Go custom
On Essential or Pro, send your house style for a bespoke template.
Section order
Which section order works for which candidate?
Our designers set a sensible default; these are the rules of thumb behind it.
| Candidate type | Recommended order | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate / early careers | Profile → Education → Skills → Experience | Education is the strongest evidence |
| Mid-level professional | Profile → Key skills → Experience → Education | Recent experience matters most |
| Senior / executive | Summary → Experience → Board roles → Education | Scope and outcomes lead |
| Contractor / interim | Profile → Key projects → Skills → Experience | Project outcomes sell the candidate |
| Academic / clinical | Profile → Appointments → Publications → Education | Research record is central |
| Technical specialist | Profile → Technical skills → Experience → Certifications | Skills are screened first |
FAQ
Template questions, answered
What CV templates does FormatMyCV offer?
FormatMyCV includes four starter templates — Minimal, Classic, Academic and Modern — plus premium templates on Pro and a custom template built from your house style on Essential and Pro. Every template carries your logo and colours, exports to PDF or Word, and can be applied to any CV in one click.
Can I add my logo and colours to a starter template?
Yes. Branding and logo customisation is available on every plan, so even the starter templates carry your agency's logo and colours.
Can I switch a CV to a different template?
Yes. The same candidate can be shown in any template in one click without retyping — useful when different clients prefer different formats.
Which template is best for executive candidates?
Classic works well for board-level and conservative sectors; many search firms use a custom template that mirrors their existing shortlist documents.
Are templates ATS-friendly?
Yes. Templates use real text (not images), clear headings and a logical reading order, so the exported PDF and Word files remain readable by applicant tracking systems.
Do templates export to Word as well as PDF?
Yes. Every template exports to PDF for clients and to editable Word (DOCX) for teams that need to make final changes in their own systems.
Try every template on your own CVs
Upload a handful of real candidate CVs, pick a template and compare the output with what your team produces by hand today.
Unlimited team seats on every plan · Cancel anytime · GDPR-friendly✉ Contact us
Ask us anything about your CV workflow
Send a note and a real person replies within one business day — or book a 20-minute demo and watch your own CVs reformatted live.
Reach us directly
- Emailsupport@formatmycv.com
- London+44 20 3807 7392
- DemoBook a 20-minute demo
London — HQ20-22 Wenlock Road, Hoxton
London N1 7GU
United Kingdom
London N1 7GU
United Kingdom
Replies within one business day · No sales sequences · GDPR-friendly