UK CV templates that look finished from the first line

72 CV templates

Every template comes with a matching cover letter, most in three colourways. The gallery on this page shows each one with example content; it needs JavaScript.

• Pivot (one column) - The next career comes first, with evidence-led transferable skills.
• Oxford (one column) - Quiet serif typography and generous margins. A strong everyday CV.
• Launch (one column) - Education, projects and practical ability lead for first roles.
• Sage (sidebar, optional photo) - A full-height colour sidebar, a framed portrait and an elegant serif name.
• Terracotta (two columns, optional photo) - Warm paper, an arch-framed portrait and a large editorial serif name.
• Navy & Gold (one column, optional photo) - A deep colour band, a ringed portrait and a gold timeline through your career.
• Poster (two columns, optional photo) - A poster-sized name, a portrait on a colour block and a soft side panel.
• Monochrome (one column, optional photo) - Black and white, wide-tracked capitals and section labels in the margin.
• Lilac (two columns, optional photo) - A soft tinted page with rounded white cards and a friendly portrait.
• Deep Teal (sidebar, optional photo) - A dark right-hand column, a hexagon portrait and a strong two-tone name.
• Heritage (one column, optional photo) - Centred and timeless: a small portrait, fine double rules and small-caps headings.
• Seaglass (sidebar, optional photo) - A clean main column beside a pale full-height rail for your details.
• Midnight (two columns, optional photo) - A colour banner with your portrait set into its edge and a centred name.
• Zürich (two columns) - A big grotesque name, numbered sections and one bold accent. No photo.
• Tideline (one column) - Dates down the left of a fine spine, so your progression reads at a glance. No photo.
• Carbon (sidebar, optional photo) - Your name and portrait stacked in a dark sidebar, work history beside it.
• Indigo (one column, optional photo) - A bold diagonal colour block, a hexagon portrait and skills up front.
• Meadow (two columns, optional photo) - Soft organic shapes, a rounded typeface and a friendly blob portrait.
• Gilt (one column, optional photo) - A fine double frame, an oval portrait and elegant serif type.
• Coral (one column, optional photo) - Section titles on colour ribbons that run off the edge of the page.
• Dusk (two columns, optional photo) - A soft two-colour gradient header with a ringed portrait.
• Sand (sidebar, optional photo) - A tall magazine-style portrait panel above a tinted details column.
• Mustard (one column, optional photo) - A white page floating on a colour background, like a printed card.
• Noir (sidebar, optional photo) - Your name set vertically down a narrow colour spine.
• Brussels (one column, optional photo) - Clear label-and-detail rows with a portrait, in the European style.
• Broadsheet (two columns) - A newspaper masthead, your profile as a pull quote and columns below. No photo.
• Linen (two columns, optional photo) - Warm neutral paper, light tracked capitals and an airy two-column layout.
• Spearmint (one column) - A compact one-page layout with your skills as a row of tags under your name. No photo.
• Forge (one column) - Bold condensed headings on a dark band, with your tickets, cards and licences up front. No photo.
• Haven (two columns, optional photo) - Soft rounded headings and a calm palette, with your availability and DBS check in the header.
• Bistro (two columns, optional photo) - A friendly café-style header, with a shifts and availability panel beside your experience.
• Terminal (two columns) - Monospace details, projects first and your tech stack as code tags, with room for GitHub. No photo.
• Cloister (one column) - Classic serif type, dates in the margin and numbered publications for research and teaching posts. No photo.
• Ledger (one column) - A thin top rule, small-caps headings and a conservative layout for finance, legal and admin. No photo.
• Tide (two columns, optional photo) - A header in two colour blocks: your name on one, your contact details on the other.
• Ink (one column) - One fine line down the full page, wide margins and plenty of white space. No photo.
• Campus (sidebar) - Your degree leads as a highlighted card, then projects and part-time work. No photo.
• Blue (one column) - A friendly one-page layout with your availability under your name and your GCSEs and A levels easy to find. No photo.
• Green (one column) - Section names in the left margin, QTS and key stages in the header, and room for results. No photo.
• Blue (sidebar) - A soft side panel for your checks, first aid and skills, with your school experience in the main column. No photo.
• Blue (one column) - A clear blue header band holding your NMC PIN, band and DBS status, with clinical skills easy to find. No photo.
• Blue (two columns, optional photo) - Your Care Certificate, DBS and availability in a colour panel on the right, with a friendly photo spot.
• Purple (sidebar) - A dark side column for your tools and skills, with the impact of your analysis in the main column. No photo.
• Steel (one column) - Projects delivered come first, with budgets and timelines, and your PRINCE2 or APM status under your name. No photo.
• Charcoal (two columns) - A quiet grid, light type and lowercase headings, with your ARB status and software in a side column. No photo.
• Gunmetal (one column) - A gunmetal header band in condensed capitals, with chartership status and equipment up front. No photo.
• Black (one column) - Bold condensed headings and your ECS card, 18th Edition and NVQ in a grid under your name. No photo.
• Red (one column) - A warm header band with your kitchens and food hygiene level, and stations as tags. No photo.
• Brown (sidebar, optional photo) - A cosy cream side panel with your photo, shifts and coffee skills, beside your cafe experience.
• Navy (one column) - Centred and polished, with your systems and availability as tags under your name. No photo.
• Green (one column) - Centred and conservative with fine double rules, your ACCA or CIMA status and systems up front. No photo.
• Green (one column, optional photo) - A bold pitch-green header with your position and preferred foot, a photo, and your clubs by season.
• Charcoal (two columns) - Your degree and projects first, with a side column for skills and societies. No photo.
• Blue (one column) - Your GCSE Maths and English grades up front, practical skills next, then school and part-time work. No photo.
• Teal (one column) - Plain and clear, with your grade and clearance in the header and your behaviours examples easy to find. No photo.
• Burgundy (sidebar) - A deep red side column for your GMC number and rotations, with audits, teaching and research in the main column. No photo.
• Navy (one column) - A dark header band with your SIA licence and first aid up front, then sites and shift patterns. No photo.
• Blush (two columns, optional photo) - Tinted paper, a heavy serif name beside a round photo, and your contact details in a row across the top.
• Cream (two columns, optional photo) - Pale plain paper, a big two-line name, bracketed section labels and dates in a margin, with an optional black-and-white photo.
• Gold (sidebar, optional photo) - A photo block above a shaded skills column, a name in wide-spaced capitals and a contact strip.
• Grey (two columns, optional photo) - Soft tinted paper, a tall photo with a vertical hello, and your job title on a dark bar.
• Yellow (two columns, optional photo) - A photo corner, a big name in capitals, two columns and your dates on colour tags.
• Lilac (two columns, optional photo) - A soft colour glow down the page, a huge lowercase name with a full stop, a black-and-white round photo and lowercase headings between fine rules.
• Cream (sidebar, optional photo) - Cream paper ruled into an editorial grid, your name running up the side in huge type, and a black-and-white photo block with your skills and contact details.
• Red (two columns, optional photo) - Warm paper, a square black-and-white headshot with a sideways hello, a bold name, red headings and a large faded word along the foot of the page.
• Grey (two columns, optional photo) - Black and grey: a boxed contact strip, a round photo over a hatched square, a bold name with a hatched rule, and education in a dark panel.
• Orange (one column, optional photo) - An arched photo on a colour shape, a tall condensed name, skill pills, and a timeline down the middle with titles on the left and details on the right.
• Blue (sidebar, optional photo) - Blue-grey paper, a photo block in the corner, your name running up the side in huge capitals, a pale watermark word and dates in black tags.
• Margin Ink (sidebar) - White paper, a light serif name and your details in a narrow column behind one fine rule. No photo.
• Studio Orange (sidebar) - A bold colour column with your initials in huge type, a heavy two-tone name and skills as tags. No photo.
• Folio Rust (two columns) - Cream paper inside a fine frame, a centred italic serif name and numbered sections in two columns. No photo.
• Block Teal (two columns) - Your name in tall white capitals on a solid colour block, with headings on colour tags in two columns. No photo.

Which CV template should you use?

The right design depends on the job and on what you most need the reader to see first.

One column for most jobs

A single-column CV reads top to bottom with nothing to skip. It is the safest choice for applications that go through online systems, and for public sector, finance, law and healthcare roles.

Two columns or a sidebar to fit more in

A sidebar holds skills, contact details and qualifications beside your work history, which suits experienced candidates with a lot to show on two pages, and creative or tech roles where the design itself makes an impression.

First job or career change: lead with what you can prove

If your job history is short or in a different field, choose a template that puts skills, education, projects or training first. Launch is built for first roles and Pivot for career changes.

Keep colour for headings

One accent colour for headings and lines looks deliberate and prints well. Body text should stay dark on white, so the CV is easy to read on a phone and in black and white.

UK CV template rules every design follows

1. A4 and two pages - UK paper size, with a page count that stays readable. The live preview shows exactly where each page breaks.
2. Real text, not images - Text you can select and copy, in one reading order, so application systems can read it.
3. No photo by default - UK employers do not expect a photo. A few designs have a photo slot for jobs where a photo is normal, and show a monogram when you leave it empty.
4. A matching cover letter - Every template has a letter in the same design, so your application looks like one piece of work.

Writing for a particular job? See our CV examples, including teacher, nurse, teaching assistant, data analyst, project manager and mechanical engineer CV examples, or the career change CV builder.

CV template questions

What is the best CV template for the UK?

For most jobs, a clean one-column template with clear headings: it reads well on screen, prints well and works with online application systems. Use a two-column or sidebar design when you have a lot of relevant experience to fit on two pages, or for creative and tech roles.

Are these CV templates free?

You can fill in any template, switch between them and preview every page free, with no account. Downloading the finished PDF and Word files costs £4.99 once for that CV, including the matching cover letter.

Should a UK CV have a photo?

Usually not. UK employers do not expect one, and leaving it off keeps attention on your experience. Some roles in acting, modelling or customer-facing hospitality are exceptions, which is why a few templates have an optional photo slot.

Will application tracking systems read my CV?

Every template uses real, selectable text in a single reading order, never images, with your contact details in the body of the page rather than a header, which is what online application systems need. No design can promise how a particular employer's system scores a CV, so a plain-text copy is there for forms that ask you to paste it.

Can I change template after I start?

Yes, at any time. Your content stays the same and flows into the new design, so you can try several before you decide.

Do the templates come in Word?

The download includes a PDF and an editable Word file of your CV and cover letter.

Interview next?

Common UK interview questions with example answers and questions to ask at the end. How the CV builder works.