Here are six free modern CV templates for Word you can download right now:
Metropolitan CV Template
Stirling CV Template
Chelsea CV Template
Royal CV Template
Contemporary CV Template
Abertawe CV Template
A modern CV design can give you a competitive edge and boost your chances of an interview.
To help you make a CV that impresses employers, our team of career experts created these modern CV templates with contemporary design trends in mind:
1. The Metropolitan CV Template
Our Metropolitan CV template offers a clean and modern design, placing your experience front-and-centre.
Why choose our Metropolitan template?
The understated yet impactful design of the Metropolitan makes it well-suited for traditional fields like law or business. Additionally, by listing the education section in a separate column, this template emphasises your academic qualifications and is a good option if your university or school achievements are among your best selling points.
Unique features
- Eye-catching header draws attention to your name
- Clearly divided sections enhance readability
CV examples using this template
2. The Stirling CV Template
The Stirling template balances style and professionalism perfectly.
Why choose our Stirling template?
This template is the perfect match for job applicants looking for a conventional CV, but with a visual effect that’ll make recruiting managers look twice. The 3D background adds aesthetic appeal to the Stirling template without distracting from your qualifications.
Unique features
- Distinctive design
- Simple layout complements the design and creates a well-balanced impression
CV examples using this template
3. The Chelsea CV Template
The Chelsea features an elegant, modern design that’s sure to attract employers’ attention.
Why choose our Chelsea template?
The subtle elegance of the Chelsea is unlike any of our other templates. The structured design highlights that you’re a logical thinker with an eye for detail, making it ideal if you’re applying for a job in computer science, architecture, or other fields where employers prioritise such qualities.
Unique features
- Discrete geometric design elements
- Large experience section to give you plenty of room to showcase your skills
CV examples using this template
4. The Royal CV Template
With its bold header, the Royal CV template exudes confidence.
Why choose our Royal template?
Need your application to make a strong impression the second employers lay eyes on it? The Royal template can help you apply for more competitive roles by emphasising your name and ensuring it sticks in employers’ minds.
Unique features
- Bold, colourful header to make your CV stand out
- Two-column experience section to fit more of your professional experience on the first page
CV examples using this template
5. The Contemporary CV Template
Our Contemporary template offers a fresh approach to presenting your qualifications.
Why choose our Contemporary template?
Well-structured, straightforward, and modern, the Contemporary template allows your professional background to take centre stage. If you’re a seasoned expert in your field with a career lined with successes, this no-nonsense template gives you the space you need to showcase them.
Unique features
- Colourful details to set the template apart from traditional black-and-white CVs
- Simple, clean lines to add a stylistic touch at the top of the page
CV examples using this template
6. The Abertawe CV Template
The visual appeal and clear layout of the Abertawe CV sets it apart from the rest.
Why choose our Abertawe template?
Easy on the eyes and cleverly designed, the Abertawe is perfect if you want to immediately draw attention to your impressive skill set. Whether you’re a highly skilled professional or switching careers, you stand to benefit from using the Abertawe CV template to convey your abilities.
Unique features
- Two colourful blocks add emphasis to the header and skills sections
- Effective use of white space and bold text ensures key information is highlighted
CV examples using this template
Modern CV Template Format
For modern templates, it’s best not to get too creative with your CV format. Employers are used to modern CVs looking a certain way.
The modern way of writing a CV for the UK is to follow this standard structure:
- an eye-catching header
- your contact details
- a personal profile
- your work history
- educational qualifications
- a skills section
- your hobbies and interests
- any additional, optional sections (like language skills)
Want a blank CV template you can adjust to fit your experience? Here’s a text version of a modern CV that you can copy and paste:
YOUR NAME
[Job Title]
07123 456 789 | 38 Your Road, Town, Postcode | your.email@gmail.com
CV Personal Statement
Dedicated [industry] professional with [# of years] years of work experience. Seeking to use my expertise in [job-specific skills] to fill the [Position Name] position at [Company Name]. Achieved [relevant achievements] at my previous job. Ready to build on those achievements to help accomplish [Company’s Name]’s goals and take on more responsibility as soon as possible.
Relevant Work Experience
Most Recent Job Title
Employer Name / Location / Start Date – End Date
- Include a bulleted list of your duties and accomplishments
- Add hard numbers to your bullet points to better illustrate your impact
- Write at least three bullets under each employer to avoid making it look like you did the bare minimum
Earlier Job Title
Employer Name / Location / Start Date – End Date
- List your relevant accomplishments
- Give examples of how you used your skills to produce results
- If you no longer perform this job, use past tense verbs to describe your experience
Education
University, Location | Start Date – End Date
Degree / Degree Name (include your degree classification for an honours degree)
Relevant modules: List your key or job-relevant modules here
Dissertation: If you completed a dissertation, mention it here
Secondary School, Location | Start Date – End Date
A-Levels: Include any A-Levels you achieved while in secondary school or college
GCSEs: List GCSEs you achieved A*–C (or 9–4) in, particularly English, Maths, and IT
Skills and Certifications
- List your relevant skills and certifications
- Include a mix of technical skills and soft skills
- Be specific (for instance, state the names of software and tools you’re able to use) and use language from the job advert to get more industry-specific buzzwords on your CV
Hobbies
- List some of your relevant or interesting hobbies
- For example, if your target employer is seeking someone who can be a team player, mention here that you’re a part of your local rugby team
3 Modern CV Examples for Jobs
If you’re looking for examples of how best to use a modern CV template, here are three CV samples for different industries that use modern templates:
How to Use a Modern CV Template
To help you make the most out of your modern CV template, here are three tips:
1. Pair your modern CV template with a modern cover letter
When you put together your application, every detail matters. A cohesive application signals professionalism and tells recruiting managers that you’ve put effort into your application.
To achieve a cohesive look, use a cover letter template that matches your CV perfectly. That way, the recruiting manager will associate your CV with your cover letter and won’t easily lose track of your application.
2. Choose a layout that emphasises your greatest strengths
It’s tempting to pick a modern CV template based on your own personal preferences. However, you should ask yourself, ‘does this template help me emphasise my biggest selling points?’
If you’re looking for your first job after university and you’ve only had short-term jobs to help pay your way through uni, employers will be looking at your academic achievements, and not your work history.
If that’s the case, opt for a template with the education section at the top and lead with your qualifications.
If you’ve got a few years of relevant work experience though, your education section will be less important.
3. Pick a colour suitable for your industry
Choosing the right template colour is just as important as choosing the right CV design.
For most industries in the UK, you’ll want to stick to colours such as deep reds, blues, and greens. These colours are both professional and good-looking. Colours to avoid include neons and pastels, which look better on creative CV templates for industries like design.
Frequently Asked Questions About Modern CV Templates
These are some of the questions we get asked the most about modern CV templates:
1. What does a good modern CV look like?
A good modern CV mentions your top marketable qualities right at the top in your personal statement, then highlights concrete examples of your accomplishments throughout your work experience section.
Employers expect to see proof of your achievements, so express them using numbers and percentages throughout your CV.
2. How do you write a modern CV for the UK?
To write a modern CV for UK employers, maintain a consistent style and make sure your CV is easy to skim.
This means:
- sticking to one or two different CV fonts
- dividing your sections clearly by using bold text in your headings or highlighting them in a colour that matches your CV header
- using concise bullet points to convey your accomplishments
All of this will help ensure that a busy employer can take a quick look at your CV and still gather the information they need to decide to invite you for an interview.
Build Your Modern CV in Minutes
Formatting a modern CV correctly can be both difficult and time-consuming. You’ll probably end up needing to adjust margins and font sizes, as well as adding new sections, all of which can make your CV end up looking disorganised.
To make the process smoother, use our powerful CV maker to create a CV formatted according to modern standards in just minutes.
