CV Templates

Why Using the Right CV Template Matters

According to the Institute of Student Employers (2025), graduate hiring fell by 8% during the 2024-2025 recruitment cycle. This tightening market means your application needs to work harder than ever. A strong CV template gives you a solid foundation, ensuring recruiters can find your key details in seconds.

According to the Institute of Student Employers (2024), the average employer receives 140 applications per graduate vacancy. When you are competing against over a hundred other candidates, a messy layout will get your application rejected immediately. Recruiters typically spend fewer than ten seconds scanning a document before deciding whether to read further. Your template acts as a map, guiding their eyes directly to your most impressive achievements. A well-structured layout uses clear headings, consistent spacing, and readable fonts to create a professional first impression.

Additionally, many large companies now use automated software to screen applications. These Applicant Tracking Systems scan your document for specific keywords. If your template uses complex formatting, text boxes, or unusual columns, the software might fail to read your text properly. Keeping your design simple and structured is the best way to ensure your application reaches a human reader. You can find excellent starting points and layout advice in our graduate careers hub.

Choosing the Best CV Template for Your Career Stage

Not all templates suit every student or recent graduate. The format you choose depends entirely on your work history and the type of role you want to secure. Selecting the right structure allows you to frame your experience in the most flattering light possible.

Chronological CV Templates

This is the most traditional format and the one preferred by the majority of corporate employers. It lists your education and work experience in reverse chronological order, meaning your most recent roles appear first. It works best if you have relevant internships, industrial placements, or part-time jobs that directly relate to the graduate scheme you are targeting. This template highlights your career progression and shows a clear timeline of your development.

Skills-Based CV Templates

If you have limited direct work experience, a skills-based template is highly effective. Instead of focusing on chronological roles, it groups your achievements by transferable skills like leadership, communication, and problem-solving. Under each skill heading, you provide examples drawn from your degree, extracurricular activities, and casual jobs. This shifts the focus away from your lack of industry experience and highlights your core competencies.

Academic CV Templates

If you are applying for a Master’s degree, a PhD, or a research assistant position, an academic template is required. This format places a heavy emphasis on your educational background, research methodologies, dissertation topics, and any academic awards. Unlike standard corporate CVs, academic templates can extend beyond two pages if you have extensive publications or conference presentations to list.

Creative CV Templates

For roles in graphic design, marketing, or digital media, a creative template allows you to showcase your design skills directly. These templates might include subtle colour palettes, custom typography, and links to an online portfolio. However, you must ensure the design does not overshadow the written content.

Essential Sections for Your Graduate CV Template

A standard UK graduate CV should fit onto two A4 pages. To maintain a clean structure, your template must include specific sections in a logical order. Missing any of these core components can make your application look incomplete.

• Personal Details: Include your full name, a professional email address, your phone number, and a link to your LinkedIn profile. Ensure your LinkedIn URL is customised and looks neat.
• Personal Statement: Write a short, punchy paragraph summarising who you are, what you have studied, and what type of role you are seeking. Avoid generic clichés like “hard-working team player”.
• Education: Detail your university degree, predicted or achieved grades, and relevant modules. Include your A-Levels or equivalent qualifications, but keep the details brief.
• Work Experience: List your part-time jobs, internships, and volunteering roles. Focus on what you achieved rather than just listing your daily duties.
• Key Skills: Highlight hard skills like software proficiency, data analysis, or foreign languages. Support these with soft skills like negotiation or project management.
• Hobbies and Interests: Include activities that demonstrate positive traits. Being captain of a sports team shows leadership, while running a university society demonstrates organisation.

How to Calculate and Present Your Grades on a CV Template

If you are currently studying, you must present your academic achievements clearly. Employers want to see your predicted classification. You should never guess this number or base it purely on optimism. Use your module weightings to provide an accurate, mathematically sound reflection of your performance.

Here is a practical worked example for calculating your predicted degree grade. University grading systems weight different years heavily. If your second-year modules are worth 40% of your overall degree and you averaged 65%, and your final-year modules are worth 60% and you are currently averaging 72%, you can calculate your exact standing.

Calculation: (65 x 0.40) + (72 x 0.60) = 26 + 43.2 = 69.2%.

Based on this calculation, you can confidently list “Predicted 2:1 (69%)” on your CV template.

If you are applying for highly competitive graduate schemes, employers often ask for a breakdown of your module grades. Always list your strongest and most relevant modules first. If you experienced extenuating circumstances that temporarily affected your grades, you can briefly mention this in your cover letter rather than taking up valuable space on your CV.

Data from the Department for Education (2025) shows that 87.6% of working-age graduates are in employment. Securing your place in that majority starts with presenting your academic credentials accurately and professionally.

Budgeting Space on a Two-Page CV Template

Many students struggle with either filling two pages or editing their extensive part-time work history down to fit. A good template forces you to allocate space efficiently. White space is highly valuable, as it gives the recruiter’s eyes a rest and makes the text easier to digest.

Here is a practical worked example for budgeting your CV space effectively. A standard two-page CV formatted in Arial size 11 contains roughly 800 to 1,000 words of usable text. If you allocate 15% of your total space to your personal profile and contact details (around 120 words), 25% to your education section (200 words), and 40% to your work experience (320 words), you are left with 20% (160 words) for skills and extracurricular activities.

This mathematical approach prevents any single section from overwhelming the page. If your work experience section balloons to 500 words, you know you need to edit your bullet points down. Conversely, if your education section is only 50 words long, you have room to add more detail about your dissertation topic or relevant group projects.

Tailoring Your CV Template for Specific Applications

A template is only a starting point. You must adjust the content for every single role you apply for. Sending the exact same document to fifty different employers rarely yields positive results. Tailoring shows the recruiter that you have a genuine interest in their specific company.

Follow these steps to tailor your template effectively:

1. Read the job description carefully and highlight the core technical and soft skills required by the employer.
2. Adjust your personal statement to mention the specific company name and the exact job title you are applying for.
3. Reorder your bullet points under your work experience and education sections so the most relevant achievements appear first.
4. Mirror the language used in the job advert to help your CV pass through automated tracking software seamlessly.
5. Save the final document as a PDF with a professional file name, such as “Firstname_Surname_Marketing_CV.pdf”, to preserve your formatting across different devices.

When describing your experience, use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your bullet points. Instead of writing “served customers in a busy shop”, write “managed customer transactions in a high-volume retail environment, resolving complaints quickly to maintain a 95% satisfaction rating”. This approach transforms a basic duty into a measurable achievement.

If you are preparing for the next stage of the hiring process, explore our applications hub for detailed advice on writing cover letters and passing psychometric tests. You can also research different sectors on the Prospects website to understand exactly what specific industries look for in a successful graduate CV.

Common CV Template Mistakes to Avoid

Even with a high-quality CV template, candidates frequently make avoidable errors that cost them interview opportunities. Reviewing your document for these common pitfalls is an essential final step before hitting the submit button.

Firstly, spelling and grammatical errors are the fastest way to get your application rejected. A CV is a professional document, and mistakes suggest a lack of attention to detail. Do not rely solely on automated spell-checkers. Read your CV aloud to catch awkward phrasing, and ask a friend or university careers advisor to proofread it for you.

Secondly, avoid using overly complex formatting. While it might be tempting to use multiple columns, progress bars for your skills, or elaborate graphics, these elements confuse Applicant Tracking Systems. If the software cannot parse your text, your application will be automatically discarded. Stick to standard fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica, and use clear, bold headings to separate your sections.

Finally, resist the urge to exaggerate your grades or job titles. Background checks are a standard part of the graduate recruitment process. If an employer discovers you have inflated your degree classification or claimed to be a manager when you were an assistant, they will withdraw your job offer immediately. Honesty combined with positive framing is always the best policy.