create a CV

Create a CV

Creating a CV doesn't have to take an evening. You fill in your details in four steps, choose a template and see your CV formatted on screen straight away. You can always make changes; you only pay when you want to download it.

How to create a CV in four steps

Personal details and a headline: your name, contact details and, in one line, what you are, for example "Nurse, 8 years' experience in acute care".
Work experience and education: for each role, the period, what you did and, above all, what it achieved. Most recent first.
Skills, languages and extras: only what's relevant to the job you're applying for.
Choose a template and download: pick a design, check the result and download as a PDF and Word file.

What a good CV contains

An employer reads a CV in seconds. These six sections determine whether they keep reading.

A headline that says what you are: role, years of experience and your strongest point. No "motivated professional".
A short profile of three lines: who you are, what you're looking for and what you bring. Concrete, without empty words.
Work experience with results instead of tasks: what you achieved, with figures where possible.
Education and courses that matter for this job. A course from 2009 usually doesn't belong anymore.
Skills that appear in the job advert, using the same words as the employer, because that's what the applicant tracking system searches for.
Languages with an honest level. An employer notices the difference between "fluent" and "good" in the first interview.

Which template should you choose?

Choose a template that suits the sector: clean and sober for office and government roles, a bit more colour for commercial and creative positions. If you're applying to a large employer, choose a template labelled ATS-friendly: these have been tested for automatic processing. View all templates side by side.

Creating a CV without work experience

No work experience doesn't mean an empty CV. Put your education at the top, with subjects, projects and placements that suit the job. Part-time jobs, volunteering and committee work all count: write down what you did there and what it achieved. A short profile stating what you're looking for and why does the rest.

Already have a CV?

Then upload it instead of typing everything out again. We'll read your details, set them up in the fields and create a version that gets through the applicant tracking system. Find out how that works at improve your CV.

Frequently asked questions about creating a CV

Is it free to make a CV?: Filling it in, choosing a template and viewing the result is free. You pay a one-off fee if you want to download the CV as a PDF and Word file, with no subscription and no account needed.
How long does it take?: A few minutes if you've got your details to hand. The form saves your input as long as you keep the tab open, so you can pop off and do something else in between.
Do I get my CV as a PDF or a Word file?: Both, in a single download. You send the PDF; you use the Word file if you want to make changes yourself later.
Will my CV get through an applicant tracking system?: Choose a template with the ATS-friendly label. We've tested those 15 templates ourselves: we turn them into a PDF and read them back the way such a system would.

Fill in your details and choose a template along the way. You'll see the result straight away.

Start your CV