Guide
How to design a professional CV
To design a professional CV, use an A4 page (US letter in North America) with 2 cm margins, put your name and contact details at the top, follow with a short profile, your experience newest first and your education, and keep to two pages in one or two easy-to-read fonts. MyCanvasDesign opens an A4 page (794 × 1123 px) free in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark, ready to download as a PDF.
A recruiter gives a CV seconds at first, so the design’s job is to make the important things easy to find: who you are, what you have done and what you can do. This guide covers a layout that works, sizes and fonts, what to leave out, and one thing many designed CVs get wrong: keeping a plain-text version for online application systems.
At a glance
- Size
- A4, 794 × 1123 px
- Time
- 1 to 2 hours
- You'll need
- Your work history with dates, your qualifications, and a few results you are proud of, with numbers.
Design a professional CV in eight steps
Write the content before the design
Write everything in a plain document first: contact details, a three- or four-line profile, each job with its dates and three or four achievements, education, skills, and anything else relevant such as volunteering, languages or certificates. Getting the words right first stops you squeezing them into boxes later, and gives you the plain-text version you will need in step 8.
Open an A4 page with generous margins
Choose "Open an A4 CV page" (794 × 1123 px), or US letter (816 × 1056 px) if you are applying in the US or Canada, where a CV is usually called a résumé. Turn on the rulers and drag guides 76 px (2 cm) in from every edge, and keep everything inside them so the page looks calm and nothing is cut off when it is printed.
Put your name and contact details at the top
Make your name the biggest text on the page, at about 28 to 36 px, with one line underneath for your phone number, email address, town or city, and LinkedIn or portfolio link. In the UK you don’t need your full address, date of birth or a photo, so leave them off unless the job asks for them.
Choose one clear layout
A single column, read top to bottom, is the safest and easiest to scan. A two-column layout, with contact details and skills in a narrow column on the left, fits more on a page and looks modern; keep the wide column for your experience. Use the same spacing between every section, and line everything up to your guides.
Set fonts and sizes for reading
Use one font for everything, or two at most: Inter, Lora, Merriweather and Roboto Slab all read well. Set body text at 13 to 15 px (10 to 11 pt when printed), section headings at 18 to 20 px in bold, and dates in the body size in grey. Keep the line height around 1.3, and save capitals for short headings.
Write your experience as achievements
Under each job, newest first, list three or four results: "Cut the month-end close from 8 days to 5 by automating reconciliations" says far more than "Responsible for month-end". Start each line with a verb, include numbers where you can, and keep each point to one or two lines.
Use colour and graphics sparingly
One accent colour for your name and headings is enough; keep body text near-black for contrast. Skill bars, charts and star ratings look fun but tell a reader little ("4 out of 5 in Excel" compared with what?), so list skills in words. A thin line under each heading, drawn with the line shape, separates sections without clutter.
Download a PDF, and keep a text version
Proofread every date and name, then download a PDF, the format most employers ask for. The file is named after your design, so call it "Firstname Lastname CV". The PDF is drawn as a picture of your page, so its words can’t be selected, and the applicant tracking systems many employers use for online forms may not read them: upload your plain-text CV from step 1 there, and use the designed one for email, print and interviews.
What to put on a CV, and what to leave out
A CV that is easy to scan has the same sections in the same order as most others, so a reader knows where to look. Include these, in this order, and leave out anything that doesn’t help you get this job.
- Contact details
- Name, phone, email, town or city, and a LinkedIn or portfolio link. Not your full address, date of birth or marital status.
- Profile
- Three or four lines: who you are, what you are good at, and what you want to do next. Tailor it to each job.
- Experience
- Newest first: job title, employer, dates and three or four achievements each. Older or less relevant jobs can shrink to one line.
- Education and skills
- Qualifications newest first, then specific skills such as software, languages and licences, rather than "hard-working" or "team player".
- Leave out
- "References available on request" (it is assumed), a photo in the UK and US, and hobbies unless they show something the job needs.
How long a CV should be
In the UK and most of Europe, two A4 pages is normal, and one is fine early in your career. In the US and Canada, a résumé is usually one page, or two for senior roles. Academic CVs are longer because they list publications. If yours runs over, cut older or less relevant jobs to a line each rather than shrinking the text.
For a second page, add a page in the pages panel and repeat your name in small text at the top, so the pages stay together if they are printed and separated. Keep the margins and fonts the same on both pages.
CV design mistakes to avoid
Designed CVs go wrong in familiar ways: text too small to read comfortably, margins so narrow the page looks crammed, three or more fonts, pale grey text, skill bars instead of real evidence, and a photo where the job doesn’t ask for one. The most costly mistake is sending only a designed PDF to an online form that can’t read it, so always keep a plain-text version too.
Questions about designing a professional CV
What is the best layout for a CV?
One or two columns on an A4 page, with your name and contact details at the top, a short profile, experience newest first, then education and skills. Keep the same spacing and fonts throughout.
Should I put a photo on my CV?
In the UK, Ireland and the US, no, unless the job asks for one; it takes space and can invite bias. Some other countries expect a photo, so follow local practice for the job.
What font size should a CV be?
Body text at 10 to 11 pt and headings at 13 to 15 pt. On an A4 page in MyCanvasDesign that is 13 to 15 px for body text and 18 to 20 px for headings.
Will a designed CV work with applicant tracking systems?
Not always. The PDF from MyCanvasDesign is a picture of your page, so a tracking system may not read the words. Upload a plain-text CV (a Word or Google Docs file) to online forms, and send the designed one to people.
Is it free to design a CV here?
Yes. MyCanvasDesign is free in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark, and the PDF download is free too.