CV Templates to Download (100% Free)
Download free CV templates for Word. Choose a modern, professional, simple, or academic curriculum vitae layout and customize it for job applications, academic roles, or international opportunities.
Modern CV Templates
Use a modern CV design when you want a clean application with a fresh and professional look. These editable Word CV templates work well for business, tech, marketing, operations, and international applications where presentation matters. Freesumes provides you with a comprehensive kit of CV writing materials including CV samples, a CV builder and actionable guides, covering formatting, layout, and design.
Professional CV Templates
A safe choice for experienced candidates, managers, consultants, educators, healthcare professionals, and office roles. These editable Word CV templates help organize your experience, education, skills, and achievements in a clear and easy to review format.
Simple CV Templates
Simple CV templates keep the focus on your qualifications. Use these minimalistic layouts when you want a clean, readable CV that works across industries and is easy to customize.
Academic CV Templates
Academic CV templates are designed for longer documents that may include education, research, publications, teaching experience, conferences, grants, awards, and professional memberships. Use this style if you are applying for academic, research, medical, scientific, fellowship, or international roles.
CV or resume — which one do you need?
In many countries, “CV” and “resume” mean almost the same thing: a job application document that summarizes your experience, skills, and education. In the US, a CV is usually longer and often used for academic, research, medical, federal, or international applications.
If you need a shorter job-focused document, browse our free resume templates. If you need a longer document with education, publications, research, or academic experience, use a CV template.
Learn more about the minor differences between resumes and CVs.
Sample CV Outline
The secret to writing a good CV in under an hour? Learn how to outline like a pro!
Don’t start with a blank page each time. Instead, select your go-to CV template and add draft sections to it. Then quickly tweak it each time before you apply for a new job.
Every CV has to include the following sections:
- Header area: Add your name, professional title, and contact information (phone, email, LinkedIn). Then you may include a professional headshot (if you use a photo CV template).
- CV profile: Write a compelling elevator pitch — a 2-3 statement summary of your career history, core competencies, and most marketable skills.
- Work Experience: List all your career information in reverse chronological order. For each job entry, add 2-4 short bullet points, spelling out your duties and some major accomplishment(s).
- Education: List all your degrees from the highest to the lowest with graduation dates. Include Major/Minor information only if you are a recent graduate. Include other professional training and certifications if relevant.
- Skills. Make a featured skills section, spotlighting a combination of soft and hard skills. Customize it to match the “required qualifications” in the job ad.
- Optional: Languages, volunteering experiences, professional affiliations.
Need more inspiration? Browse our massive collection of free CV samples for different industries, professions, and experience levels!
FAQs about CV Templates
Got some more questions about CV formatting and design? We have answers!
Are Freesumes CV templates Really Free?
Yes. You can find over 100 professionally-designed CV and resume templates on Freesumes for free. Select among minimalistic, modern, creative, and free academic CV templates, customize in Microsoft Word, and save your finished CV before applying.
Can I edit these CV templates in Microsoft Word?
Yes. These CV templates are made for Microsoft Word. You can update the text, sections, fonts, spacing, and formatting directly in Word.
What should a full CV include?
A CV usually includes contact details, a CV profile, work experience, education, skills, certifications, and languages. Academic or research CVs may also include publications, conferences, teaching experience, grants, awards, and professional memberships.
What should you not put in a CV?
You should never put the following information on a CV:
- Age, gender, ethnicity, or marital status
- Personal social media accounts
- Salary information on past roles
- Professional references (unless requested)
- Misleading or false statements
- Fake employer information
- Lengthy personal introductions
Also, make sure that your CV doesn’t look like a wall of text or contains spelling/grammar mistakes.
How far back should a CV go?
Limit your CV history to the past 10-15 years if you are a tenured employee, Freesumes HR experts recommend. However, don’t list all work experience during this period unless they are relevant to the job you are after. Provide a curated version of your career history — such that explains why you are qualified for the new role.
What is the best CV format?
The best CV format is (reverse) chronological. In this case, you present your career history from the current (most recent) role to the earliest one. A chronological CV format helps the employer understand your career progression and duration of employment in different roles, plus it lets them easily estimate your current level of seniority. Most recruiters prefer this CV format to alternatives – functional and combinational CVs.
Should you put your age on your CV?
No, you should never put your age or date of birth on your CV. Most employers have anti-discrimination practices in place, prohibiting them to ask candidates about personal information. When you voluntarily give it away, it puts them in a position where their hiring decisions might be questioned for bias (positive or negative). So for some, it’s just safer to reject candidates sharing personal details altogether than deal with minimal (but possible) accusations later on.
Does a CV need references?
No, you shouldn’t add a list of references to a CV unless this is one of the job application requirements. Most often, employers will ask to provide a list of professional references later in the application process if these are warranted.
How long does it take to write a CV?
Depends on your skills and approach to writing. If you are unprepared, you can easily spend 5+ hours, struggling to hit one page. But if you are using a CV template with all sections pre-charted for you, you can get done with CV writing in an hour or so!