CV templates for A4 applications in the UK, Europe and beyond

The words mean different things depending on where you apply. Prospects, the UK graduate careers service, notes that in the USA and Canada, CVs are known as résumés. In the UK, Ireland, most of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and much of Asia, "CV" is the everyday word for the document you send with a job application. Curriculum vitae is Latin for "course of life", and the plural is curricula vitae.

In practice the difference is format, not content. A UK-style CV usually runs up to two A4 pages; a US resume is often one US Letter page. In our editor, CV mode sets A4 paper and allows an optional photo, while resume mode sets US Letter and hides the photo. You can change both settings at any time. For a US application, start from the resume templates instead.

The National Careers Service on GOV.UK says a CV should have contact details and an introduction, followed by education history, work history and references, and that contact details mean your name, phone number and email address. Every template on this page follows that order by default, and you can move sections up or down when your experience is your strongest point.

The same page says you should not include your age, date of birth, marital status or nationality, and that you should not put someone else's contact details on your CV; "references available on request" is enough. Northern Ireland's nidirect adds that you should aim for no more than two pages and put your name at the top of the page rather than the words "curriculum vitae" or "CV". Our templates print your name as the first line for exactly that reason.

For UK applications the answer is usually no. The University of Chester careers team, quoted by Prospects, says unless you are applying for an acting or modelling job you do not need a photograph. Some employers in other countries still expect one, so CV mode lets you add a photo that stays on your device and appears in the top corner. Leave it out whenever the job ad does not ask for it.

• Keep it to two A4 pages. Put your most recent job first and compress older roles into a line each, as nidirect advises.
• Use one column. Side-by-side boxes and tables are a common reason recruitment software reads a CV in the wrong order. Our side-heading designs (Meridian, Quill, Cobalt) place the headings in a margin but keep the text in one flow.
• Write a short personal statement. Three or four lines that say who you are, what you are good at and what you want next.
• Match the job description. Paste the job ad into the editor's ATS check to see which important terms your CV does not mention yet.
• Check the page count. The preview shows each page as it will print, so you can see a third page before your reader does.

The European Commission runs Europass, a free official service where you create a Europass profile first and then a CV in one of 31 languages. Some public bodies and universities ask for that exact format. Letter and CV is not affiliated with Europass. When an employer does not insist on the Europass format, any of our A4 CV templates works for an EU application, and you skip creating a profile.

Fill in the form, watch the preview update, then download a PDF. The free CV templates have no watermark, no page limit and no account. Because the PDF holds real text with embedded fonts, a recruiter can search it and an applicant tracking system can read it. A plain text export is there for online forms that ask you to paste your CV.

A Word (.docx) download is not available. If a recruiter needs Word, paste the plain text export into a blank document. To change colours or fonts on any template, use the colour and font panel in the editor; it keeps text contrast at the WCAG AA level automatically.