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Custom CVs feature your work experience, qualifications, and skills in a way that showcases their unique qualities. Using a custom CV template saves you time without scrimping on style or efficiency. If you’re looking for an eye-catching layout or custom elements to display your skills, then a custom CV template is the right solution for you.
Whether you’re looking for a job as a microbiologist, copywriter, or shop assistant, you’ll find the perfect custom CV in the myPerfectCV collection.
Download one of our custom CV templates
Fresh
Customise our fresh CV template with your choice of vibrant colour for the header, subheadings and page breaks – the ideal way to add a pop of personality to your CV.
Prominent
The prominent CV template provides a space for your own photo to really personalise your application. It can also be customised by changing the colour of the margin on the left.
Pacific
With a simple one-column design, the pacific CV template makes it easy to move sections around to customise your CV. Choose the right order for your skills, work history, and education to highlight your key qualities.
Custom CV templates by job title and industry
Customising your CV can help set you apart from other candidates for a wide range of roles – within a variety of different sectors. Take a look at some examples created using our custom CV templates below.
Top tips for using a custom CV template
Avoid gimmicks and brash colours in your custom CV template
A custom CV template is a great way to personalise your CV and stand out from the crowd. The colour scheme you choose should be eye-catching, but you should avoid selecting anything too brash. Bright colours on a custom CV template can be distracting for recruiters and might also appear unprofessional. Any changes to the traditional CV format should also be relevant to the job. Resist the urge to create a gimmicky design that doesn’t showcase your work and academic history effectively.
Use your custom CV to showcase your achievements
Ultimately, your custom CV should serve a purpose – to show employers exactly why you’re perfect for their job. The focus of your custom CV should be your achievements, rather than your design skills. Your work experience and academic history should always have pride of place. However, you should also think carefully about other elements that might support your application. For example, if you’re using your custom CV for a translation job, rather than adding a hobbies section, you might choose to add a section for the languages you speak.
Save time with a custom CV template download
Rather than trying to design your own custom CV template, it can save you a lot of time to download one ready-made. Then you can focus on researching the company you are applying to, gathering all your information, and inputting your details into the CV. You can then choose the right format, and send over to recruiters.
Examine custom CV examples before starting your CV
Don’t be tempted to start writing your custom CV without looking at examples. Look at custom CV examples from other candidates in your field. Consider the formatting elements they have customised, the details they have focused on, and the design they have chosen. Each job is different, so don’t copy and paste descriptions of job duties into your CV.
FAQs about custom CV templates
How to do a custom CV
When creating a custom CV, be aware of the unique qualities that make you stand out as a candidate. You should use a custom CV if you require a bespoke format, for example, to include a section to record your sporting achievements. Choose a custom CV template that suits your needs, and adapt it to your requirements. Try not to change the design too drastically, however, as this can impact the formatting.
How to make a custom CV
In terms of layout, you should look for a custom CV that roughly suits your needs, rather than adapting one that is very different. This saves time and ensures that your custom CV is clear for recruiters. To decide which CV template suits your needs, consider the impression you want to make on your prospective employer. For a corporate company, choosing a professional custom CV template is the best option. For creative jobs, you could develop a more unique design for your custom CV, incorporating photos and images. However, you should always check the application guidelines for the job first.
How to write a custom CV
Writing your custom CV is arguably the most challenging part of the process. Putting your work experience into words might be harder than you expected. Generally, a CV needs to contain your professional and academic history in reverse chronological order, followed by your qualifications, skills, and hobbies. Consider whether there are any written elements of your CV that you need to customise. For example, if you are an IT engineer, a section on languages might be irrelevant, and you could replace this with details of the software and hardware you are experienced with.
How to write a custom CV for students
Students often need a custom CV, because the skills and experience they have is very different to seasoned workers. Sections on work experience may be very limited or absent, and their academic history may still be ongoing. Using a custom CV template for students showcases the achievements and skills of undergraduates in a more effective way. For example, rather than work history, a custom CV for students might include voluntary work or a section on practical work completed during their degree, college, or sixth-form studies.
Dos and don’ts for preparing a custom CV
Do
- Do plenty of research before completing your custom CV template. If you understand the requirements of the company you’re applying to, you’re far more likely to be a successful candidate. As well as reading the job description thoroughly, look on their website for details about the company's values and vision for the future. This could give you extra direction for your CV. For example, if you’re applying to a tech job at a charity that manages volunteers, you could add in a short section about your voluntary experience to establish your understanding of the organisation's needs.
- Do use your custom CV template to show off your strengths. Ensure that your custom CV shows off your key strengths in relation to the job. There’s no point in using a CV with a section on languages, if your foreign language skills are irrelevant to the job role. Similarly, whilst a custom CV with a photo can help you to stand out with employers, it can also be distracting and take up important space on your CV that could otherwise be dedicated to your work history or skills.
Don’t
- Don’t choose the wrong format for your custom CV template. By researching the company, you may also learn more about their formatting requirements. If you choose a more creative design for your custom CV template, you should download your custom CV as a PDF to retain the style and formatting. However, in most cases, it's best to download your custom CV in Word format. This is because some organisations use ATS software to filter CVs based on certain keywords. If your format isn’t supported by ATS, it could lead to your custom CV being discarded automatically. Word format is ATS-friendly, so is the most suitable choice for a custom CV.
- Don’t stuff your custom CV with irrelevant information. When creating a custom CV, it can be challenging to decide on the most important information to include. Rather than describing your entire work history, you should tailor it to the job you are applying to. Your mixology skills might be interesting, but if they’re taking up room in your custom CV template for a social media marketing job, it might be best to remove them.
Create an inspiring custom CV template with myPerfectCV
If you’re looking for amazing custom CVs to showcase your experience and achievements, you’re in the right place. At myPerfectCV, we have an impressive selection of custom CV templates to impress recruiters. Whether you’re looking for a custom nursing CV in PDF format, or a warehouse operative CV in Word, you’ll find the perfect custom CV to prove your value to employers – which can then be customised with pre-written content.
*The names and logos of the companies referred to above are all trademarks of their respective holders. Unless specifically stated otherwise, such references are not intended to imply any affiliation or association with myperfectCV.
