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Want a winning CV or Resume? See free CV templates from Monster. They surveyed recruiting and career experts to find out what causes them to toss a CV in the trash at first look. So, they know all about CV, what needs to be included in it, what needs to be excluded and how it should look for different levels of job seekers. Explore these free CV templates.
By Catherine Adenle
These are free CV templates for you to use in snagging the job of your choice. The free Resume templates can be modified and used by you to apply for a job.
When it comes to your Cv or Resume, a recruiter’s first impression counts especially when you are applying for jobs. This post will show you how to tweak and use a CV format that you prefer. The free CV templates will help make your CV stand out from the crowd.
What is a CV?
A CV, also known as curriculum vitae or Resume in the USA and Canada, is a document used when applying for jobs. A CV allows you to introduce yourself, summarise your education, skills and experience enabling you to successfully sell your attributes to potential employers.
How long should a CV be?
A standard CV in the UK should be no longer than two sides of A4. Take a look at our example of a chronological CV for inspiration.
What to include in a CV
Your key information and contact details – Include your full name, home address, mobile number and email address. Unless you’re applying for an acting or modelling job you don’t need to include your date of birth or a photograph.
- Profile – Keep CV personal statements short and snappy – 100 words is the perfect length.
Video: How to write a CV profile (or personal statement)
- Education – Place the most recent first. List and date all previous education, including professional qualifications. Include specific modules only if and where relevant.
- Work experience – List your work experience in reverse date order. Make sure that anything you mention is relevant to the job you’re applying for. If you have plenty of relevant work experience, this section should come before education.
- Skills and achievements – The key skills that you list should be relevant to the job. This is where you talk about your key abilities. Whatever you write, you’ll need to back it up at your interview. Be sure to be truthful. If you’ve got lots of job-related skills you should use a skills-based CV.
- Interests – Here, relevant interests can provide a more complete picture of who you are, as well as giving you something to talk about at interview. Examples include writing your own blog if you want to be a journalist or a communications manager.
- References – You don’t need to provide the names of referees at this stage. You also don’t need to say ‘references available upon request’ as most employers would assume this to be the case.
See Preparing Your CV? These are the Basic Things to Know
Above all, remember that no two companies are the same. Your CV should reflect this too. You should make sure that your CV reflects the type of company that you are applying to work for. If you are applying for a position that is more conservative, such as an accountant, have a clean, straightforward CV with the most relevant information clearly laid out. If the position is that of a Graphic Artist, be more creative and have a CV that clearly reflects your own creative personality.
Now, explore these free CV templates from Monster:
The ‘Classic’ Work Based CV 
This template offers enough space to describe the achievements you’ve had so far in your career and the skills you can bring to prospective employers.
Using boxes to separate the various section of the CV, this template allows you to add a bit of style to your application, whilst still retaining a professional look.
This template allows you space to show off all your skills and experience in a progressive and easy to read format.
This template allows you more space to show off the achievements you have had and the key projects you have undertaken throughout your career.
Using header boxes to separate the various section of the CV, this template allows you to add a bit of style to your application, whilst still retaining a professional look.
This template allows you to put your experience and education under date ranges so you can combine jobs where you gained similar skills and experiences.
This template offers the opportunity for you to direct employers quickly to the areas of your CV where your most relevant skills are.
Using a timeline to show the different stages of your education and career, this template allows you to add a bit of style to your application, whilst still retaining a professional look.
This template offers enough space to describe the skills you have gained and your professional qualifications, as well as highlighting how these have been used in various jobs.
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Now that you have explored these free CV templates, what can you Add? Leave your comment below.
Founder, Catherine's Career Corner. The career site empowering and inspiring ambitious candidates of all ages and professions to thrive and work smarter on their careers. Gladly helping all career-minded people worldwide to explore their career, manage change and understand how new technologies are changing and enhancing the future of work.
![How to write a CV profile [or personal statement] and get noticed](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3bRLCKD-hII/0.jpg)
Thanks for the list of templates. I might use them in my future applications. Will bookmark this one.
Glenn@Job Descriptions
Love this blog. Thanks for the free resources. I hope to change my job in 2010 so, I have downloaded a couple of the templates and I have bookmarked your blog. Please keep it going.
ET, NY