When you’re applying for your dream job, a kick-ass resume and cover letter are essential. Both its content and design have to be top-notch. They need to grab - and hold - a recruiter’s attention to land you the position.
Most people agonize about what to write in their CV, and rightly so. But design is an often-neglected element. According to recent statistics, though, over 40% of recruiters will reject an applicant if their CV’s visual presentation is off.
Drawing up an eye-catching, professional design for your CV that stands out from the crowd isn’t easy. Luckily, there is a wide range of online platforms that help you do just that. To help you find the one that best suits your needs, here are the top options.
To start with, Canva is an amazing option for designing anything from business cards and infographics to CVs and cover letters.
This platform offers a wide range of professionally designed templates. It also allows you to tweak them according to your own preferences. Plus, you have total freedom over fonts, color palettes, icons, and images.
The best bit? Canva’s basic plan is free. For advanced design elements, you can either pay a one-time fee when exporting your design, or you can sign up for their Pro plan, which starts at $9.99 per month.
Unlike Canva, LiveCareer offers much more support and is geared specifically towards helping you build and design a stunning resume.
This platform offers an extensive library of over 400 designs, specific to over 20 industries.
The resume builder also helps you craft the content of your CV. It provides industry-specific suggestions for bullet points, summaries, and sought-after skills. All of these suggestions are based on the expertise of professional resume writers.
You can give this platform a test drive during a 14-day paid trial, priced $1.95. After that, subscription plans start at $7.95 per month.
Next up, VisualCV offers a straightforward, easy-to-use interface for designing your professional CV.
You enter your information in a basic editor. Then, you can refine the design in the visual editor, always with a live preview of the final document.
The downside? VisualCV is one of the pricier options out there. The Pro plan is $12 a month and has a 3-month minimum. Its range of designs is also somewhat limited, at only 22.
However, the platform makes up for its higher costs with a number of extra features. It gives you access to analytics to track performance, a Google Docs integration, and a job search feature.
If you’re struggling with both the content and design of your CV, then Resume Coach is a solid option. This platform offers an extensive range of professional templates. Apart from that, it also provides in-depth advice and step-by-step guides to help you craft the perfect CV.
Resume Coach offers a very limited free version. To get access to the full template library, sign up for their 14-day basic plan, at $1.95. If you also want access to resume tips and advice, you need to opt for their monthly unlimited plan at $7.95.
Finally, Resume.com is a solid and completely free option to design your CV. This platform’s templates are firmly based on real-world experience of what design features work best.
In fact, Resume.com integrates with the recruitment platform Indeed.com, using that data to optimize its designs. Once you create your CV on Resume.com, you can share it directly on Indeed, to apply for numerous jobs.
Most people agonize about what to write in their CV, and rightly so. But design is an often-neglected element. According to recent statistics, though, over 40% of recruiters will reject an applicant if their CV’s visual presentation is off.
Drawing up an eye-catching, professional design for your CV that stands out from the crowd isn’t easy. Luckily, there is a wide range of online platforms that help you do just that. To help you find the one that best suits your needs, here are the top options.
Canva
To start with, Canva is an amazing option for designing anything from business cards and infographics to CVs and cover letters.
This platform offers a wide range of professionally designed templates. It also allows you to tweak them according to your own preferences. Plus, you have total freedom over fonts, color palettes, icons, and images.
The best bit? Canva’s basic plan is free. For advanced design elements, you can either pay a one-time fee when exporting your design, or you can sign up for their Pro plan, which starts at $9.99 per month.
LiveCareer
Unlike Canva, LiveCareer offers much more support and is geared specifically towards helping you build and design a stunning resume.
This platform offers an extensive library of over 400 designs, specific to over 20 industries.
The resume builder also helps you craft the content of your CV. It provides industry-specific suggestions for bullet points, summaries, and sought-after skills. All of these suggestions are based on the expertise of professional resume writers.
You can give this platform a test drive during a 14-day paid trial, priced $1.95. After that, subscription plans start at $7.95 per month.
VisualCV
Next up, VisualCV offers a straightforward, easy-to-use interface for designing your professional CV.
You enter your information in a basic editor. Then, you can refine the design in the visual editor, always with a live preview of the final document.
The downside? VisualCV is one of the pricier options out there. The Pro plan is $12 a month and has a 3-month minimum. Its range of designs is also somewhat limited, at only 22.
However, the platform makes up for its higher costs with a number of extra features. It gives you access to analytics to track performance, a Google Docs integration, and a job search feature.
Resume Coach
If you’re struggling with both the content and design of your CV, then Resume Coach is a solid option. This platform offers an extensive range of professional templates. Apart from that, it also provides in-depth advice and step-by-step guides to help you craft the perfect CV.
Resume Coach offers a very limited free version. To get access to the full template library, sign up for their 14-day basic plan, at $1.95. If you also want access to resume tips and advice, you need to opt for their monthly unlimited plan at $7.95.
Resume.com
Finally, Resume.com is a solid and completely free option to design your CV. This platform’s templates are firmly based on real-world experience of what design features work best.
In fact, Resume.com integrates with the recruitment platform Indeed.com, using that data to optimize its designs. Once you create your CV on Resume.com, you can share it directly on Indeed, to apply for numerous jobs.
