Free resume templates · PDF & WordResume templates that a screening system can actually read.
8 free templates and 6 designer ones, shown below with a sample fresher CV in each. Pick one, then either upload the CV you already have — your words stay exactly as they are — or build a new one by answering a few questions. Download as PDF or Word. No sign up.
Updated 29 October 2026
Single-column templates — the safe choice for online applications
One column, standard headings, real text. These parse cleanly in every applicant tracking system we know of, which makes them the right pick for job portals and company career pages.
- Free
Standard
Centred name, small-capital sections, tight. What most CVs already look like.
- Free
Scan
Job title set large on its own line. Built for the seven seconds a recruiter gives it.
- Free
Timeline
Every date in one right-hand column, so your career reads as a timeline.
- Free
Classic
The safe default. Serif name, ruled sections, room to breathe.
- Free
Academic
Serif, roomy, plain headings. Suits publications and long lists.
- Free
With photo
Keeps a square for a photograph beside your name.
Templates with a photo or a side column — for campus drives, email and print
A coloured column, your photo or initials beside your name. Many campus placements and some Indian employers expect a photo; for an online portal, a single column is still the safer choice.
Designer templates
Paid, once, and yours for every CV after: no HireOrbit mark at the foot of the page, and the LaTeX source to edit in Overleaf. You can see your own CV in them before deciding.
- Paid
Masthead
A large name over a full rule, then a tight hierarchy. Reads like a letterhead.
- Paid
Signal
Timeline rail with the dates in monospace, so every entry lines up exactly.
- Paid
Slate
Filled heading bars in deep ink, title-dominant. For dense technical CVs.
- Paid
Harbour
A deep navy column with your photo, white type, and a large name beside it.
- Paid
Banner
Your name and photo across a coloured band, with two columns beneath.
- Paid
Charcoal
A charcoal column and teal headings. Bold, for design and product roles.
How to choose a resume template
Applying online? Use a single-column template. Applicant tracking systems read a page top to bottom; two columns side by side can come out interleaved, and an image of text cannot be read at all. Every template here is real text, and the two-column ones keep each column in one piece, but one column leaves nothing to chance.
Campus placement, or a CV you will email or hand over? A photo or sidebar layout looks more finished on paper, and many placement cells ask for a photo. Keep a single-column version for portals too — with your CV in our tool, switching between them is one click.
Fresher or experienced? Freshers usually do best with a layout that gives projects room, like Standard or Classic. With a few years of work behind you, a title-led layout makes each role easy to find in the seconds a recruiter spends on the first pass. See the resume format for freshers for what goes in each section.
Will a template raise my ATS score? No — and be wary of anyone who says otherwise. The score comes from what your CV says against the job: the skills, the evidence, the keywords. A clean template makes sure all of that can be read. To see what a specific job wants that your CV does not say, check your ATS score.
Questions
Template questions.
8 of them are free, with PDF and Word downloads and no account; they carry a small "Made with HireOrbit" at the foot of the page. The designer templates are a one-time purchase.
A single-column template with standard headings, like Standard or Classic. Every template here is real text, but one column leaves nothing for a screening system to mix up.
Yes. Every free template downloads as PDF and as a Word file you can edit. Two-column designs come as a single column in Word.
For most private-sector jobs applied to online, no. Many campus placements and some employers in India ask for one, which is what the photo templates are for.