Shadow CV

ATS-Friendly CV Templates, Free to Edit in Your Browser

Twelve CV templates, every one single-column and built to survive the plain-text conversion an Applicant Tracking System runs before a recruiter sees anything. Pick one below and it opens in the free CV builder with your content editable in place — no account needed until you download the Word file.

Classic

A refined serif with a formal, printed-document feel. The traditional choice for law, finance and established professions.

Edit this template free

Modern

Contemporary sans-serif with left-border section accents and skills as chips. Built with tech and product roles in mind.

Edit this template free

Compact

Information-dense, with name and title on one line. Fits fifteen-plus years of experience without shrinking the evidence.

Edit this template free

Meridian

Executive and centred, with a large name over a thin accent rule. A boardroom document for senior applications.

Edit this template free

Sterling

Bold left-aligned name with a thick accent underline. A City finance and consulting look.

Edit this template free

Atlas

Open and editorial: generous whitespace and spaced small-caps headings. Room to breathe for design-literate roles.

Edit this template free

Quill

Centred small-caps header with a diamond rule divider. A literary look for writing, creative and academic-adjacent roles.

Edit this template free

Vector

Developer-forward: a pipe-separated contact line and precise section markers. Structured and scannable.

Edit this template free

Cadence

Experience-forward with a clear two-tier hierarchy: bold role titles, a muted company line, accent-coloured dates.

Edit this template free

Slate

Near-monochrome minimalism. Thin weights, almost no rules — whitespace does the separating.

Edit this template free

Beacon

Skills-forward: the skills section sits directly under your profile with accent-bordered tags, for keyword-heavy technical roles.

Edit this template free

Oxford

Academic and formal, with small-caps headings and education leading the running order.

Edit this template free

Why every CV template here is single-column

An ATS converts your CV to plain text before scoring it. Two-column layouts, sidebars, text boxes and layout tables are the elements that garble in that conversion — a job title from one column merges with a date from the other, and whatever sat in a text box may never be read at all. Every template on this page is built to the parse-safe constraint, so the differences between them are typographic: header treatment, heading style, density and section order. The mechanics are covered in how an ATS parses your CV, and if you are weighing this against a template from Word, Canva or a downloads site, read whether CV templates actually help with ATS first.

How to choose between them

  • Formal and traditional sectors — law, accountancy, the professions: Classic, Meridian or Oxford.
  • Tech and engineering Modern, Vector, or Beacon when the advert leads with a skills list.
  • A long work history Compact keeps fifteen-plus years on two pages; Cadence keeps the role titles doing the talking.
  • Writing, creative and academic-adjacent roles Quill, Atlas or Slate.
  • Not sure Sterling is the safe professional default, and switching templates later keeps your content, so the choice is never final.

Already have a CV and just want to know how it performs? Run the free ATS report on it instead — no retyping, no account.