Professional CV Templates Built to Impress

A professional CV template is more than a blank document with boxes to fill in. The best CV templates are designed to present your experience clearly, make the right impression on employers, and pass through ATS systems without losing any of your information.

SeaVitae provides a structured, professional CV format built specifically for serious job seekers. It is clean, modern, and optimised for the way employers actually evaluate candidates today.

What Makes a Good CV Template?

Not all CV templates are created equal. Many free templates you find online look impressive in design software but cause serious problems in practice. They may be incompatible with ATS systems, difficult to edit, or visually distracting in a way that pulls attention away from your actual qualifications.

A good professional CV template has several key qualities:

Clarity above all else. Recruiters spend an average of six seconds on an initial CV review. A clean, uncluttered layout means your most important information is seen immediately — not buried under decorative borders or complex column layouts.

Logical structure. The best CV format follows a predictable order that hiring managers expect: personal details, professional summary, work experience, education, skills, and then additional sections like certifications or languages.

ATS compatibility. A professional CV template must be readable by automated systems as well as humans. This means standard fonts, no graphics in place of text, and proper heading labels.

Flexibility for different careers. A strong template works for a range of industries and experience levels. You should not need a completely different template just because you are changing sectors or applying for a senior role.

The SeaVitae CV Format

When you create your CV on SeaVitae, you are working with a professional CV format that has been structured to meet all of the above criteria. Every section is clearly defined and built to display your information in the most effective way.

Here is what the SeaVitae CV template includes:

Personal details. Your name, contact information, location, and links to your LinkedIn or portfolio — all presented cleanly at the top of your profile.

Professional summary. A short, powerful paragraph that tells employers exactly who you are and what you bring. This is the first thing a recruiter reads after your name, and it sets the tone for everything else.

Work experience. Listed in reverse chronological order, with clear job titles, company names, dates, and bullet-point descriptions of your responsibilities and achievements.

Education. Your academic qualifications, listed with institution names, degrees obtained, and graduation years.

Skills. A dedicated section for your professional and technical skills, listed clearly so employers and ATS systems can match them against job requirements instantly.

Certifications. Professional certifications carry significant weight, especially in technical fields. The SeaVitae template gives certifications their own section so they are never overlooked.

Languages, projects, and publications. Additional sections for professionals who have relevant work to showcase beyond a standard career history.

How to Use a CV Template Effectively

Having the right template is only half the job. Here is how to make the most of your professional CV format:

Tailor your summary for the role. Your professional summary should reflect the type of position you are targeting. If you are applying for management roles, your summary should emphasise leadership. If you are targeting technical roles, lead with your technical depth.

Quantify your experience wherever possible. Numbers make your experience concrete and credible. How many people did you manage? What was the budget you controlled? What percentage did you improve the process by?

Keep experience descriptions concise. Each role should have three to five bullet points that highlight your most relevant contributions. Avoid writing lengthy paragraphs — they are rarely read in full during a first review.

Update your CV regularly. Do not wait until you are actively job searching to update your CV. Add new roles, skills, and certifications as you acquire them. A current CV is always easier to polish than one that has been ignored for two years.

Download Your CV as a PDF

Once your SeaVitae profile is complete, you can download your CV as a clean, professional PDF at any time. The downloaded version maintains all the structure and formatting of the SeaVitae template and is ready to send directly to any employer, attach to email applications, or print.

Get Started with Your Professional CV Today

Stop using outdated templates that were designed for a different era of hiring. Create your free account on SeaVitae and build a professional CV using a format designed for how employers actually hire today — clear, structured, ATS-friendly, and built to make a strong first impression.