UK CV Templates That Pass ATS: What to Look For Before You Download

Here's a slightly awkward truth for template websites: the prettiest CV template is often the riskiest one to use. Sidebars, icons, skill bars, profile photos, two colours and three fonts can look far better than a plain document, and still quietly hurt your applications.

The reason is the applicant tracking system. Many employers, especially larger ones, run CVs through software that reads the text and sorts it into fields such as name, job titles, dates and skills. Designs that confuse that software can scramble your details before a person ever sees them.

This guide explains how to tell a safe template from a risky one, what a UK CV should include, and a two-minute test to run on any template before you trust it with a real application.

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What makes a template ATS-friendly

Most parsing problems come from a handful of design choices. Here's what to look for and what to be wary of.

Look for	Be wary of
Single column	Sidebars and two-column layouts
Real text throughout	Text inside images, icons or graphics
Standard headings: Profile, Experience, Education, Skills	Creative headings such as "My Journey"
Contact details in the main body	Contact details in the header or footer
Simple bullets	Tables and text boxes for layout
Common, readable fonts	Decorative or script fonts
Skills written as words	Skill bars, stars and percentage charts

Why columns cause trouble

A parser generally reads a page in a set order. With two columns, it may read straight across both, mixing a line of your skills sidebar into the middle of a job description, or it may skip the sidebar entirely.

Headers and footers carry a similar risk. Some parsers ignore them, so a phone number and email address placed there can simply vanish from your application record.

The problem with skill bars

Skill bars deserve a special mention. "Excel: four out of five dots" tells a recruiter very little, and a parser often reads it as nothing at all.

Write the skill and how you use it instead: "Excel: pivot tables, XLOOKUP and monthly reporting dashboards." That line is searchable, specific and believable, which a row of dots never is.

Be careful with design-tool templates

Templates built in graphic design apps often place every line of text in its own box. The finished PDF can look perfect while the underlying text is out of order, because the reading order follows how the boxes were created rather than how they appear on the page.

Word processor templates are usually a safer starting point. Whichever tool you use, test the result with the copy-and-paste check further down this page before you send it anywhere.

Key Takeaway: One column, real text, standard headings and contact details in the body. If a design element holds information, make sure it's plain text.

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What a UK CV template should include

UK conventions differ from some other countries. A good template should have space for these sections, in roughly this order.

1. Name and contact details: phone, email, town or city, and a LinkedIn URL if you have one. No need for your full address, date of birth or marital status.
2. Personal profile: three or four lines about who you are and what you are looking for.
3. Work experience: in reverse chronological order, with job title, employer and dates.
4. Education: degree, A levels or equivalent, and GCSEs if you are early in your career.
5. Skills: software, languages, certifications and core skills.
6. Optional: volunteering, projects, and interests if they add something.

UK CVs usually do not include a photo. Two pages is the standard maximum for most roles, and one page is often enough for school leavers and many graduates.

Leaving out your date of birth, photo and marital status isn't only about space. Employers don't need that information to assess you, and leaving it out removes an easy route for bias.

Key Takeaway: The best template is the one that lets a recruiter and a parser find your job titles, dates and skills in seconds.

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Fonts, file types and other small details

Small technical choices can undo a good layout. These are the ones worth checking.

Detail	Safer choice	Why
Font	Arial, Calibri, Georgia or similar	Widely available and easy to read on screen
Font size	10 to 12 for body text	Readable without wasting space
File type	Whatever the advert asks for, otherwise a text-based PDF or Word document	Both are widely supported by modern systems
Scanned documents	Never	A scan is an image, so there's no text for a parser to read
Dates	One consistent format, such as "March 2022 to June 2024"	Helps parsers attach dates to the right job
File name	Firstname-Lastname-CV	Looks professional when a recruiter downloads it

If an application portal asks you to upload a Word document, send a Word document. Following the instructions is the simplest compatibility test there is.

Key Takeaway: Choose a plain font, follow the advert's file type instructions and never upload a scanned CV.

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When a designed CV is fine

Here's the contrarian part: design isn't always the enemy. It depends entirely on who, or what, reads the CV first.

If you are handing a CV to someone in person, sending it directly to a hiring manager, or working in a creative field where design is part of the job, a more visual CV can work well. It shows off a skill the employer is actually hiring for.

Many designers keep two versions. A portfolio-style CV for direct contacts and a simple one for online applications is a sensible compromise, and the content can be identical.

Key Takeaway: Use a designed CV for people and a plain one for portals. When in doubt, go plain.

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A quick test before you use any template

You don't need special software to check a template. This copy-and-paste test takes about two minutes.

1. Save your CV as a PDF, open it, select all the text and paste it into a plain text document.
2. Check that everything appears, in a sensible order, with nothing missing or jumbled.
3. Check that dates stay next to the right jobs.
4. Check that your name, phone number and email all came across.

If the pasted text is a mess, a parser will probably struggle too. Fix the layout, or switch templates, before you send a single application.

For a more detailed check, run your CV through CVPilot's free ATS checker, which flags formatting problems and shows the keywords you're missing for a specific job. Our ATS guide explains how these systems work in more depth.

Key Takeaway: If you can't copy and paste your CV into plain text cleanly, neither can an applicant tracking system.

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Getting the content right

A template is only the frame. What gets you interviews is the content: achievements with numbers, the right keywords for the role, and a CV tailored to each application.

To find those keywords, CVPilot's keyword extractor pulls the key terms out of a job advert. Our guide to writing a CV in the UK and UK CV format guide cover the rest in detail.

Key Takeaway: Spend ten minutes on the template and hours on the content. That's where interviews are won.

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Checklist

• Single column, standard headings
• Contact details in the body, not the header
• No skill bars, icons or text in images
• No photo for UK applications
• Plain font and the file type the advert asks for
• Two pages at most
• Passes the copy-and-paste test

Ready to optimise your CV? Try CVPilot free and see your ATS score in under 60 seconds.