When you apply for a new job, you want to put your best foot forward. To do that, you should display your work experience, strengths, and accomplishments in an eye-catching resume. If you want to add some sparkle and professionalism to this document, apps can help. These five options come with templates and tools to make your CV the best it can be.
1. Canva
You can use Canva for all kinds of design projects, and one of its greatest applications is putting together a fantastic-looking resume. Even if you don’t think of yourself as a graphic designer, this app gives you maximum visual impact for minimal effort. You’ll be amazed at what you can produce—we’d recommend trying out Canva before any other app on the list. Canva works equally well on the web or as mobile app for both iOS and Android. It’s free, although you can buy a premium subscription that provides easier collaboration and more export options—but you don’t really need its features to build a CV.
2. VisualCV
Choose from one of many high-quality templates, or start from a blank page if you prefer. Then drop in text boxes, shapes, and images as needed. The process of editing text and moving objects around the page is very straightforward and intuitive. When you’re happy with the resulting resume, you can export it as a PDF or receive a link that lets you share it on the web.
3. CakeResume
CakeResume is hard to top: It features a beautifully-designed interface that’s easy to learn how to use, offers a ton of great templates, and comes with features that let you connect directly to employers. Rather than starting out with templates, CakeResume begins by asking you a few questions about your areas of expertise and the types of roles you’re looking for—it will use this information to fill out your CV later. Then, you can drag and drop different elements—images, divider lines, image blocks, and more—into position. Finally, you can link out to examples of your work, social media channels, or any other website. When you’re done, either share the finished document as a webpage or save it as a PDF.
4. CV Engineer
If you’d prefer to compile your resume on your phone, then CV Engineer is one of the best mobile options. Its layouts aren’t exactly the most advanced, but they’re simple to put together on a handset, and will still organize your information well. Your first step is to fill out the various sections—skills, interests, references, education, and so on. For each section, CV Engineer will provide little advice snippets recommending the sorts of subjects to cover and providing some examples. After you’ve entered your information, the app puts everything together for you. Then you save the finished product to your Google Drive account as a PDF, or send it to someone as an email attachment.
5. Resume.com
ust pick one of many neatly-designed templates, which range from reserved to colorful, and add your personal details when prompted. You have full control over the headings and descriptions, and can reorder sections or completely cut out the ones that don’t apply to you. It also features a handy LinkedIn profile importer, so it can automatically fill out your information based on the details you’ve uploaded to LinkedIn. Once you finish, you can share the document online, save it as a Microsoft Word document, or export it as a PDF.