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Classic CV templates

Traditional formats for readers who expect a conventional document: academia, law, medicine, government and long-established firms. Restraint here is not a lack of design — it is the design. These are also, almost incidentally, the most reliably parseable layouts in the library after the ATS category.

10 designs3 free7 rated 5/5 for ATS9 single-column

Every classic template

Traditional, serif-friendly formats for academia, law, government and any employer that still expects a conventional document.

Academic CV

classic · one column

Pro

Classic Professional

classic · one column

Free

Elegant Serif

classic · one column

Pro

Executive Classic

classic · one column

Pro

Formal CV

classic · two columns

Pro

Government CV

classic · one column

Pro

Legal CV

classic · one column

Pro

Simple Classic

classic · one column

Free

Timeless

classic · one column

Pro

Traditional CV

classic · one column

Free

Who these are for

  • Academic, research and clinical applications, where a CV runs long and lists publications
  • Law, government, the civil service and regulated professions
  • Anyone applying to an organisation whose own materials look formal

When to pick something else. For a startup or an agency, a classic template can read as dated. The Modern category gets you a document that is just as readable without the institutional tone.

What they have in common

Rules and alignment instead of colour

Hierarchy comes from hairlines, small caps and hanging indents. Six of the ten use essentially no colour at all.

Built for length

Academic CV in particular assumes a document that runs to several pages with a numbered publication list, and sets a dense, even rhythm so page four looks like page one.

Serif-friendly typography

These layouts are designed with a serif body in mind — Source Serif, Lora, EB Garamond and Libre Baskerville are all one change away in the editor.

How classic templates behave in an ATS

The strongest category in the library for parsing after ATS itself: eight of the ten score 5/5. Single column, standard headings, plain date ranges, no graphics. Simple Classic is the one to reach for when you have no information about how an application will be processed — it is deliberately the plainest document here.

The score shown on each template is our own heuristic, based on layout properties known to affect text extraction — column count, graphics, heading structure. It is not a certification, and no builder can test against every system in use. There is a full technical explanation on our ATS guide.

Classic template questions

Length and emphasis. Publications, funding, teaching and conference activity carry the document, and it is normal for it to run well past two pages. Academic CV numbers its section headings and gives publications a hanging indent so long author lists stay readable.

Start from a classic template

Pick a design, fill in your history, and change your mind as often as you like — switching template never touches your content.

3 of these 10 designs are free on every plan.