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Classic · Single column · ATS 4/5

Executive Classic CV template

A masthead name with the job title set opposite it, over an indented statement.

Classic layouts follow conventions that predate the web, which is precisely why they still work in academia, law, government and the older professions. It runs as one column with no photo, which is the combination most application portals and most UK, US and Irish employers prefer.

Live preview of the Executive Classic template, rendered at full page size with an example CV. The preview is the same code that generates your PDF.

The design

About the Executive Classic layout

Executive Classic opens with your name at close to three times body size and the job title ranged right on the same baseline, so the top of the page reads as a masthead rather than a form. Your summary is then pulled out as an indented statement in larger type — the paragraph a board-level reader will actually finish — and everything below it is kept deliberately quiet. Section headings are small caps over a hairline that stops at 60% of the measure, which marks the structure without ruling the page into boxes.

Who it’s for

The readers and situations this layout was drawn for.

  • Executives and board-level candidates
  • Consultants leading with a positioning statement
  • Senior hires going through a search firm

Key features

What is actually different about this template on the page.

  • Masthead name with an opposing job title
  • Summary set apart as an indented statement
  • Small-caps headings on a 60% hairline
  • Single column with no graphics or panels

ATS score 4/5 · Strong

How this layout behaves in an applicant tracking system

Four out of five. Nothing important is at risk; what costs the fifth point is decoration around the content rather than anything the content itself depends on.

Sections stack in a single flow, so the order you set in the editor is the order the parser records: summary, then experience, then education, then whatever you put next.

For most applications this is safe. Where the employer is very large, or the advert names a specific tracking system, a plainer single-column layout removes the remaining doubt: compare it against the ATS CV templates, which trade this template’s styling for the highest possible parsing score.

Parsing checklistATS score 4 out of 5
Reading order
Single flow
Headings
Real text
Tables
None
Images
None
Selectable text
Yes

Scores are our own assessment of how a parser handles the layout — never a guarantee about one specific employer’s system.

In practice

Three situations Executive Classic is the right answer to

Templates are chosen badly when they are chosen in the abstract. Here is what sending this one actually looks like.
Case 1

A referral or internal move

When someone inside the company is passing your CV on, it is read by colleagues rather than software. A little design signals care without costing you the parsing safety net. A typical example: Executives and board-level candidates.

Case 2

A document, not a pitch

One column with generous leading suits a document that may legitimately run to three pages — an academic or legal CV is not trying to be a one-page pitch, and compressing it signals the wrong thing.

Case 3

An application where the work speaks

No photograph means the top third of the page belongs to your name, your title and your profile — the three things a reviewer uses to decide whether to keep reading past six seconds. Executive Classic has no photo slot to remove, so the same file works in every market you send it to.

Make it yours

Customising Executive Classic

The template sets the structure; everything inside it is yours. Colours, fonts, spacing, section order and paper size are all controls in the CV builder, and the preview updates as you change them — nothing is applied blind.

Accent colour

Executive Classic ships with #7f1d1d as its accent. Near-black or a very dark neutral is the honest choice. These layouts are designed to survive being photocopied and scanned by a committee secretary, and a mid-tone accent is the first thing to disappear when they are.

Fonts and heading style

A serif body is the point of this family. If you switch to a sans, drop the font size a notch — the spacing is set for serif text and looks loose without it. Heading case — uppercase, capitalised or as typed — is a separate switch, and it changes the character of the page more than most people expect.

Spacing and density

Font size, line height, section spacing and page margins are all sliders. On a single column they behave predictably: reduce section spacing first, margins second, and only then the type size — a CV set below 9.5pt starts to look like an attempt to hide its length.

Sections and order

Education often outranks experience here, and publications, awards and references all have a legitimate place. Reordering takes one drag, which matters because the convention differs by field and by country. Every section can be renamed, reordered or hidden, and Pro adds custom sections for anything the standard set does not cover.

Paper size and export

A4 or US Letter, switched in one control, with the layout re-flowing to the new page rather than being scaled to fit. The PDF is generated from the same code you see in the preview, so what you approve on screen is what downloads.

Executive Classic: common questions

It scores 4 out of 5, which is fine for the overwhelming majority of applications. The content parses; only some of the presentation may be flattened on the way in.

Alternatives

Related templates

Other layouts worth comparing before you commit — the closest matches from Classic first, then designs with a similar ATS score from other families.

Academic CV

classic · one column

Pro

Classic Professional

classic · one column

Free

Elegant Serif

classic · one column

Pro

Formal CV

classic · two columns

Pro

Government CV

classic · one column

Pro

Legal CV

classic · one column

Pro

Start your CV with Executive Classic

Open it with the example content already in place, replace it with your own, and download a PDF when it reads the way you want. Switching to another template later keeps every word you have written.

Free to start. A Pro or Lifetime plan unlocks this design and every other one.