Blue layout general CV template in Word format – 2020 update

A smart two-page general CV template created using tables, with a focus on your career and achievements. Extra space for reference quotes is included. Scroll down for a helpful guide on how to write a CV with this template.

Blue layout general CV template: page two

Here’s page two of this template:

Fonts required for this general CV template:

• Acme (this is used for the quotation marks)
• Open Sans

Quick tip:

You’ll find it easier to edit this general CV template if you turn on text boundaries. Here’s how.

What’s new with this general CV template?

Here’s the old version of this CV:

Helvetica Blue Layout Word CV template (free)

Customising your blue layout general CV template

We’ve made a few key changes to our blue CV layout, which we explain below – with some great tips on putting together an interview winning curriculum vitae:

Write a strong personal statement

There’s a generous section at a top of this general CV template for you to include a personal statement (or profile). This is a key area to impress the employer by:

• Setting out exactly how you meet the job specification, including skills, experience or qualifications required
• Including any relevant key achievements

You can find out more here about writing an effective personal statement.

Include your social profiles

It’s now more important than ever before to demonstrate to employers that you are involved with and immersed in your industry – particularly for certain jobs (Politics, Marketing or Law, for example). We’ve therefore included a lot more space for your social profiles on this updated version of the template. So which social profiles should you include?

Twitter

Including your Twitter handle on your CV helps to show prospective employers that you’re following the right people within your industry, sharing relevant content, getting involved with discussions and staying up-to-date. It can help establish your credibility in the eyes of a would-be employer.

Of course, whilst every tweet might not be industry relevant, it’s important to keep them work-safe. “Keep your Tweets PG-rated”, suggest the folks at Grantham University – “no cursing, no slang, mostly proper grammar”.

LinkedIn

Including your LinkedIn handle on your CV allows you to provide the employer with a much more in-depth view of your work experience and skills. It also allows you to gather recommendations and reviews from people who have knowledge of your work.

“LinkedIn recommendations can make a positive difference to your online reputation and have a positive impact on your prospects as a job candidate. However, the effectiveness and weight those recommendations carry depends on the quality of those recommendations and who writes them.”

~ Joseph Liu, Career Change Consultant

Find out here about writing a great LinkedIn profile to complement your CV.

Others

Whether you include other social profiles on your CV really depends on whether they add value to your application. Instagram, for example, might add value to a marketing or graphic design application where the posts you’ve shared are relevant. Facebook in most cases won’t add value, but you might include details of your Facebook page if it’s work-relevant.

Include testimonials

Although we generally include space for two references at the bottom of our CV templates, we’ve also included space in this version for small quotes from those references. Obtaining a mini-reference for your work in advance is like getting a great testimonial from a customer – and it does have an impact!

Just like recommendations on your LinkedIn profile, the value of these testimonials depends on who writes them. A positive reference from a past employer may carry a lot of weight.

Detail your achievements

There’s a generous space for work history on this CV which should be listed in reverse chronological order.

Nowadays, with applicants ten-a-penny, recruiters are more interested in what you’ve achieved than what your responsibilities were. That’s why we’ve included a generous space on page two for you to wow employers with what you’ve achieved in previous roles. Your past performances and accolades are more likely to impress than a simple list of skills, tasks and responsibilities. You need to show the employer what you’re capable of.

“The simplest means of showing achievements on your CV is to employ the ‘What?/So What?’ formula, a two-step process that asks:

• What did I do?
• So what? What was the quantifiable result?

Rather than stating that ‘you were responsible for a team of 10 people’, you could instead say that you ‘planned, arranged and hosted a team building away day, which resulted in improved communications within the office.”

~ International Hellenic University

Use an ATS-friendly font

Whilst we love Helvetica, we think there are lots of other fonts that offer a crisp, easy-to-read experience. Open Sans is a firm favourite (as you can probably tell generally from the number of CV templates we have which use it) and that’s why we’ve switched to this lovely free font in the updated version. Of course, you can switch back to Helvetica if you wish, or any other font of your choosing.

It’s important to choose a font that your target employer will have installed on their PC already. Otherwise, their copy of Word will substitute your choice with something else – and it may break the spacing. You can get around this by sending your CV as a PDF, but only do this if you’re confident the employer is not using ATS software.

If you’re not sure which font is best to use on your CV, here’s a great infographic from the Undercover Recruiter.

Leave plenty of space

Today’s CV layout standards require clean fresh designs and our previous design felt a little cluttered. That’s why this updated general CV template has a lot more space, making your information more legible and easy-on-the-eye.

Use a maximum of two pages

Our original version of this template had just one page, and our updated version has two. Because the template has been built with tables, it’s a little tricky adding a second page yourself. We’ve done all the work for you so you have as much room as you need (and sections can easily be taken away by deleting rows).

Use example information to inspire you

Our old version of the template had place-holder information – the new version has real-life examples for a Marketing Manager, to inspire your own CV writing. You can find more CV examples here.

Originally published 12th January 2020.