VocaCV builder
A CV builder that makes ATS-friendly CVs.
Most applications are read by software before a person ever sees them. Every Voca template is single-column, standard-headed, and real text throughout — so your experience is parsed correctly instead of quietly dropped. Write it once, then switch designs without retyping a word.
Free template included · Real-text PDF · No subscription
Five templates, five registers
MeridianFree
Editorial and accented — letterspaced headings over short colour rules, with a generous name treatment.
Atlas
Structured and modern — a tinted identity band with a timeline rail marking each role.
Clarity
Calm and uncluttered — section labels set in a left gutter beside the content, with no rules or colour.
Compact
Dense and efficient — tinted heading bars and single-line entries, for fitting a long history on one page.
Formal
Traditional and serif — a centred identity block and small-caps headings between rules, for law, academia and finance.
Every one of them is ATS-friendly. Meridian is free; the other four are covered by a single one-time purchase, and all five can be previewed first.
How it works
Pick a design
Five templates, spread deliberately across registers — designed and modern through to traditional serif. Preview any of them filled with real content before you commit to one.
Fill in six short steps
Contact, summary, experience, education, skills, extras. One screen at a time, saved as you go, so a half-finished CV is still there when you come back.
Download the PDF
Real text, properly structured — not an image of a CV. Switch template later and the same content re-renders in the new design without retyping anything.
Why build it here
ATS-friendly by construction
Single column, standard headings, and real selectable text throughout — so the applicant tracking system between you and the hiring manager reads every field correctly instead of dropping half of them.
Restyle without retyping
Your content and its design are separate. Change your mind about the template and the CV you already wrote re-renders in it — no copying text between documents.
Built for the interview after it
The CV gets you the interview; Voca also runs the interview practice. Same account, so you can go from finished PDF to a scored mock round in the role you just applied for.
Written, not generated
You write your own experience. Nothing invents achievements you never had — the kind of thing that collapses the moment an interviewer asks a follow-up.
Common questions
What does ATS-friendly actually mean?
Most applications are read by an applicant tracking system before a person sees them. Multi-column layouts, text baked into images, and unusual section headings all cause fields to be parsed wrongly or missed entirely. Every Voca template is single-column with standard headings and real text, which is what lets those systems read it correctly.
Is the CV builder free?
Yes. The Meridian template is free to use and free to download as a PDF, with no account and no payment. The other four templates are covered by a single one-time purchase — not a subscription — and you can preview all of them before deciding whether any is worth paying for.
Can I change template after writing my CV?
Yes, and that is the point of keeping content and design separate. Pick a different template and the CV you already wrote re-renders in it immediately. Nothing is retyped and nothing is lost.
What format do I get?
A PDF with real, selectable text — the format employers and tracking systems expect. You can download it as many times as you like, and re-download after editing.
Do I need an account to build a CV?
No. You can write a complete CV and download it as a PDF without signing up or paying — the free Meridian template needs no account at all. An account is only worth having for two reasons: it saves your CV so you can come back and edit it later, and it lets you unlock the four premium templates with a single one-time purchase.
How do I write a CV with no work experience?
Lead with what you do have. Put education first, then projects, coursework, volunteering and any part-time or freelance work — each with a line about what you actually produced rather than what you were assigned. A short summary at the top naming the role you want does more for a first CV than a list of adjectives about yourself. The builder keeps every section optional, so an empty Experience block simply does not appear.
How long should a CV be?
One page if you have under about five years of experience, two pages beyond that, and rarely more. Recruiters spend seconds on a first pass, so a third page mostly buries the things you wanted read. If you are running long, the Compact template fits a longer history onto one page without shrinking the text to an unreadable size.
What is the difference between a CV and a resume?
In the UK, Europe, and most of the Commonwealth, "CV" means the one- or two-page document you send with a job application — the same thing Americans call a resume. In the US, "CV" instead means a long academic record listing every publication and grant, used for research and faculty roles. Voca builds the short application document, under whichever name your market uses for it.
CV guides
How to write a CV
A section-by-section guide: what goes where, how to turn duties into achievements, and what to cut.
What ATS-friendly actually means
The six formatting choices that scramble an applicant tracking system, and a two-minute test for your own CV.
Writing a CV with no experience
How to structure a first CV around education, projects and unpaid work without it reading as padding.
13 CV mistakes that cost interviews
The errors that lose interviews — duty-listing, unreadable layouts, and claims you cannot defend.
How long should a CV be?
One page, two, and what to cut when you are over — plus when longer is genuinely expected.
CV vs resume
Why the same word means a two-page application in London and a twelve-page academic record in Boston.
Write it once, use it everywhere
Six short steps to a PDF an employer's software can actually read — and a template you can change your mind about afterwards without starting over.
Build your CV freeGot the interview? Practise it out loud →