Compact One-Page CV Template
Tight padding and pill header badges to maximize 1-page capacity.
Layout
The densest layout in the set: smaller text throughout, tighter line spacing and reduced page margins. The header places your name and headline on the left and contact details right-aligned on the right, divided by vertical bars, above a thick coloured rule. Each section heading is small capitals on a light tinted strip with slightly rounded corners. Job entries use bold titles and small italic company and date lines.
How ATS software reads it
Small type does not matter to a parser, which reads the text layer of the PDF rather than its size, and here that text is real and selectable. The body is a single column with standard headings, so the order is clear. The tinted heading strips are just background colour. The header places name and contact side by side, but the name comes first in the text order.
Best for
- Graduates and early-career applicants who must stay on one page
- Career changers with many short roles or projects
- Job fairs and roles that ask for a strict one-page CV
- Technical candidates with long skill lists
If you have a manageable amount of content, a template with more spacing is easier on the reader, since the small type and tight lines here are built for squeezing content in.
Tips for this template
- Trim bullets to one line where you can; the tight spacing rewards short, factual statements.
- Download and print a copy to check the small text is still comfortable to read on paper.
- Remove empty sections rather than leaving placeholders, since the template hides them and the space goes to your content.
CV examples that use this template
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