Harvard Classic CV Template
The traditional university-style CV: centered name, serif type, ruled sections.
Layout
A traditional university-style CV in a serif typeface with generous side margins. The name is centred in bold black type, followed by an italic headline and a centred contact line divided by dots. Section headings are small bold capitals in near-black, each sitting on a thin rule in your accent colour. The company and dates line under each role is set in italics. Colour is limited to those thin rules.
How ATS software reads it
One column, black text and conventional headings make this easy for parsers to follow, including older ones. Serif fonts are not a problem for applicant tracking systems because they read the text layer, not the shapes of the letters, and the exported PDF contains real text. The italic company and date line is still plain text. If anything, the main risk is a human one: dense paragraphs in a small serif can be tiring to skim, so keep bullets tight.
Best for
- Academic, research and postgraduate applications
- Law, consulting and banking graduate schemes
- Students and recent graduates with a strong education section
- Employers who expect a traditional, conservative CV
If you work in a creative or start-up setting where some visual personality helps, this black-text, rule-only look may come across as too formal.
Tips for this template
- Put Education above Work Experience if you are a student or recent graduate; that is the order readers of this format expect.
- Use the Additional Information section for publications, research or moot court work, and rename it to say exactly that.
- Pick a dark accent colour such as navy or charcoal so the thin section rules stay consistent with the black text.
CV examples that use this template
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