Photo CV Templates — Six Designs, With and Without a Photo
Most CV templates make you choose: something that looks designed, or something a computer can actually read. These are built to be both — six coloured layouts with a photo, and not one table, text box or column anywhere in them.
The photo question, and why you get both versions
Whether to include a photo is not a style choice. It depends on the country. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland it is expected, and a CV without one looks incomplete. In Türkiye, the Middle East and much of Asia it is normal. In France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece it is common and safe either way. In the Netherlands, Belgium, the Nordics and Poland it is optional. In the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Ireland, leave it off.
In the English-speaking markets many recruiting teams are told to reject or redact any CV carrying a photo, so nobody can later claim a decision was made on appearance. It is not about how you look — the photo simply creates a problem the employer would rather not have. So every layout comes twice: same colours, same fonts, same structure, one with a photo and one without. Send the right file and stop guessing.
What is in it
- Sienna — Georgia headings, terracotta rules, circular photo. Warm and classic, the safe default if you are unsure.
- Harbour — solid navy section bands, photo and name to the left. The most corporate of the six: finance, operations, consulting.
- Laurel — Garamond throughout, headings centred between two olive rules. Quiet and editorial: academia, law, publishing.
- Meridian — Trebuchet, a teal bar down the left of every heading, the largest photo of the set.
- Two further designs in the same family, each also supplied with and without a photo.
- Fourteen files in total: twelve .docx layouts plus the guide.
Still single column, still no tables
The colour is in rules, bands and headings rather than in boxes, so nothing on the page interferes with the software that reads it. The photo sits as an inline image, which parsers skip harmlessly rather than choking on.
What you need
Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Pages or LibreOffice. No design app and no subscription. Every file is editable and yours to keep.
Fourteen files, on your Downloads page the moment you buy. Buy it on Etsy — $9
Sold through my Etsy shop, ThePlainLedger, so the download, the payment and the buyer protection are all handled by Etsy.
Would you rather I rewrote it for you?
These are templates you fill in yourself. If you would rather hand the whole thing over, the ATS Resume Rewrite is made to order and comes back within 48 hours.
The other resume and CV templates are on the ATS Resume & CV Templates page.