Using colour on a CV

The use of colour on a CV can give you a huge leap of advantage in standing out from the crowd. When applying for jobs in the advertisement, media, fashion or design sectors the correct use of colour can be the ‘secret ingredient’ of your CV.

When you have decided to use colour on your CV there are some guidelines that you need to bear in mind…

Do’s & Don’ts of using colours on CV

Do…

• Use colour when applying for jobs that require ‘outside the box thinking’
• Use colour reasonably; only for the headings or subheadings
• Use shades of grey to emphasise particular sections
• Make sure your CV also looks good when printed in black/white
• Make sure your CV looks professional and neatly presented

Don’t…

• Use colour backgrounds or highlights; it’s going to look really messy when photocopied and is very difficult to read
• Use very bright colours or very dark colours; it’s irritating to the eyes
• Treat your CV as a colouring book; you’re not in primary school anymore!

Example of using colour on a CV

The following are two examples of CV Templates that contain some designs and colours:

Both these templates can be downloaded for free from our CV Templates web page.