Plain ATS CV template

The plainest design in the set: one column of clean text, built for online application portals.

Without a photo
One column
4 colours

Use this design See the colours

Sample CV of Elif Demir, a product designer, in the Plain ATS design: black text, bold section headings with thin rules, and no colour or graphics.

4 colours to choose from

The layout stays; only the colours change.

Black & White
Navy
Teal
Burgundy

What sets it apart

Text and rules, nothing else

There are no icons, level bars, coloured blocks or layout tables. The only drawn lines are thin rules under the headings; the name, contact line, entries and levels are all plain text.
Title and employer together

Each entry opens with job title and company on one bold line, such as Product Designer, Bluebird Studio, with the years in grey below. People and software read the pair the same way.
Colour only on headings

The Black & White tone keeps the page black and grey. The other three tones colour only the section headings and their rules, while the name and body text stay black.

Who it suits

Candidates applying through online portals, especially at large employers
Anyone asked to upload a CV into an application form
Job seekers who want a plain copy beside a designed version of their CV

How an ATS reads it

This is the most parser-friendly design in Twin CV: one column of real text with no icons, shapes, letter-spacing or layout tables, and levels written as words. That leaves little in the layout to misread. It cannot fix the content, though: clear job titles and the job ad's own words still count. The ATS score (Premium) audits the content, scores it out of 100 and lists concrete fixes.

Use this design

Build your CV, then choose Plain ATS in the design gallery.

Start in Quick CV

Quick CV needs no account; the design gallery opens once you sign up. Every plan can preview every design, and the PDF download comes with Standard and Premium.

Have an account? Open the design gallery

FAQ

Questions about Plain ATS

A visitor asks a question at a help desk and the twin robot answers it

What makes Plain ATS friendly to ATS software?

Everything a parser might stumble on is left out: one column, all real text, with no icons, shapes, layout tables or letter-spacing. Levels are words in brackets, not bars or dots, so the level is read with the name.

When is a designed CV a better choice than Plain ATS?

When a person reads it first: a CV sent by email, passed on through a referral or linked from your portfolio. There, a design such as Chrono gives the page more character. Your content stays the same, so you can switch whenever you like.

Can I add a photo to Plain ATS?

No, on purpose: a parser cannot read a photo, and applications in the UK or US, for example, usually go without one. If a job ad asks for a photo, pick a photo design such as Harbor or Portrait; the photo comes from your profile.