What to Say When Handing in a Cv
Best resume builder
If you're on the job hunt in 2021, then it's not enough to have a basic resume ready to go – if you want to stand out, you need your CV to have an eye-catching design alongside the relevant information.
If you want to get the job done with professionalism and accuracy, you shouldn't open Microsoft Word and hack out the same old layout with the same old font. Instead, you should head online and use one of the best resume builders in 2021.
The best resume builders transform your resume to create a bold, eye-catching document, and you might not even have to spend any money. Some of the best use free templates with a proven success rate – templates that have helped people land their dream positions.
There are loads of options if you do want to spend some cash, too. Loads of the best resume builders will go above and beyond the best free alternatives if you hand over a bit of money.
Whether you need a free resume builder or a paid option, we've got you covered – we've rounded up the best free and paid options so you can see all the contenders, make a choice, and get your next career move sorted.
Also check out the best freelancer websites
1. Resume.com
An ideal option for a free, professional resume
Reasons to buy
+Loads of templates +Professional design +Free to use
It's no surprise that Resume.com is where many people start looking when they want to buy a new resume – after all, that name is a pretty good sign of this site's key strength.
True to form, the site has loads of fantastic templates that you can use, and the huge popularity of this site means that they're proven to work – as vast numbers of people have already used these templates to secure interviews and new positions. Resume.com has also spoken to thousands of employees and employers to find out what people are looking for in a candidate, and its templates are based on that evidence.
The company behind Resume.com also owns Indeed.com, which is one of the web's biggest recruitment websites. That means Resume.com has loads of data available for creating its resume builder and CV templates. That also means it's easy to share your CV to Indeed.com when it's finished, so you'll be able to apply for jobs in no time.
Resume.com is free to use, and its templates cater to dozens of different jobs and industries, so it's easy to start. Once it's finished, you can easily download it to your PC or laptop. This may not be the only resume builder on the market, but you shouldn't ignore Resume.com.
2. ResumUP
Perfect if you want to push the boundaries with your next resume
Reasons to buy
+Loads of visual options +Easy to import data +Niche format support
Every hiring manager on the planet has seen enough resumes to last them a lifetime, and so a site like ResumUP is an excellent idea if you want your CV to stand out from the crowd.
This site does something a little different – it takes a far more visual approach than most resume building services. You can use this site to create an infographic instead of a typical CV, or you can design your resume as an interactive, graphical website.
That's perfect if you want to show off your forward-thinking approach and design skills and ideal if you want your resume to be viewable on all sorts of devices. You can opt for a vertical ribbon design or switch to a more conventional layout if you'd like to compare different styles.
You can import existing data from other social networks, like LinkedIn, to quickly create a resume, and you can also create ATS or JSON resumes designed to be read by computers or developers. ResumUP can create cover letters in the same style as a functional resume.
You can use ResumUP for free if you're happy to create a basic text resume, but you'll have to pay to get access to broader design options. The Winning Resume package costs $6 a month if you pay annually and allows you to use and download a single resume template. In contrast, the Profile Pro option costs $8 per month. It enables unlimited resume creation, customized URLs, and the ability to use the site's career planner, skills tracking, and social networking features.
3. CakeResume
An intuitive and easy to use resume builder
Reasons to buy
+Great interface +Loads of attractive design
CakeResume uses an intuitive and straightforward drag-and-drop interface to make resume creation easier, even for users who may not be particularly savvy when using technology.
The interface allows you to customize your layout, elements, and information quickly, and CakeResume pairs this intelligent user experience with a range of attractive and impressive templates. You can download your resume at any point in the creation process, which is handy for checking your progress or getting feedback from others.
You can download your finished resume as a PDF for free, but you're only allowed to create one basic resume using the free service. If you spend $10 per month on the Advanced plan, you can use more than twenty premium resume designs as often as you want, and you can remove the CakeResume branding from your finished CV. The $15-per-month Pro option allows you to track your resume using Google Analytics and share the finished product using a custom domain name.
CakeResume is fast, easy to use, and has loads of attractive and straightforward resume templates. Still, it's only worth considering if you're willing to buy one of the paid options – the free tier is minimal.
4. Reed.co.uk
Build a resume and find a new job on the same website
Reasons to buy
+Ties into a large database +Straightforward options
Reed.co.uk is a UK-focused site that offers a resume creation tool as part of its wider set of employment features, like job listings, skills modules, and career advice articles.
You start to create a resume when you register your account, and the site takes you through a simple four-step process to create a basic resume. You add your personal information, work experience, and qualifications alongside a personal statement, and then your basic resume will be available for download as a Word document. You can also make it visible on Reed.co.uk's wider website so it's easy for employers to view.
You can download Reed's Word template to do it all yourself if you'd prefer, and your resume and profile are linked – so you can add more experience, qualifications, and information alongside information about your skills and job hunting journey. It's a free service, and it's a welcome addition to this popular job site, but be aware that you don't get to use sophisticated templates or advanced design elements here.
5. ResumeGenius
More features and templates than most rivals
Reasons to buy
+Loads of pre-written phrases +Help with other job-hunting situations
A site with a name like ResumeGenius must step up if it's going to live up to its moniker, and this resume builder does the job in terms of quality and features.
ResumeGenius starts the process by deploying dozens of different CV templates. There are plenty of good-looking resumes available here, although they do veer towards the conventional – you'll find plenty of traditional resumes but few graphics-heavy modern options.
You can fill out your resume with more than 50,000 pre-written bullet points. They cover all industries and mean you can sound as professional as possible. You can download your resume as a Word document or PDF, and the site also has a cover letter builder and tools that can help you with resignation letters, thank-you notes, and letters of recommendation.
This site doesn't have the in-depth options of many others, but it's a free tool that can quickly produce a professional resume – and that makes it worth using.
6. Novoresume
An AI-powered choice for creating the perfect resume
Reasons to buy
+AI analysis tools +Decent free options +Loads of impressive quality
Novoresume deploys dozens of different resume templates to help you find the perfect job. They're all created in conjunction with experienced recruiters, and they're applicable to loads of different career paths and industries.
You can choose to start with a traditional template, a professional design that includes a photograph or a creative template, and you'll find other templates that offer a simple, modern, and professional range of designs.
Those templates are a suitable place to start, and Novoresume aims to go further with its extra features. You can use cover letter templates alongside the resume templates. This site has an AI-powered analysis service that suggests resume improvements as you tweak the layout and enter your information.
It's an intuitive and effective site with straightforward features, and you can use the Basic tier to create a free resume.
The Premium option costs $15 per month and allows you to use a broader range of fonts and colours, add special sections and graphics to your resume, create more resumes and deploy distinctive styles and templates. That's all welcome, but this is one of the better sites if you want to create a free resume – it's not particularly restrictive.
7. ResumeHelp
Good if you want a professional resume without spending loads of money
Reasons to buy
+Affordable paid upgrades +Loads of pre-written phrases +Lots of traditional designs
ResumeHelp is the perfect resume builder to use if you're not particularly confident with written English, or if it's not your first language.
This site allows you to create a resume with confidence by inserting pre-written bullet points that emphasize your strengths without focusing on potentially tricky linguistic errors. There are thousands of points that can work in all sorts of resumes, so you won't be short of things to say, and you'll also receive help from extra tips as you build your resume.
The site has fifteen different templates available. The designs focus on more traditional, conventional layouts, so this site is ideal if you want to put together a classic, familiar resume. You can customize all the information as you go through the process, upload an old resume to kickstart your new document, and it's free to download the document after you're finished.
The upgrade plans are cheap, too: you can buy two weeks of access for $3 or a month of access for $6, and that plan means you can create more resumes, use more templates, and build cover letters too.
8. CVmaker
An easy, fuss-free site for quick resume creation
Reasons to buy
+Simple to use +Straightforward interface +One-off payment
CVmaker is one of the easiest resume builders to use, so it's an ideal choice if you want to put together a resume quickly and without any fuss.
Creating a resume on CVmaker is simple. The site uses a step-by-step process to gather information about your work experience, education, interests, and references. When that's done you can switch the design between a selection of different styles and download the document for your use in job applications. You can also add your own sections to the resume, which is a feature that isn't available on some other sites.
CVmaker is a simple tool, though, especially in its free guise – at this point it's fine for building a basic resume, but that's it. If you upgrade to the site's premium tier you can add more custom sections, use better templates and take advantage of an advanced text editor. It only requires a one-off payment of $16, too, so it's one of the cheapest paid resume builder options available.
9. VisualCV
Attractive, colorful templates to help your resume stand out
Reasons to buy
+Bold, eye-catching templates +Easy to import LinkedIn data +Good privacy options
VisualCV is one of the most powerful and versatile resume-building websites around. The process begins with loads of attractive and modern templates that offer more color and visual pop than most other resume building tools, and once you've chosen the right look, you're able to customize each resume to properly suit your needs.
This site goes far beyond resume building. You can use advanced resume tracking to see when your document has been viewed or downloaded, and you can access free guides, blog posts, and articles if you need some extra help. You can import data from LinkedIn to make CV building easier and consult cover letter templates too.
VisualCV allows you to easily share your resume with family and friends for quick feedback, and it has more privacy options than most resume builders, so your information is more secure.
This site's free package allows you to create one resume using a single template and then download it, but it will have VisualCV branding that can't be removed. The Pro option costs $20 a month or $13 a month if you pay for a quarterly package, giving you more templates and the ability to create an unlimited number of resumes.
10. Resume.io
A wide selection of features means this is a versatile resume builder
Reasons to buy
+Good resume and cover letter templates +Includes job tracking +Automatic spellcheck
Resume.io is one of the broadest resume sites on the internet, with a massive range of features that offer impressive quality in every department.
As with any other resume builder, you can quickly use an attractive template to produce a rock-solid CV using Resume.io. This site also benefits from thousands of pre-written phrases alongside automatic spell checking and the ability to export your file in any format you choose.
Elsewhere, this site deploys cover letter templates too. You can also generate automatic summaries for your documents, access recruitment tips, and track any applications that have used the documents you create on the site.
If you use Resume.io for free, you can create a resume and cover letter and share links to those files with prospective employers, but you can only download the resume as a basic text file. If you buy its professional plan, you can create an unlimited number of resumes and cover letters using the site's full library of tools. That's the option we'd recommend.
11. KickResume
Pre-written phrases and good template with a proven pedigree
Reasons to buy
+Includes loads of pre-written templates +Templates cover key industries
KickResume places a big emphasis on easy resume creation, and it includes loads of different tools that will simplify the process and help you avoid common pitfalls.
This site serves up more than fifty professional templates that cover traditional and modern design alongside many key jobs and industries. The site has more than 20,000 pre-written phrases that can be slotted into your resume – perfect if you want to include professional language in a quick and straightforward fashion.
You can view resumes that have helped candidates land jobs at companies like Facebook, NASA, and Google. KickResume has in-built proofreading alongside a cover letter builder.
It's free to create four resumes using KickResume, and you can have a basic website and get access to the full library of pre-written phrases too – this is one of the more generous options for free resume creation. But if you upgrade to the $7-per-month Pro plan, you'll get more templates, full customization options and AI resume review alongside priority support.
Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website building and web hosting when DHTML and frames were en vogue and started writing about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium. Then followed a weekly tech column in a local business magazine in Mauritius, a late night tech radio programme called Clicplus and a freelancing gig at the now-defunct, Theinquirer, with the legendary Mike Magee as mentor. Following an eight-year stint at ITProPortal.com where he discovered the joys of global techfests, Désiré now heads up TechRadar Pro. He has an affinity for anything hardware and staunchly refuses to stop writing reviews of obscure products or cover niche B2B software-as-a-service providers.Managing Editor, TechRadar Pro
What to Say When Handing in a Cv
Source: https://www.techradar.com/au/best/best-cv-builders