The first step in a job hunt is to have an informative, easy-to-read resume that impresses recruiters. Start with these free CV builder apps that guide you to make a striking job portfolio.
This list only features web apps, but there are a few that might catch you by surprise. For instance, there is now a chatbot to build a CV by talking. There’s also artificial intelligence that will write a resume for you. Of course, we’ve included basic free resume makers too.
1. Applyya (Web): Free Resume Builder Without Watermarks
A lot of the free online resume builders have a catch. You can download a resume with a watermark for free, but you’ll have to pay a small fee to remove that watermark. Applyya has no such strings attached, and you can make a good-looking CV with its guide.
Start the editor and you’ll see fields that you have to fill, like your name, position, personal details, previous experience, educational qualifications, and skills. Applyya also has a field for a profile, where you add a picture and describe your current responsibilities and skills, or your overall goals. It’s a nice little intro for the recruiter.
You can add or delete any section, choose a base color for the resume, and set custom fonts and font sizes too. Applyya gives you three templates to choose from, all of which look modern and professional. Preview the file while you’re editing it, and once you’re done, download the resume as a PDF. It’s as simple as it should be.
2. Resume Builder (Web): Step-by-step Resume with LinkedIn Import
Resume Builder is a great tool for those who don’t have much experience with writing or formatting a resume. It offers four free templates (minimal, elegant, modern, timeline) for different types of jobs, and guides you through the process of setting up your CV.
Importantly, Resume Builder is among the few free apps in which you can import details from your LinkedIn profile to fill up a majority of your resume. Then you can edit the template as you see fit to add or delete certain sections.
For each section, the app has you enter a few details in boxes and also offers sample text to show you what you should write in the major descriptions. If you haven’t written a CV before this, just do your best to reword the sample text with your own accomplishments.
You don’t need to sign up to use the service, and you can download the resume as a PDF for free. You can also change themes at any time, so try all four templates.
3. Hiration (Web): CV Templates for Different Types of Jobs
When you’re writing a CV for a type of job, it helps to see how other successful people in that industry have composed their resumes. Hiration has a large database of example CVs, along with templates to put them in.
There are only a couple of free designs though, and four free pre-composed resumes for marketing associate, sales head, supply chain manager, and middle school teacher. The others are Premium templates that require a fee, but you can still see their content for free. You can even edit or copy-paste it.
If you don’t want to pay, you can look at this ideal CV and start composing your own resume in Hiration’s free resume builder. Manually add the fields and fill them in with your own details to create a brand new resume, and then download the PDF file.
4. EnhanCV’s AI Resume Generator (Web): Artificial Intelligence for CVs
EnhanCV is among the best resume-building apps and sites on the internet. The developers have now unleashed an AI helper to generate a sample CV for you, depending upon which job you are going for.
It’s a long list of varied job roles too, including accounting, bartender, cashier, maintenance, mechanic, teacher, sales manager, engineering, and many more. Add your name, select the industry, and the AI will create a new resume every time. You can then use it as a template to replace it with your own accomplishments.
I would recommend generating these AI-crafted resumes multiple times and not going with the first one itself. In fact, open it in different tabs and generate them a few minutes apart, with different names. You’ll see a nice mix of what matters in the CV for your industry, as well as examples of how to word your experiences well.
EnhanCV is one of those tools that adds a footnote watermark, and you’ll have to pay to remove it. But this AI resume generator might be the boost your CV needs to land a job, and thus make it worthwhile.
5. CV Bot (Web): Fill a CV by Talking to a ChatBot
If you’re looking to build a CV on a smartphone, I’d suggest trying CV Bot. It might seem a little strange to compose your resume by talking to a chatbot, but it feels surprisingly natural when you do it on a phone.
It takes a few minutes to sign up to use CV Bot, so go through that procedure first. Then the bot will ask you questions that fill in the different fields of a CV. The step-by-step questions let you build the resume one thing at a time instead of showing the full picture already. Plus, on a mobile screen, it feels natural to write fewer words to describe yourself, which makes for a more succinct resume. Recruiters appreciate brevity.
The bot will chat you through filling all the relevant roles of a standard resume, and even lets you add custom sections if you want. Once you’re done, you can preview the CV in different templates. Choose the one you like and download it. The free version lets you download five free CVs per month, which should take care of all the templates.
Get a Cover Letter as Well
With these five resume builders, you should have a good-looking CV ready. Most recruiters recommend tweaking your resume slightly to the needs of the job you’re applying for, but those are only going to be small changes.
That’s why you should add a cover letter with your resume. This way, you can tell the recruiter why you’d be perfect for the job and address specific points about the company. It’s an essential part of the job application process, so it’s best that you know how to write a good cover letter.
Read the full article: 5 Free CV Apps to Create a Beautiful Resume That Recruiters Will Read
