Professional CV Template (UK, 2026)

Two-column sidebar with skills on the left

The Professional CV template puts skills and contact details in a left sidebar and experience in the main column. It suits mid-career professionals who want a polished, scannable layout. Because two columns can confuse some parsers, Vouch exports it as a single-column ATS-safe PDF.

Professional layout

Best for: Mid-career professionals

Family: Professional

Exports as: Classic PDF (single-column, ATS-parseable)

When the Professional template fits

Pick Professional when you are applying through a recruiter or a company careers page where a human reads first and you want a layout that looks considered. It works best for mid-career roles with a clear skill set to showcase in the sidebar. If you are applying straight into a strict ATS with no human screen, Classic removes even the small parsing risk.

How it is structured

Left sidebar: contact details, a grouped skills list, and key tools or certifications.
Main column: personal statement, then work experience most recent first.
Education either in the sidebar or at the foot of the main column.
Consistent alignment so the two columns read as one page, not two halves.

Will it pass an ATS?

This is the honest caveat with any two-column CV: some older applicant tracking systems read left-to-right across both columns and jumble the text. That is exactly why Vouch exports Professional through the single-column Classic PDF layout. The preview shows the sidebar design; the downloaded file an ATS receives is linear text in the right reading order.

Making it work

Keep the sidebar for short, scannable items (skills, tools, certifications) and put anything with a sentence of context in the main column. A sidebar crammed with prose is hard to read and, in a raw two-column export, hard to parse.

Build a Professional CV without starting from a blank page

Vouch interviews you about your experience, then writes each section in your own words and lays it out in the Professional design. It never invents anything you did not say, and it exports a clean, single-column PDF an ATS can read.

Build this CV with Vouch

Frequently asked questions

Are two-column CVs bad for ATS?

They carry a small risk: a minority of older parsers read across columns and scramble the text. A modern parser handles them fine. Vouch removes the risk entirely by exporting a single-column PDF, so you keep the look without gambling on the employer's software.

What goes in the sidebar versus the main column?

Sidebar: contact details, a grouped skills list, tools and certifications, all short. Main column: your personal statement and work history, where achievements need a sentence of context each.

Not sure this is the right design? Browse all twelve UK CV templates, check your draft against the free ATS CV checker, or read the UK CV conventions guide.