Using HTML and CSS for your CV solves every formatting problem that Word creates. The frustration you have experienced with Word is not your fault. It is a limitation of the tool itself.
Word was designed for processing text documents, not for creating visually refined, structurally complex, precisely aligned layouts. A CV demands the latter, but Word was built for the former.
HTML and CSS give you pixel-level control over every element. The layout is identical on any device, on any operating system, in any browser. You can use responsive design so it looks good on mobile too. Version control is trivial because it is just text. Exporting to PDF is a single Ctrl+P away, and the result is perfect.
The learning curve is not as steep as you might think. You do not need to become a front-end engineer. A complete CV requires roughly one hundred lines of HTML, most of which is content. The actual styling takes fewer than thirty lines.
From now on, when you write your CV, a report, or any formal document, consider HTML over Word. In any scenario that requires polishedtypography, HTML and CSS are the superior choice.
Here is a complete, ready-to-use HTML CV template. Copy it into a file called resume.html , double-click to open, and you get a polished CV. You do not need to understand the code - just edit the text.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Personal Resume</title>
<style>
/* A4 size, layout never breaks */
@page { size: A4; margin: 0; }
body { margin: 0; padding: 0; background: }
/* The resume body = one A4 sheet */
.resume {
width: 210mm;
min-height: 297mm;
background: white;
margin: 20px auto;
padding: 25mm 20mm;
box-sizing: border-box;
font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
line-height: 1.6;
color:
}
/* Title */
h1 {
text-align: center;
font-size: 20px;
margin: 0 0 10px;
letter-spacing: 2px;
}
/* Section headings */
h2 {
font-size: 15px;
border-left: 4px solid
padding-left: 8px;
margin: 16px 0 10px;
}
/* Basic info lines */
.info {
display: flex;
justify-content: space-between;
margin: 4px 0;
}
/* Experience items */
.item {
margin: 10px 0;
}
.title {
font-weight: bold;
}
.desc {
padding-left: 1em;
}
/* Skill tags */
.tags {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
gap: 6px;
margin: 6px 0;
}
.tag {
background:
padding: 3px 8px;
border-radius: 4px;
font-size: 13px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="resume">
<h1>Personal Resume</h1>
<div class="info">
<span>Name: John Doe</span>
<span>Gender: Male</span>
<span>Age: 26</span>
</div>
<div class="info">
<span>Phone: 138xxxxxxx</span>
<span>Email: [email protected]</span>
</div>
<h2>Education</h2>
<div class="item">
<div class="title">XX University · B.S. in Computer Science</div>
<div style="color: - 2023.06</div>
</div>
<h2>Work Experience</h2>
<div class="item">
<div class="title">XX Company · Backend Developer</div>
<div style="color: - Present</div>
<div class="desc">
Built system APIs, designed databases, and improved service stability; refactored core business modules and cut API response time by 30%.
</div>
</div>
<h2>Projects</h2>
<div class="item">
<div class="title">Personal Knowledge Base System</div>
<div class="desc">
A web-based system with Markdown and HTML embedding and local data management, unifying notes, documents, and tables.
</div>
</div>
<h2>Skills</h2>
<div class="tags">
<div class="tag">HTML</div>
<div class="tag">CSS</div>
<div class="tag">JavaScript</div>
<div class="tag">Office Automation</div>
<div class="tag">Data Processing</div>
</div>
<h2>Self Evaluation</h2>
<div class="desc">
Fast learner focused on efficiency and tooling; skilled at replacing legacy office workflows with web technology, pursuing clean, stable, high-quality output.
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>