Typesetting your academic CV in LaTeX
Latest update
Feb 21, 2010 Link to Linux Libertine. 
![[Example of XeTeX-typeset cv]](../img/cvtex/einstein_cv.png "Example of XeTeX-typeset cv")
Several dedicated packages ara available to typeset a curriculum vitę or a resume in LaTeX, such as europecv or ecv. For some reason I have always found these solutions not flexible enough to suit my needs. This is why I opted for a standard article class as a basis for my CV.Some TeX engines such as XeTeX allow you not only to benefit from the advanced typesetting features available in LaTeX, but also to use in your documents expert fonts such as Hoefler Text or Adobe Garamond Pro and to edit TeX sources in your native (Western or non-Western) writing system.
The following are custom templates I designed to typeset an academic curriculum vitę in XeTeX. You are free to download them and modify them to typeset your own cv.
For my CV I use a template compiled in XeTeX with Libertine as the main typeface.
Features
- Access to expert font features (such as ligatures, contextuals, glyph variants) (via the fontspec package)
- Unicode-ready templates (so you can write in Chinese, Cyrillic or Greek without any extra package)
- Custom heading fonts (via the sectsty package)
- Clickable hyperlinks (via the hyperref package)
- Hanging notes (read the known issues section below for further information on how to use this feature)
- Alternate ampersands
Requirements
(All required software is included in the MacTeX distribution)- A XeTeX distribution
- The fontspec package
- (optional) A graphical TeX editor, e.g. TeXShop
- (optional) Expert fonts (see below)
Known issues
- Long lists of items (e.g. 6+) with a hanging year may result in the following LaTeX error: Too many unprocessed floats. To prevent this, declare \usepackage{placeins} in the document header and split any long block using the \FloatBarrier command. This should force the partial processing of floats up to this point and allow you to compile the document.
1. Fontin
(Requires the free fonts Fontin and Fontin Sans)![[Example of XeTeX-typeset cv using Fontin]](../img/cvtex/fontin.png "Example of XeTeX-typeset cv using Fontin")
Downloads
- source: cv_template_xetex_fontin.tex
- output: cv_template_xetex_fontin.pdf
Version
0.2 (Feb 15, 2008)
2. Gentium Basic
(Requires the free font Gentium Basic)![[Example of XeTeX-typeset cv using Gentium Basic]](../img/cvtex/gentium.png "Example of XeTeX-typeset cv using Gentium Basic")
Downloads
- source: cv_template_xetex_gentium.tex
- output: cv_template_xetex_gentium.pdf
Version
0.2 (Feb 15, 2008)
3. ITC Officina
(Requires the commercial fonts ITC Officina Sans and ITC Officina Serif)![[Example of XeTeX-typeset cv using ITC Officina]](../img/cvtex/officina.png "Example of XeTeX-typeset cv using ITC Officina")
Downloads
- source: cv_template_xetex_officina.tex
- output: cv_template_xetex_officina.pdf
Version
0.2 (Feb 15, 2008)
4. Caslon
(Requires the commercial font Adobe Caslon Pro)![[Example of XeTeX-typeset cv using Adobe Caslon Pro]](../img/cvtex/caslon.png "Example of XeTeX-typeset cv using Adobe Caslon Pro")
Downloads
- source: cv_template_xetex_caslon.tex
- output: cv_template_xetex_caslon.pdf
Version
0.2 (Feb 15, 2008)
5. Hoefler Text+Optima
(Uses Hoefler Text and Optima, two expert fonts bundled with Mac OS X)![[Example of XeTeX-typeset cv using Hoefler Text and Optima]](../img/cvtex/optima-hoefler.png "Example of XeTeX-typeset cv using Hoefler Text and Optima")
Downloads
- source: cv_template_xetex_hoefler.tex
- output: cv_template_xetex_hoefler.pdf
Version
0.2 (Feb 15, 2008)
More
Getting expert fonts
XƎTeX gives the best results with expert fonts such as those based on OpenType technology. Most of them can be purchased from digital foundries, but Mac OS comes bundled with a number of excellent fonts with expert features (e.g. Hoefler Text, Optima, Skia, Apple Chancery, Zapfino). More free OpenType fonts are available on the net. Check out for example the Gentium, Charis SIL and Doulos SIL fonts from SIL, Cardo by David J. Perry, the free fonts designed by Jos Buivenga (the creator of Fontin), this collection of professional quality fonts selected by Vitaly Friedman or the amazing Font Squirrel.Disclaimer
The above templates are provided for free and without any guarantee that they will correctly compile on your system if you have a non-standard configuration. Fonts used in the above templates are not included in the downloads and must be already installed on your system. You can modify the fontspec settings in the document header to use any TrueType, OpenType or AAT font available on your system. For plain LaTeX templates, see Matthew Boedicker's examples.Acknowledgments
Thanks to Will Robertson for the fontspec package and help, readers of AcademicProductivity.com for their comments, the MacTeX people, Dick Koch in particular, for their kind support, Yan Brailowsky, Sam Cox and Karim Dharamsi for reporting various issues.External Links
- fontspec: An automatic interface to feature-rich fonts in XƎTeX by Will Robertson.
- ecv: a fancy Curriculum Vitae class.
- europecv: an unofficial class for European curricula vitae.
- LaTeX Resume Tips by Matthew Boedicker.
- LaTex: Professional Résumé layout made simple by Kamil Wójcicki