Free CV Template in Word (Norway) — Download and Fill It In

Nobody wants to start from a blank page, and "cv template word" is one of the most searched CV phrases in Norway for exactly that reason. Here is a free Word template you can download without an account, an email address or a signup — plus a walkthrough of how to fill it in without the layout destroying the content.

Download the template

• CV template in English (Word, .docx)
• Norwegian CV template (Word, .docx)

The template has the sections the Norwegian market expects: Profile, Work experience, Education, Courses and certificates, Languages (spoken and written listed separately) and References. It is deliberately plain — one column, ordinary headings, no tables, no images, no text boxes and nothing in a header or footer. Not because design is forbidden, but because the content then survives being read by both a human and a machine.

How to fill it in

• Open the job posting and write the requirements down in a separate document. Let the CV answer them.
• Replace everything in [brackets] with your own details. Delete sections that do not apply — Courses and certificates, for instance, if you have none.
• Write the profile last, once you can see what the experience actually adds up to.
• Stay within one to two pages. Shorten the bullets rather than shrinking the font.
• Save as PDF via File → Save As or Export → Create PDF. File name: Firstname-Lastname-CV.pdf.

The order of work and what belongs in each section is covered in how to write a CV, and the Norwegian format rules in the Norwegian CV guide.

The Word traps that break a CV

• Tables used as layout. They look tidy, but text extraction can reorder cells so that job title and employer get mixed up. The same applies to two-column layouts.
• Text boxes and shapes. Text inside a box frequently disappears when a recruitment system reads the file.
• Headers and footers. The most common technical mistake: contact details that live only in the header are lost to the system reading the document. Keep them in the body.
• Tracked changes and comments left in. If someone helped you proofread, their edits and comments are often still in the file when you save. In Word: Review → Track Changes → Accept All Changes, then delete the comments.
• Hidden metadata. The file remembers who created it and what was written before. File → Info → Check for Issues → Inspect Document removes comments, tracked changes and personal details before you send.
• Icons and skill bars. Dots, stars and bars cannot be read as text, and they say less than one sentence.

How strict this really is in practice is covered in ATS-friendly CV: the problem is rarely that the CV is auto-rejected, but that it is read wrong.

Template or builder?

A template is a starting point, not an assessment. It solves "I have no document", not "my document gets no replies".

• If you have no CV at all, a builder may be faster, because it gives you structure and PDF export out of the box. We compare builders and analysis tools in best CV tools in Norway.
• If you have a CV that gets no response, the template is not the problem. You need to see your document against a specific posting — that is what we do.

Does "CV 2026" mean anything new?

The template changes little from year to year, and there is no reason to switch format annually. What has changed is the volume of applications: according to FINN jobb's JobbIndeks, one in three job seekers uses AI when writing their application. That does not make your template outdated — but it does make a CV with concrete, checkable lines more valuable, because sameness is what stands out for the wrong reason.

Frequently asked questions

Is the template really free?

Yes. It is an ordinary .docx file with no account, email or payment. We ask for nothing to download it.

What can I use the template for?

Use it for your own CV and change it as much as you like. It is plain on purpose, so there is little to break. It is not a design product, and we do not resell it in any form.

Can I use Google Docs or Canva instead?

Yes. Google Docs has a template gallery and Canva has many visual templates. Watch for the same things in any tool: two columns, icons and text boxes can make the text hard to read by machine. Choose a simple template with ordinary headings, wherever it comes from.

Do I have to save the CV as a PDF?

Yes, unless the ad asks for Word. A PDF looks the same to everyone, and the text can still be selected and read. Check that the PDF is text-based rather than an image — try selecting a line in it.

Is the template ATS-friendly?

It is built for that: one column, ordinary heading words, no tables, no text boxes, nothing in the header. That is not a guarantee of how any specific system processes the file, but it removes the most common reasons content goes missing.

Can I use it if I am applying in Norwegian?

Yes — the Norwegian version has the same structure with Norwegian headings. If the job is Norwegian, keep the Norwegian headings even if the rest is in English; both people and systems look for those words.

Next step

Once the template is filled in, the question becomes whether the content lands: how to write a CV covers outcomes and the pre-send checklist, and Norwegian CV examples shows three finished documents to compare against.