I Haven't Used Word for My Resume in Years. Here's What I Use Instead.

Alisa Petrova — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 08:25:54 +0000

Long ago, when I was just starting my career, I used to keep my CV in DOCX too.

And I struggled.

I struggled every time I needed to add new experience, new technologies, or new skills. All the text blocks were trying to move, slide onto another page, or break the design completely.

You add one sentence, and suddenly your entire CV needs to be reformatted.

God, why is this text block here again?!

And formatting wasn't even the only problem.

The endless nightmare of CV versions

Every time I made changes, I wanted to keep the previous version.

So my folders started looking something like this:

Alisa_Petrova_CV_2022.docx
Alisa_Petrova_CV_2022_final.docx
Alisa_Petrova_CV_2022_revised.docx
Alisa_Petrova_CV_2022_final_FINAL.docx

And it's exhausting.

You never remember where a particular skill was added, when your specialization slightly shifted, or which version contained that one description you now want back.

Of course, DOCX does support version history through certain tools. But I wanted something different: transparent, structured version control that I could manage myself.

Still, I kept using DOCX because, well, that's what people commonly use for CVs.

Until I discovered something better.

My first encounter with HTML

Then time passed, and I got my first taste of web development at work.

And it was a brilliant discovery.

I got familiar with containers, columns, styles, margins, and padding.

And suddenly it occurred to me:

Why am I fighting with a Word document when I could just build my CV as a web page?

I understood:
"HTML and CSS give you freedom to play with the design as you want!"

You can create columns, adjust spacing, customize colors, manage page breaks, and arrange your content exactly where you want it.

And when everything is ready?

Just open the HTML file in your browser and export it as a PDF.
That's it. A beautiful CV, ready to send to a recruiter.

No more fighting with mysterious spacing changes. No more wondering why a text block suddenly moved to the next page. (Well, at least not without a CSS property you can investigate.)

And then there's Git

This was another huge advantage.

HTML and CSS are plain-text files, which means you can store them in Git and track every change.

You can see when you added a new skill, how your professional experience evolved, and what exactly changed between versions.

You can even create separate branches for different CV variations.

And unlike binary DOCX files, the changes are actually readable.

For someone who had spent years collecting files named final_FINAL_revised, this was wonderful.

But there was one problem

For years, I've been using this approach and for years, I couldn't really recommend it to everyone. Just because not everyone knows HTML and CSS.
Even developers who aren't familiar with web development sometimes find this method unnecessarily complicated.

Want to change the background color?

Learn CSS.

Want to add another column?

Learn CSS.

Want to fix the layout before exporting to PDF?

Well, you get the idea.

It was convenient for me, but hardly a universal solution.

Until AI changed the rules.

AI made HTML resumes accessible to everyone

Now you don't necessarily need to understand how HTML and CSS work.

Instead of learning how to change the background of your resume, you can simply ask an AI coding agent to do it.

Instead of figuring out how to add a new bubble with a skill, you can tell the agent:

I've learned a new skill. Add it to my CV and keep the existing design consistent.

Want a different layout?

Ask for it.

Want to adapt your CV to a particular position?

Ask the agent to reorganize the content while preserving your actual experience.

All styles, all blocks - all customizable.

So I created an open-source HTML CV kit

I understand that starting with a blank HTML file can still feel intimidating.

That's why I created html-cv-kit, an open-source repository with examples and templates you can use for your own CV.

GitHub: TrinkieYinkie/html-cv-kit

There are two approaches available.

1. A single-file CV

Everything is stored in one HTML file.

It's easy to move between computers, send through a messenger, or keep as a standalone document.

No complicated project structure.

Just your CV.

2. A structured CV project

The second option uses a folder structure with styles stored separately.

It's more convenient if you want to maintain your CV over time, customize its appearance, and keep a clean Git history.

Both approaches are customizable, and you can use AI to help make changes.

How to get started

You don't need to build everything from scratch.

Open the html-cv-kit repository.
Choose the template that works best for you.
Download the files.
Open the HTML file in your browser to see the result.
Edit the content yourself or ask an AI coding agent to help.
Export your finished CV to PDF using your browser's print functionality.

One small tip: when exporting, check the print preview, paper size, margins, and background graphics. Browser print settings can affect the final layout.

And that's it.

You now have a customizable CV that you can maintain, version, and update without fighting with DOCX formatting.

Final thoughts

I don't think DOCX is inherently bad.

It's a perfectly reasonable format for many documents.

But after years of maintaining my CV in HTML, I can't imagine going back.

And with AI agents making HTML and CSS easier to work with, I think this approach deserves much more attention.

So if you're tired of fighting with your CV formatting, feel free to try my templates.

👉 Explore html-cv-kit on GitHub

And I'm curious: do you still maintain your CV in Word, or have you found a better approach?

DEV Community: Alisa Petrova