Aadarsha Gopala Reddy

Aadarsha Gopala Reddy

M.Sc. Computer Science Student at Washington University in St. Louis

CV and Resume TeX Templates

CV and Resume TeX Templates

This directory contains TeX files for creating a CV and a resume. These templates are designed to be easily customizable.

Directory Structure

  • cv_tex/: Contains the TeX files for the full academic Curriculum Vitae (CV).
    • reddy_cv.tex: The main TeX file for the CV.
    • reddy_cv.sty: The style file associated with the CV, defining formatting and layout.
    • reddy_cv.pdf: An example PDF output of the CV.
  • resume_tex/: Contains the TeX files for a concise resume.
    • reddy_resume.tex: The main TeX file for the resume.
    • reddy_resume.sty: The style file associated with the resume.
    • reddy_resume.pdf: An example PDF output of the resume.

How to Use

To use these templates for your own CV or resume, you will primarily need to edit the .tex files.

Method 1: Using Overleaf (Recommended & Easiest)

Overleaf is an online LaTeX editor that simplifies the setup process:

  1. Download the cv_tex or resume_tex folder (or both) to your computer.
  2. Go to Overleaf and sign up or log in.
  3. Create a New Project (select “Blank Project” or “Upload Project” if you prefer to upload the whole folder).
  4. If you created a Blank Project, Overleaf might create a default main.tex file. If so, delete it.
  5. Upload the .tex file (e.g., reddy_cv.tex) and the corresponding .sty file (e.g., reddy_cv.sty) from the downloaded folder into your Overleaf project. (If you chose “Upload Project” in step 3, you would have uploaded the entire folder already).
  6. Click the “Recompile” button in Overleaf. The document should compile without issues.
  7. You can now edit the .tex file directly in Overleaf. See the “Editing the .tex file” section below for guidance on what to change.

Method 2: Local LaTeX Setup (Advanced Users)

This method requires a LaTeX distribution installed on your system.

  1. Download the relevant folder: Download either cv_tex or resume_tex (or both) to your local machine.
  2. Prerequisites: Ensure you have a LaTeX distribution installed on your system (e.g., MiKTeX for Windows, TeX Live for Linux/macOS, or MacTeX for macOS).
  3. Edit the .tex file:
    • Open the .tex file (e.g., reddy_cv.tex or reddy_resume.tex) in a TeX editor (like TeXShop, TeXstudio, VS Code with LaTeX Workshop extension).
    • See the “Editing the .tex` file” section below for guidance on what to change.
  4. Compile the .tex file: Use your LaTeX editor’s compile button or a command-line tool (like pdflatex) to compile the .tex file. You may need to compile it multiple times for all cross-references and citations (if any) to be correctly generated.
    pdflatex your_file_name.tex
# Run again if needed for references/citations
pdflatex your_file_name.tex
  5. Review the PDF: Check the generated PDF to ensure it looks as expected.

Editing the .tex file (Applies to both Overleaf and Local Setup)

Once you have your project open in Overleaf or your local editor, you’ll primarily be modifying the content within the .tex files (reddy_cv.tex or reddy_resume.tex).

  • Header Section:
    • Locate the \\begin{header} environment at the beginning of the .tex file.
    • Update your Name, Email, and Phone Number within the minipages.
    • Change the website URL in \\href{https://agopalareddy.github.io}{agopalareddy.github.io}.
    • Update the URL within the \\qrcode{https://agopalareddy.github.io} command to generate your personal QR code.
  • Content Sections:
    • The .tex files are structured with predefined sections (e.g., \\section{EDUCATION}, \\section{SKILLS}).
    • Within each section, content is added using custom LaTeX environments defined in the .sty files (e.g., \\begin{educationentry}{...}{...}{...}).
    • Replace the placeholder content within these environments with your own information. The .tex files include comments indicating what each argument for these environments represents.
    • Adding/Removing Items: Inside environments like educationentry, experienceentry, etc., details are often listed using \\item. Add or remove these \\item lines as needed.
    • Adding/Removing Sections: You can remove an entire section by deleting its \\section{...} command and all associated content environments. To add a new section, you can copy an existing one and modify its title and content. Consistent use of \\vspace{\\headerSpacing} between sections and \\vspace{\\entrySpacing} (optional, often commented out for a compact look) between entries within a section allows for control over spacing. The \\needspace{...} command is used before sections to help prevent awkward page breaks.
  • Understanding Custom Environments:
    • The .sty files (reddy_cv.sty, reddy_resume.sty) define various environments to structure content.
    • For example, in reddy_cv.tex, an education entry shows its arguments as follows:
      \\begin{educationentry}
    {M.S. Computer Science} % Degree
    {Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA} % Institution & Location
    {Fall 2024 - *Spring 2026} % Date Range
    \\item \\textbf{GPA:} 3.52/4.0
    \\item \\textbf{Coursework:} Relevant courses...
\\end{educationentry}
    • Refer to the commented, existing entries in the .tex files as the primary template for your own content.

Specific Files and What to Change:

cv_tex/reddy_cv.tex

This file is for a comprehensive academic CV and includes extensive comments for clarity.

  • Header: Update personal details and QR code URL as described above.
  • Package Loading: Common packages like qrcode, hyperref, atveryend, microtype are loaded by reddy_cv.sty. You generally do not need to load them in reddy_cv.tex.
  • Sections to Populate:
    • \\section{EDUCATION}: Use \\begin{educationentry}{Degree}{Institution & Location}{Date Range}. Add details with \\item.
    • \\section{RESEARCH EXPERIENCE}: Use \\begin{researchentry}{Project Title (can include \\href)}{Organization/Lab}{Location}{Course/Context (Optional)}{Date Range}. Add details with \\item.
    • \\section{TEACHING EXPERIENCE}: Use \\begin{experienceentry}{Position Title}{Organization}{Location}{Date Range}. Add details with \\item.
    • \\section{INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE}: Use \\begin{experienceentry}{Position Title}{Organization}{Location}{Date Range}. Add details with \\item.
    • \\section{SKILLS}: Uses \\begin{skillcategory}{Category Name}. List your skills as plain text content within this environment. Example: \\begin{skillcategory}{Programming Languages} Java, Python, C++ \\end{skillcategory}
    • \\section{HONORS}: Use \\begin{honorentry}{Date/Year}{Honor Name & Institution}. This environment does not use \\item.
    • \\section{PRESENTATIONS}: Use \\begin{presentationentry}{Date}{Title}{Venue/Event}{University/Location}. This environment does not use \\item.
    • \\section{LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE}: Uses \\begin{leadershipentry}{Organization}{Location} which contains one or more \\begin{positionentry}{Position Title}{Date Range}. Add details for each position using \\item within positionentry.
    • \\section{PROJECTS}: Use \\begin{projectentry}{Project Title (can include \\href)}{Organization/Lab}{Location}{Context (Optional)}{Date Range}. Add details with \\item. (Similar structure to researchentry).

resume_tex/reddy_resume.tex

This file is for a concise, typically 1-2 page resume and includes comments for readability.

  • Header: Update personal details and QR code URL as described above.
  • Package Loading: Common packages like qrcode, hyperref, atveryend, microtype are loaded by reddy_resume.sty.
  • Sections to Populate:
    • \\section{SUMMARY}: Uses \\begin{onecolentry} ...your summary text... \\end{onecolentry}. This is wrapped in \\begin{samepage} to try and keep it on one page.
    • \\section{SKILLS}: Uses \\begin{skillcategory}{Category Name}. List your skills as plain text content within this environment. Example: \\begin{skillcategory}{Programming Languages} Java, Python, C++ \\end{skillcategory}
    • \\section{EDUCATION}: Use \\begin{educationentry}{Degree}{Institution & Location}{Date}. Add details with \\item.
    • \\section{EXPERIENCE}: Use \\begin{experienceentry}{Position Title}{Organization & Location}{Date}. Add details with \\item.
    • \\section{PROJECTS}: Use \\begin{projectentry}{Project Title (can include \\href)}{Date Range}. Add details with \\item.

Customizing the Style (.sty files)

The .sty files (reddy_cv.sty and reddy_resume.sty) control the visual appearance (fonts, margins, colors, section formatting, custom environments, etc.). Modify these files with caution, as incorrect changes can break the document compilation. Always make a backup before editing. The .sty files contain comments to help understand their structure.

  • Key things you might want to change in the .sty files:
    • Colors:
      • \\definecolor{primaryColor}{RGB}{0, 0, 0} (currently black)
      • \\definecolor{accentColor}{RGB}{50, 50, 50} (currently dark gray)
      • You can change the RGB values to customize these.
    • Fonts:
      • The templates use the charter package and lmodern (via fontenc and inputenc in a \\ifPDFTeX block). microtype is also loaded for typographic improvements. You can explore other LaTeX font packages if desired, but this may require more significant changes.
    • Margins and Spacing (Important for Layout!):
      • Page Margins: These are defined in the .sty files using the geometry package. Look for lines like:
        \\RequirePackage[
    ignoreheadfoot,
    top=1.2cm, bottom=1.2cm, left=1.2cm, right=1.3cm, % Adjust these values
    footskip=0.8cm
]{geometry}

        Changing top, bottom, left, right values will alter the overall page margins.

      • Vertical Spacing: The .sty files define several custom lengths to control vertical spacing between elements:
        • \\headerSpacing: Space between major sections (e.g., after a \\section{...} and its content).
        • \\entrySpacing: Space before a new entry (e.g., educationentry, experienceentry). In the .tex files, \\vspace{\\entrySpacing} is often commented out by default for a more compact layout but can be enabled.
        • \\highlightSpacing: Space before a list of highlights/bullet points within an entry (i.e., before the \\begin{highlightsforbulletentries}). You can find their definitions (e.g., \\newlength{\\headerSpacing} \\setlength{\\headerSpacing}{3pt}) and modify the \\setlength values (e.g., 3pt) to increase or decrease space.
      • Horizontal Spacing: \\kernSpacing is used for small horizontal gaps between inline elements (like the \\AND separator in the header).
      • Controlling Page Breaks with \\needspace:
        • The \\needspace{<length>} command is crucial for preventing awkward page breaks, especially before new sections or large entries. It checks if the specified <length> of vertical space is available on the current page. If not, it forces a page break before the content that follows the \\needspace command.
        • Where to find it: You will primarily find \\needspace commands in the main .tex files (reddy_cv.tex, reddy_resume.tex) just before \\section{...} commands. For example: \\needspace{5\\baselineskip} \\section{EDUCATION}. It might also be used within the definitions of some custom environments in the .sty files if an environment is expected to be kept together.
        • How to adjust it: The <length> is typically specified in terms of \\baselineskip (the normal vertical distance between lines of text). For instance, 5\\baselineskip requests space for about 5 lines of text.
        • When to adjust it: If you find that a new section is starting too close to the bottom of a page, or a page break occurs in an undesirable location within a section, consider adjusting the \\needspace value for the preceding section or entry.
          • Too much white space at the top of a new page before a section? The \\needspace value for that section might be too large. Try reducing it (e.g., from 7\\baselineskip to 4\\baselineskip) and recompile.
          • A section header appears at the bottom of a page with its content on the next? The \\needspace value might be too small or missing. Try increasing it (e.g., from 3\\baselineskip to 6\\baselineskip) to force the header to the next page along with its content.
          • An entry (like a long job description) breaks awkwardly? While \\needspace is mostly for sections, the samepage environment is used within most custom entry types (like educationentry, experienceentry) to try and keep them from breaking. If an entry is too long to fit on one page even with samepage, you might need to manually insert a \\newpage command at a logical point within its content, or restructure the content.
        • General \\vspace{...}: This command is used in the .tex and .sty files to add specific amounts of vertical space. If you find spacing issues after adding/removing content, you might need to adjust these as well, but \\needspace is more directly related to page break control for larger blocks of content.
      • Itemized List Spacing: Environments like highlightsforbulletentries in the .sty files have their own spacing parameters (e.g., topsep, itemsep, leftmargin).
      • Troubleshooting Spacing: If your content is running off the page or sections are too cramped/spread out, adjusting these margin and spacing values in the .sty file is the primary way to fix it. Start with small adjustments and recompile to see the effect.
    • Required Packages: The .sty files load many common and necessary packages (e.g., geometry, titlesec, xcolor, hyperref, fontawesome5, qrcode, microtype, atveryend, etc.). This means you generally don’t need to load them in your main .tex file. If you compile locally and get errors about missing packages that are not reddy_cv.sty or reddy_resume.sty themselves, but rather packages they require (like charter.sty), you’ll need to install them using your LaTeX distribution’s package manager (e.g., MiKTeX Console, TeX Live Manager tlmgr).

Troubleshooting Common Issues

  • Compilation Errors:
    • Missing Packages: LaTeX might report missing .sty files (packages). Your LaTeX distribution should be able to install these automatically or prompt you to do so. If not, you may need to install them manually using your distribution’s package manager (e.g., tlmgr for TeX Live, MiKTeX Console for MiKTeX).
    • Undefined Control Sequence: This usually means a LaTeX command was misspelled, or a package that defines the command was not loaded, or there’s a syntax error in your .tex file. Check the line number indicated in the error message.
    • File Not Found: Ensure all necessary files (like images, if you add any, or custom .sty files) are in the same directory as your main .tex file, or in a path LaTeX can find.
  • Formatting Issues:
    • If the layout looks strange after your edits, double-check for unclosed brackets {}, unclosed environments (\begin{...} without a matching \end{...}), or incorrect command usage.
  • Font Issues:
    • If you are using specific fonts (e.g., via fontspec package for XeLaTeX/LuaTeX), ensure those fonts are installed on your system. The templates might use common fonts, but if you change them, this could be a factor.

Notes

  • These templates are provided as-is. You are free to modify and use them for your personal, non-commercial purposes.
  • The provided PDFs (reddy_cv.pdf, reddy_resume.pdf) are examples based on the original content and will be overwritten when you compile the .tex files with your information.