Bob's Python CV Template

What urged me to create this repository

I was applying for PhD programs and needed to update my CV quite often. It was manageable yet tedious. I wanted to (1) dynamically parse information such as Google Scholar citations and GitHub star counts, (2) maintain the previous CV format instead of a rigid template, (3) automate rendering with side-by-side previews.

Hence, this became my Winter 2024 personal project for automation and for the rest of my academic career.

Are you here too for similar reasons? Are you tired of managing your CV using Overleaf or Microsoft Word? You've come to the right place.

I also considered the following design principles:

• Fast: automatically reload in 1-2 seconds when changes are made.
• Easy to customize: build upon the current Bob's template.
• Easy to share: a single cv.py file and the data folder what are you all only need! Easily share via messaging apps and email.

Getting started

It will take about 1-2 minutes to generate Sangjoon_Lee_CV.pdf.

After that, it will take 2-3 seconds to render your CV in real-time.

Step 1: Install dependencies

We need to install the following two dependencies to use Python with LaTeX and retrieve information from Google Scholar.

pip install PyLaTeX scholarly

If the above does not work, create a new conda environment and install scholarly and PyLaTeX.

conda create -n cv_env python=3.13
conda activate cv_env
pip install scholarly PyLaTeX

Step 2. Download files

Download the content of this repository by cloning it.

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/bobleesj/python-cv-template

# Go to the directory
cd python-cv-template

# Render a PDF file
python cv.py

Sangjoon_Lee_CV.pdf will be generated.

Step 3: How to render dynamically (optional, but recommended)

Like Overleaf, we want to dynamically render each time the .json or .py files are modified as shown below:

Run the following two commands.

# Install nodemon
npm install -g nodemon

# Run the following
nodemon --exec python cv.py --watch . --ext py,json

As shown shown in the gif file, I recommend using Visual Studio Code and downloading a PDF preview extension. Your CV will be rendered in just 1-2 seconds!

How to customize my CV?

cv.py is the source of truth for the CV. If you want to add more entries, you just need to modify .json files under data.

How to receive support

• Do you want to request new features or have suggestions? Please make an issue!
• Have you encountered any problems? Please make an issue!
• Do you need help customizing your CV? Feel free to reach out via email!
• Have you encountered typos/grammatical errors? Make a pull request!

How to provide support

• Did you find this project helpful? Please "star" the repository to encourage greater word-of-mouth publicity!
• Do you have colleagues and friends who might find this repository useful? Please share!
• Would you like to contribute to the source code? When non-trivial changes are committed from a branch, please run pre-commit before creating a pull request:

# Install pre-commit for automatic linting
pip install pre-commit

# Run pre-commit to standardize the code
pre-commit run --all-files

How to contact maintainer

This repository is created and maintained by @bobleesj. The email address can be found on the GitHub profile.