Why PDF and not Word for your resume?
Whether to send a resume as a PDF or as a Word file is a common uncertainty for many applicants. The clear answer: in most cases, PDF is the better choice. The reason is simple, a PDF looks identical on every device. Layout, fonts and spacing appear exactly as you designed them, regardless of whether the recruiter uses a Mac, a Windows PC or a tablet.
A Word document, on the other hand, depends on installed fonts and the Word version. If the recipient does not have the font you used installed, Word replaces it with another, and the layout shifts.
Exception: some employers explicitly request a Word document, for example because they want to edit the resume internally. In that case, follow the instructions in the job listing.
ATS compatibility: when software reads before humans do
Many companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which automatically parse resumes and extract relevant information: name, contact details, employers, degrees, skills. A resume that the system cannot read may never reach a human recruiter.
What ATS compatibility means:
- Real, selectable text in the PDF, not a scan or image-based PDF
- No complex nested tables that the system misreads
- No text boxes or text frames from design programs
- Clear, structured sequence of information
- Common fonts (Arial, Calibri, Georgia, Helvetica)
Layout and design: simple beats elaborate
With resumes, the opposite of what you might expect often applies: clean, clear layouts outperform elaborate creative designs. Two reasons: first, ATS reads simple layouts more reliably. Second, a clear layout looks more professional and is more pleasant for recruiters to read.
What generally works well:
- Two-column layouts with contact details on the left and work experience on the right
- Clear sections with headings: Work experience, Education, Skills, Languages
- Subtle accent color for headings or dividing lines, no cluttered design
- Font size 10-12pt for body text, 14-16pt for the name
Exporting from Word to PDF, what to watch out for
Anyone who has designed their resume in Word should pay attention to the following when exporting to PDF:
- Export via "Save as PDF", not by printing to PDF, as fonts may not always be embedded that way
- Check in Word's "More options" that "Highlights" and "Comments" are excluded
- Open the result on a different device or in a browser to check it
Alternatively, the Word file can be converted via Word to PDF, with reliable font embedding and correct layout.
File name and metadata
The file name of the resume is also part of the first impression. Recommendation: FirstName_LastName_Resume.pdf. This is unambiguous, professional and makes it easy for the recruiter to find the file again.
The file metadata (creator, creation date, editing software) is generally irrelevant to recruiters, but can be cleaned up via a PDF editor if desired.
Total size of the application package
Resume, cover letter, references, when everything is sent together, the application package can quickly reach several megabytes. Scans of certificates in particular are often uncompressed and large. With compress PDF, the overall file can be significantly reduced without affecting readability.
If all documents belong in a single combined file, they can be assembled using merge PDF, in the desired order.
Common mistakes
- Using tables for the resume layout, ATS often reads this incorrectly
- Embedding text as an image, not searchable, not readable by ATS
- Photo at too high a resolution, increases file size unnecessarily
- Setting password protection on the file, prevents it from being opened
Conclusion
A good resume as a PDF is clean, clearly structured, ATS-compatible and readable on every device. Anyone who follows these basic rules lays a strong foundation, before the content is even read.