PDF vs Word for Your Resume: Which Format to Send

Send your resume in the format the job posting asks for. If it does not say, a text-based PDF made from a simple one-column layout is a safe default for most applications, because the major applicant tracking systems accept PDF and it keeps your layout intact. Choose Word (DOCX) when the employer requests it or a recruiter needs to edit it.

The "PDF or Word" debate is louder than it needs to be. Both formats are accepted by the mainstream hiring systems, and career advisers genuinely disagree about which to default to. What actually breaks applications is layout: tables, columns, text boxes and graphics that software cannot read, whichever format they arrive in. This guide sets out what hiring systems say they accept, where the advice differs, and how to produce a file that works.

Key takeaways

• Greenhouse, an applicant tracking system (ATS), accepts .doc, .docx, .pdf, .rtf and .txt resume uploads (Greenhouse Support).
• USAJOBS, the US federal jobs site, recommends PDF "to maintain formatting and number of pages" and caps resumes at 5 MB and two pages (USAJOBS Help Center).
• University career centres disagree: DePaul says convert to PDF unless told otherwise, while Florida Gulf Coast University says use .docx if there are no instructions.
• Layout matters more than format. Avoid tables, columns, headers and footers, text boxes and graphics for anything a machine must read.
• Never send a scanned or image-only PDF. Software cannot read text that is a picture.

What hiring systems say they accept

Before choosing, it helps to know that the format war is mostly settled on the systems side:

USAJOBS is unusually specific: "Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages." It also says "You must upload or build a resume that is two pages or less" and "We do not accept PDF portfolio files."

Where career advisers disagree

Career centres give different defaults, and it is worth seeing both sides rather than a single rule:

• Default to PDF: DePaul University advises, "Unless the application instructions specify otherwise, be sure to convert your resume to a PDF before submitting it" (DePaul University).
• Default to Word: Florida Gulf Coast University says "PDFs keep your format intact, but .docx files (Word files) are easiest for the ATS to read", and "If they don't provide instructions, use a .docx file" (FGCU Career Development Services).
• Keep both: Creighton University suggests you "save the document as a Word file for easy updates and as a PDF to attach to applications" (Creighton University).

The one point they all share is FGCU's: "The best thing to do is to choose the file format that the posting or application system asks for."

Our recommendation

Keeping both versions, as Creighton suggests, makes every row easy.

Layout matters more than format

Applicant tracking systems extract your text and slot it into fields. The University of Georgia's career centre lists what trips them up: "Most systems are unable to read headers and footers", "many systems are unable to pull information from tables", "ATS are also unable to interpret graphics or charts", and "many ATS cannot scan and parse information that is contained in columns" (University of Georgia Career Center). FGCU adds text boxes, logos, images, hyperlinks on important words and unusual fonts to the list of things to avoid.

A two-column template with a sidebar of skills looks great to a person and can scramble for software, in PDF or Word. A plain single-column layout with standard section headings works in both.

A quick test you can run yourself

Open your PDF, select all the text, copy it, and paste it into a plain text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit. If your name, contact details, job titles and dates come out in a sensible order, a parser has a good chance too. If sections are jumbled, or the paste is empty because the PDF is an image, fix the layout before sending.

How to make a clean resume PDF

1. Write and format in Word or Google Docs, using one column and real headings rather than text boxes.
2. Export to PDF with the program's own Save as PDF or Download as PDF option, or convert the DOCX with Siliph's Word to PDF, which writes real, selectable text rather than page images.
3. Accept or reject tracked changes and delete comments first. Siliph's Word to PDF page recommends saving a clean copy before converting, so edit history does not travel with your resume.
4. Clear the document properties. Templates often carry an old author name or company in the file's metadata. Remove Metadata clears the author, title and other properties, and runs in your browser.
5. Check the size. Text-based resumes are small. If yours is large because of photos or an embedded portfolio, reduce it with Compress PDF to fit limits such as USAJOBS's 5 MB.
6. Name the file sensibly, for example firstname-lastname-resume.pdf.

If you only have the PDF

If the Word original is lost and you need to update your resume, PDF to Word rebuilds a text-based PDF as an editable DOCX. Our guide on converting PDF to Word without losing formatting explains what to expect. For a quick fix, such as a new phone number, PDF Editor lets you retype existing text in place.

If a portal wants one file

Some applications accept a single upload for your resume, cover letter and certificates. Merge PDF combines them in the order you set. Put the resume first unless the posting says otherwise.

Word to PDF, PDF to Word and PDF Editor run on Siliph's servers; files are processed automatically with no human access and deleted within 2 hours.

Mistakes to avoid

• Scanning a printed resume. A scanned PDF is a picture, and software cannot read it.
• Saving a design-app export with text turned to outlines. It looks perfect and contains no readable text. Run the copy-and-paste test.
• Password-protecting the file. Recruiters and systems cannot open what they cannot unlock.
• Using a photo in place of contact details. Put your email and phone number in the body text, not only in a header, footer or image.

Frequently asked questions

Is it better to send a resume as a PDF or Word document?

Follow the job posting first. Without instructions, a text-based PDF keeps your layout and is accepted by major hiring systems, while a DOCX is the safer choice if you are unsure the employer's system parses PDFs well or if a recruiter needs to edit it.

Can applicant tracking systems read PDF resumes?

Major systems such as Greenhouse and Workday HiredScore list PDF as a supported resume format. Problems usually come from layout, such as tables, columns and graphics, or from scanned image-only PDFs.

Should I send a resume as DOCX or DOC?

Use DOCX, the current Word format, unless an employer specifically asks for the older DOC. Greenhouse and Workday HiredScore accept both.

How do I know if my PDF resume is readable by software?

Copy all the text from the PDF and paste it into a plain text editor. If the content appears in a sensible order, software can likely read it. If it is jumbled or empty, simplify the layout and export again.

What file size should a resume be?

Text-only resumes are usually small. Limits vary by site; USAJOBS allows up to 5 MB and Greenhouse up to 100 MB. If your file is large, remove embedded images or compress it.