PDF or Word: which format to send
A small question with a real answer, and one situation where it genuinely matters.
Send a PDF, with two exceptions. That is the whole answer, but the reasons are worth a minute.
Why PDF by default
A PDF looks the same everywhere. A Word document reflows depending on the fonts installed on the reader's machine, which means the careful two page layout you sent can arrive as two and a half pages with a heading stranded at the bottom.
Modern parsers handle text based PDFs perfectly well. The old advice that PDFs break applicant tracking systems dates from an era that has passed.
The exceptions
- When a recruitment agency asks for Word, send Word. They usually need to strip your contact details before passing your CV to a client.
- When an application form explicitly requires .doc or .docx. Fighting the form loses.
The one that genuinely breaks
A scanned or image based PDF. If your CV is a photograph of a document, it contains no text at all, and nothing can read it. Open your PDF and try to select a line of text with your cursor. If you cannot, neither can anyone else.
File naming
Use your name and the role: Firstname Lastname CV, or Firstname Lastname Product Manager. Not cv final v3 updated. It is a small signal and it is free.
Find roles that actually fit
Upload your CV and AgentFlow AI reads your field, level and skills from it, then matches you against thousands of live postings. The file is parsed in your browser and never uploaded.
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