How to prepare your CV or résumé PDF for job applications

People in the United States usually say résumé and people in the UK say CV, but the file you upload is the same. Before it goes anywhere, run through this list. The rest of the guide explains each point.

A Word document can look different on someone else's computer: a missing font or another version of the program is enough to break a two-column layout. A PDF fixes every page exactly as you see it, which is why most job ads ask for one.

Use the export option built into your editor. In Microsoft Word it is under Save As or Export; in Google Docs, File, then Download, then PDF; in Pages, File, then Export To, then PDF; in LibreOffice, File, then Export As. Printing to PDF also produces a file, but it sometimes drops clickable links to your portfolio or LinkedIn profile.

Many employers collect applications through an applicant tracking system. It pulls your name, job titles, dates and skills out of the text of the file, and a recruiter may first see your application through those extracted fields. If your résumé is really an image, for example a scan or a design exported as a picture, the system may find almost nothing.

Open the PDF and try to highlight a line of your work history. If you can select individual words, you are fine. If the whole page selects as one block, or nothing selects at all, export it again from the original document.

Every PDF carries document properties alongside the pages. Depending on the software, these can include an author name, a company, the program used and the dates the file was created and last changed. Some files also hold comments or an edit history.

Usually this is harmless, but not always. If you built the document on a work laptop, the company field may name your current employer. If you started from a friend's template, their name may still be listed as the author. And the creation date can reveal that you have been reusing the same file for years.

To look for yourself, open the PDF in a reader and find Document Properties, usually in the File menu.

Remove PDF Metadata cleans that hidden layer in your browser without changing how the pages look. Links and form fields are kept.

1. Open Remove PDF Metadata and add the final version of your résumé.
2. Leave all the options ticked: document properties, XMP and app data, scripts, attachments and comments.
3. Press Clean and download the copy.
4. Reopen Document Properties on the new file to confirm the author and company fields are empty.

A text-only résumé is rarely large. What inflates one is a high-resolution headshot or a template full of background graphics. If the application form mentions no maximum, you probably do not need to compress at all.

If it does, open Compress PDF, enter that limit as the target size, or a little under it, and press Compress. If the file is already small enough, the tool says so rather than reducing it for nothing. Skip the option that converts pages to images: it would shrink the file but make the text unreadable to tracking software.

When a form allows a single upload, combine the cover letter, the résumé and any certificates with Merge PDF, usually in that order. Merging copies pages as they are, without recompressing them.

The order of work that avoids surprises is merge, compress if needed, then clean the metadata last, so the clean copy is the file you send. Name it with your first and last name and the word "resume" or "CV", and you are done.