What File Format You Should Use For Resumes, CVs, or Cover Letters

Job Seeking

Find out which file format is best for sending in documents with your job applications, and why.

Popular Types of File Formats

These file formats are frequently seen when receiving job applications from hopeful job seekers:

.pdf
.docx
.png
.jpg
website links

A PDF (short for Portable Document File) is generally the most recommended file format for sending in files like resumes, CVs, and cover letters to employers.

Avoid These File Formats

Why Not Editable Documents (.docx)?

A lot of people make their resumes and cover letters with a word processing software. For a long time, Microsoft Word was the default, but lately other platforms with text-based features have emerged as strong alternatives (e.g., Google Docs, Notion). These tend to come with templates, ready for anyone to use and easily build their document.

The problem is that many people still send their job application documents in their original formats, such as Microsoft Word’s .docx files.

Why is this not ideal?

Because these documents are still editable.

This means that one accidental keyboard press or mouse click could alter (or even entirely remove) the content of your document. Your fonts might not show up on the hiring manager’s computer and make your file look strange. Any images might get moved. You can’t guarantee that the version the hiring manager sees will be the same as what you intended.

Your file is also limited to software that is compatible with the format, and you can’t guarantee that the hiring manager will have the proper software or subscription required.

On the other hand, a .pdf is compatible with many document-reading software and most internet browsers can open them with no issues. The file content is uneditable (unless special software or tools are used), removing the risk of accidental content changes. Fonts and images are embedded into the file and will stay in place.

But good news, it’s super easy to turn your editable document into a .pdf!

The majority of word-processing software includes the option to save or export your files into the .pdf format. It is only a matter of adjusting your save or export settings. If there is truly no option for this, you can also try using the ‘Print-to-PDF’ feature, which many devices have.

Why Not Image Files (.jpg, .png)?

As mentioned above, you want to avoid having your files be easily editable. It might be tempting to export your resume or cover letter to an image file format (e.g. .jpg, .jpeg, .png) instead of a .pdf, but there is a very good reason why this may end up sabotaging your job application!

For popular job postings, well-known recruitment agencies, and big companies, it is not uncommon for their HR to receive an overwhelming amount of applications for a role. To quickly filter these out, the files may often get processed and read by a machine or AI before it reaches an actual person.

This means your resume and cover letters must be machine-readable!

These programs will scan through the text content of your file to look for certain keywords. If the program cannot read or ‘understand’ your content, then it will automatically be removed from consideration.

Image files are generally not considered machine-readable. While more recent technology has allowed text to be extracted from images with the help of AI, this is not a foolproof method and is not only inconsistent with results, but it may also extract words or lines out of order.

Using a .pdf format instead will allow your text to be easily extracted, while still preserving the fonts, sizes, and layout. Not to mention, you will be able to add links to specific content, like website portfolios or email addresses.

Why Not Website Links?

Personal websites are a great way to showcase your skills, abilities, and personality to any potential employers. Even a simple single-page website could be helpful. But we would recommend using websites in addition to your resumes and cover letters, instead of as a total replacement.

One potential issue, which is quite straightforward, is that some job application platforms will require you to upload a file in the resume or cover letter part of the form. No place to copy and paste a URL into. But some people can get around that by having a document file that only contains a link to their website. Again, the issue of machine-reading comes up here. If the company you’re applying to uses machine-reading to sort through applications, the machine will fail to find the specified keywords in your file, and your website might not actually reach a real person.

Another issue is the risk of your website unexpectedly having errors. This could be that your web address domain has expired, or the platform you’re hosting on is having issues. You don’t know exactly when your website will be seen, so it needs to be available at all times.

You also can’t know what devices will be used to view your website. Ideally, your website is designed to be responsive so it can present your content as intended, regardless of the device. But if your website has poor accessibility and responsiveness, that may affect how well your content can be read by someone else.

Finally, it can be handy to keep your resume or cover letter printable! Yes, most likely the files are going to be read digitally at first, but you can’t guarantee that the hiring manager won’t want a printed copy of your application details, especially if you make it to the interview stage, where they might want a hard copy to refer to.

If it is the industry standard to have a personal website, we would recommend you do so. But don’t rely on that as your only way of showcasing your skills and experience. You should use it with your resume and cover letters. Include the links to your website in your documents. Include a .pdf of your resume and cover letters on your website as well, easily downloadable for anyone interested in hiring you.