CV as PDF or Word: which file to send

CV or resume, PDF or Word: the short rule

Both work. Greenhouse (opens in a new window), Lever (opens in a new window), Workable (opens in a new window), Oracle (opens in a new window) and Zoho Recruit (opens in a new window) each list PDF and Word among the files they read. What fails is a file with no text in it: a scan, a CV exported as a picture, or a PDF whose fonts were turned into images. So:

1. 1

   Do what the portal or the recruiter asks

   If the ad, the upload box or the recruiter names a file type, send that. Adobe's own answer (opens in a new window) starts there too.
2. 2

   With no instruction, a text PDF or a .docx

   A PDF “looks the same on most computers”, in Microsoft's words (opens in a new window). A .docx is the safer file when the layout has columns, which a parser maker calls “a surprisingly difficult computer vision problem” (opens in a new window) (its work on it was for PDF files), or when a recruiter will edit it.
3. 3

   Word means .docx, not .doc

   Everything we read that takes .doc also takes .docx.
4. 4

   Keep the file small

   Under 2 MB, the figure LinkedIn and Naukri both give.
5. 5

   Check what the portal filled in

   Many portals fill the form from your file. Read the fields before you submit.

You will have read that an ATS can't read a PDF; one search firm's guide (opens in a new window) says so. As a rule it is false: the vendors' own lists include PDF, and LHH, a recruiter in the Adecco Group (opens in a new window), says “both Word and PDF formats can work well with an ATS”. It is true only of a PDF with no text in it. “Always send Word” and “always send PDF” have no source either: Essex's careers service (opens in a new window) says Word, Warwick's guide to Bayt (opens in a new window) says PDF, and neither cites a source.

What each system accepts

From each system's own help pages (the name links to the page). Where a vendor publishes nothing, the employer's upload box is the rule.

Bayt keeps its upload rules behind the sign-in and Naukrigulf's help page would not load for us, so we state no limit for either. Textkernel, whose parser sits inside other vendors' systems, lists more than 70 formats, PDF and Word among them, and reads a scanned PDF only through an optional text-recognition add-on (opens in a new window).

File size: accepted isn't the same as read

Greenhouse takes uploads of up to 100 MB but can't parse a CV larger than (opens in a new window) 2.5 MB. Ashby takes 50 MB and reads only files of 16 MB or less. A big file can go through and still arrive as an empty profile.

Under 2 MB fits every site and system in the table that publishes a figure, with one exception: Oracle's documented default is 100 KB unless the employer sets another, and its upload box says which. To shrink a file, Naukri's advice (opens in a new window) is to take out the photo and other pictures, then try the other file type. Our check warns above 2.5 MB.

The file that fails: a PDF with no text

A PDF can hold text, or only a picture of text. Software reads the first and gets nothing from the second. Lever (opens in a new window) says it “cannot parse information from image files (like JPG or PNG)”, and Greenhouse (opens in a new window) lists a CV uploaded as an image among the reasons a parse fails.

The test: open the PDF, drag the cursor over a line, then search for your name. Lever again: “If you cannot highlight text, the document is likely not parseable.” Adobe (opens in a new window) gives the same test. A CV loses its text when:

• It is printed, then scanned or photographed.
• A design tool exports it as a picture, or flattens the PDF.
• Word's option “Bitmap text when fonts may not be embedded” is on and a font can't be embedded: Word replaces the text with images of it (opens in a new window).
• The file has a password or is damaged: RChilli, a parser maker (opens in a new window), can't process either.

Our free ATS check runs this test on your file: it shows “Text layer” or “No text layer” and, with a free account, the first lines as a simple parser reads them. It takes a PDF or a .docx of up to 5 MB, not a .doc, and gives no score.

Exporting without losing the text

• Word: save as PDF from Word itself, with “Bitmap text when fonts may not be embedded” unticked: a font that can't be embedded is then swapped for another, and the text stays text (Microsoft (opens in a new window)).
• Google Docs: File, then Download, then PDF or Word (Google (opens in a new window)).
• Canva: download a PDF, not a PNG or JPG, and leave “Flatten PDF” off: Canva says (opens in a new window) flattening “converts the file into a static image”.
• LaTeX: pdfLaTeX writes real text, but with some fonts it copies out as the wrong characters; the cmap package (opens in a new window) exists to make those files “both searchable and copy-able”.

Then test the file you will send, not the original. Our free Dubai CV template comes in both file types. Layout (columns, tables, text in the header) is a separate question: ATS-friendly CV: what it means and how to make one.

When a recruiter asks for Word

Agencies ask for Word because they change the CV before the employer sees it. People with Energy, a UK recruitment firm (opens in a new window), says: “We prefer Word, primarily so that we can make any minor changes to your document”: fixing typos, removing personal details, adding its logo.

So send Word when an agency asks, and keep the PDF for employers' portals. Not sure which a recruiter wants? The same firm's advice is to send both.

Send a .docx, not a .doc. It is the format Word saves by default, and Microsoft says (opens in a new window) its files can be up to 75% smaller. Greenhouse, Workable, Oracle and Naukri list both; SAP's public page names only .docx. None of the pages we read takes .doc and refuses .docx.

What to name the file

Put your first and last name and what the file is in the name: Priya-Sharma-CV.pdf, not CV.pdf. A university careers centre's guide (opens in a new window) adds: take out version numbers, join the words with hyphens or underscores (spaces are fine), avoid slashes, and follow any naming instruction in the ad. No vendor page we read says the file name affects parsing or ranking. The name is for the person who downloads it.

After the upload: check what the portal filled in

Many portals fill the application form from your file. Workable (opens in a new window) says it reads the CV to fill in the form and builds a profile the employer reviews; Oracle (opens in a new window) fills fields the same way. So the fields, not the file, may be what the employer sees first.

• Read every field before you submit: name, email, phone, and each job's title, employer and dates.
• Workday (opens in a new window) lets you review what it read and doesn't fill in Languages or Skills, so add those by hand.
• On SAP SuccessFactors (opens in a new window), uploading a new CV asks whether to keep your profile or overwrite it with the new file.
• Keep one email address in the CV, the one you want to be contacted at (Workable's advice).

Scrambled fields point to the layout more than to the file type: see the ATS-friendly CV guide. Once the free ATS check reads your file cleanly, the CV review marks every line a Dubai recruiter would question, with a fix.

Sources

1. Write an ATS-friendly CV: 6 tips to reach recruiters (opens in a new window), LHH (Adecco Group), 12 November 2025
2. Should you send your CV as a PDF or Word document? (opens in a new window), People with Energy (PWE Recruitment Group), 10 October 2026
3. Working with resume parsing (SuccessFactors Recruiting) (opens in a new window), SAP Help Portal, 10 October 2026
4. cmap: make PDF files searchable and copyable (opens in a new window), CTAN, the Comprehensive TeX Archive Network, 10 October 2026
5. The (simple) guidelines you should follow when naming your resume and cover letter files (opens in a new window), California State University, Northridge, Nazarian College career centre (first published by The Muse), 26 August 2021
6. Automated resume parser for faster hiring (opens in a new window), Zoho Recruit, 10 October 2026
7. Application forms (opens in a new window), Ashby Knowledge Base, 10 October 2026
8. Download designs as flattened PDF (opens in a new window), Canva Help Center, 10 October 2026
9. CVs (opens in a new window), University of Essex, careers service, 10 October 2026
10. Understanding resume parsing (opens in a new window), Lever Help Center, 28 September 2026
11. Create, view, or download a file (opens in a new window), Google Docs Editors Help, 10 October 2026
12. Save or convert to PDF or XPS in Office desktop apps (opens in a new window), Microsoft Support, 10 October 2026
13. Create Naukri profile: I am having trouble uploading my CV (opens in a new window), Naukri.com FAQ, 10 October 2026
14. CV in the digital age: junior guide (opens in a new window), Odgers, 10 October 2026
15. Using Recruiting: candidate management (Oracle Talent Acquisition Cloud, release 19C) (opens in a new window), Oracle, 10 October 2026
16. Open XML formats and file name extensions (opens in a new window), Microsoft Support, 10 October 2026
17. Tips for creating electronics resumes (opens in a new window), RChilli, 10 October 2026
18. Bayt: creating a profile (digital toolkit, 5.1.2) (opens in a new window), University of Warwick, Institute for Employment Research, 30 July 2026
19. Concept: resume parsing (Workday Administrator Guide) (opens in a new window), Workday, 23 June 2023
20. Should a CV be in PDF or Word? (opens in a new window), Adobe Acrobat UK, 10 October 2026
21. Unsuccessful resume parse (opens in a new window), Greenhouse Support, 2 March 2026
22. Supported formats for resumes, cover letters and other candidate uploads (opens in a new window), Greenhouse Support, 19 August 2026
23. Upload your resume to LinkedIn (opens in a new window), LinkedIn Help, 10 October 2026
24. What types of files can be uploaded on the application form? (opens in a new window), Workable Help, 10 October 2026
25. Free OCR for PDF: Recognize text for a searchable PDF (opens in a new window), Adobe Acrobat, 10 October 2026
26. Supported file formats, TK Platform (opens in a new window), Textkernel, 10 October 2026
27. Improving extraction from column resumes (opens in a new window), Textkernel, 10 October 2026
28. Import your resume details to autofill the application (opens in a new window), Workable job seeker help, 10 October 2026