Job Hunting? Be Sure To Send Your Resume As A PDF

If you are currently hunting for a new job it is imperative that you send your resume to recruiters in PDF format. PDF documents are universally compatible and will preserve the formatting of your resume so that the recruiter, HR generalist, etc… will be able to view your resume exactly as you had intended them to see it. It is entirely inappropriate to send a resume in MS Works or WordPerfect format as the majority of the business world uses MS Office. In fact, the human resources departments at the places where I used to work would immediately discard resumes that they could not open! Follow this guide to make sure that this doesn’t happen to your resume!

If you are using a Mac, then you already have the ability to save documents in PDF format. Simply click on File\Print within your word processing application and click on the PDF button on the bottom of the print dialogue box. Select the save as PDF option, fill in the proper information about your PDF file, and then click Save.

If you are using a PC, saving a document as a PDF requires that you perform a couple of extra steps. But hey, you’re a Windows user so you’re already used to extra steps…

1. First you’ll have to download PDFCreator from here.

2. After the download has completed you can install PDFCreator and accept the default installation options.

3. Within your word processing application click on File\Print and select PDFCreator as your printer.

4. Click OK at the bottom of the print dialogue box and you will be prompted to fill in the proper information about your PDF file. Click Save when you are finished.

You now have your resume saved in PDF format which you can send to your perspective employer.