Why is a simple thing like choosing a CV format so important?

Well, that is because the contents of your CV is almost useless if it cannot be accessed easily. Choosing a format is as crucial as deciding what skills to put on your CV. If recruiters find it difficult to view your CV, he /she will just thrash the application and move on to the next one. So something as simple as a format can actually hinder you from getting that dream job.

Which format do you choose?

Electronic documents (Text, graphics, or spreadsheets generated by a computer in any media or device for any electronic processing) usually come in different formats like PDF, Microsoft Word, Rich Text format and HTML. Many jobseekers make mistakes while using these formats, some of them actually scan copies of their paper CV and send to recruiters. Even though your CV is an electronic document, not all these formats are used to write a CV. When you scan a document, it comes out as a JPG or PNG image file and this is not good for a CV.

In this article, we will look at the most commonly used CV format (PDF and Microsoft Word DOC). We will show you the difference between the two and which format is acceptable:

Portable Document Format popularly known as PDF and Microsoft Word are both file formats you can save documents in. But unlike the Microsoft Word, PDF has limited ability to edit contents.

Generally, recruiters and hiring managers prefer the Microsoft Word to PDF because of the following reasons:

1. The database system they use to save and store applicants’ CVs might not recognize any other format except for MS. Word. They often receive thousands of CV and they use the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software to sort these CVs by relevancy and keywords from the job description. PDF files are often not compatible with ATS.
2. The fact that PDF files are not editable is a problem for recruiters because they remove the applicant’s contact information from a CV before forwarding it to their clients.
3. MS. Word retains formatting so the CV will look the same on the receiving end as it looked when you sent it. PDF retains formatting too, but it is more like a locked document. PDF is best used when sending documents that need to be secured.
4. MS. Word is easy to open, print, and forward.

Some job adverts specify which format to send your CV in. But if you don’t find any, then it is recommended that you send your CV as a Microsoft Word document.

Note: Some latest versions of Microsoft Word automatically save documents as a docx file not doc, so be careful when using them. Not all Applicant Tracking Systems can read docx files, and your CV might end up being distorted.