I like using PDF, but sometimes the company requests Word doc format. Is PDF too much of a pain for some people? Is using Word 2007 format to new? I just submitted one using Word 2007 and they emailed back saying they couldn't read it.

4/6/2009 11:49:50 AM

that's cause it uses docx bullshit. Older versions of word can't read it.

ust 'save as' and be sure it is general word doc instead of specific docx.

4/6/2009 11:54:13 AM

a .doc in word 97-2003.

4/6/2009 11:54:21 AM

.doc is almost always the safest. PDF is a pain, and personally I don't see how its so popular when it take sometimes forever to open, an updating it a freaking pain.

4/6/2009 11:54:43 AM

Definitely don't send Office 2007/.docx

.doc or even .rdf is probably safest. Of course, if you want to preserve your formatting perfectly with no questions, PDF is the only real way to do it.

4/6/2009 11:57:22 AM

^^sounds like you have a problem with acrobat, not .pdf

4/6/2009 11:59:03 AM

^Yeah, that's about the only advantage that PDF has is that your format will stay the same no matter what, but still Adobe PDF is something I am personally highly against using unless it absolutely necessary.

^^ Yeah, that's what I meant. The PDF format is great, but Acrobat is shitty software in my opinion.

[Edited on April 6, 2009 at 12:00 PM. Reason : /]

4/6/2009 11:59:24 AM

I ALWAYS send pdfs first. Reasons? Virtually everybody with a computer will have a pdf reader, and the contents by and large will be as I intended them to be, both in substance and format. Now, if anybody requests a .doc, I send it, but in my experience it's because they want to mangle it into their own internal resume format. Also, depending on the company, you may not want to assume the person attempting to read your resume has a word doc viewer (office, openoffice, or otherwise), but that's just my opinion.

4/6/2009 12:00:35 PM

A lot of times they like .doc better so that can search resumes easily for keywords. I am sure you can search .pdf for keywords, but I am also sure it much easier and more practical for .doc.

Or you could attach both formats for their 'convenience'

[Edited on April 6, 2009 at 12:03 PM. Reason : /]

4/6/2009 12:02:06 PM

Quote :

"PORTABLE DOCUMENT FORMAT"

[Edited on April 6, 2009 at 12:05 PM. Reason : /]

4/6/2009 12:05:15 PM

i send docx. tell them to get up-to-date shit

4/6/2009 12:06:37 PM

i like PDF because its clean and secure. but yeh, thanks to Acrobat, there's sort of a stigma against pdf.

I think i've been screwing the pooch by submitting .docx. I didnt really think about it as its default. Luckily 75% of companies have their own "copy and paste your shit here" kinda thing. And i've been doing pdfs about half the time.

I guess it can't hurt to submit a PDF and an older doc together.

4/6/2009 12:07:52 PM

Quote :

"Older versions of word can't read it. "

i have been able to open .docx documents using the version before the current one. it somehow did a conversion and opened them in read-only mode.

perhaps you have to install this feature in the wold one?

4/6/2009 12:24:48 PM

yea theres a plugin you can d/l from microsoft to open 2007 docs in 2003 (and maybe older versions)

4/6/2009 12:32:52 PM

PDF.


If you're applying to a company that doesn't take or even know how to open PDFs, are you sure that you even want to work there?


You might roll into work on the first day and they plop you down in front of an Amiga.

4/6/2009 12:48:57 PM

Almost every online application system supports PDFs these days. The PeopleAdmin stuff in use at most universities supports it, as do many other automatic HR systems.

4/6/2009 1:06:38 PM

It's pretty simple.

If they ask for a specific format, send that format.

If they don't, PDF is the best option.

4/6/2009 1:16:42 PM

xml, yo

4/6/2009 2:15:49 PM

If they don't specify, I just send a link to my resume on http://www.visualcv.com/

They can search for keywords they want, and download it as a PDF.

4/6/2009 2:18:40 PM

Quote :

"It's pretty simple. If they ask for a specific format, send that format. If they don't, PDF is the best option"

/thread.

4/6/2009 3:16:10 PM

Quote :

"It's pretty simple. If they ask for a specific format, send that format. If they don't, PDF is the best option"

/thread.

4/6/2009 3:19:22 PM

Fuck PDF, Acrobat just makes me hate the format, although its probably the best option but I'd still send .doc. If someone doesn't want to interview a highly qualified person over what format they submitted when they did not specify then I probably would not want to work for such assholes.

4/6/2009 3:22:14 PM

(there are other/better options for viewing/creating pdf files than adobe)

4/6/2009 3:25:46 PM

I know, but still!

4/6/2009 3:26:53 PM

With technology jobs especially, you never know about what the receiving end is going to think of your choice of format. For instance, when I got a job as an applications developer for embedded linux, there was no way in hell I was going to send them a .doc file first. They ended up asking for it anyway, and I gave them a .doc, but you never know if you're going to get somebody reviewing your resume who'll think "lolz M$ nub fag" and not give you completely objective consideration. Obviously there's going to be this chance you take no matter what format you choose, but I think there are less people who vehemently oppose all things PDF than all things Microsoft (in this industry).

4/6/2009 3:56:00 PM

I personally sent a compatible DOC and a PDF.

It makes good sense btw if sending a DOC to open it in Open Office and Google Documents to make sure the formatting didn't go haywire.

The last thing you want is for your resume to look like shit because your special formatting didn't translate properly into someone's document viewer/editor of choice.

4/6/2009 4:00:59 PM

Quote :

"Quote : "It's pretty simple. If they ask for a specific format, send that format. If they don't, PDF is the best option" /thread."

But it's not the best option. Plain word document is your best option. Trust me on this, I work in a big HR department and know recruiting very well. PDF's will not parse in databases correctly so your formatting gets shat upon. Not saying PDF isn't good, it is, but .doc is just a small measure more dependable and better from our end.

Just save as .doc and this is done. For those saying that .docx and just tell them to update or let them figure it out - umm, the goal here is to accommodate the ones reading it. If they can't read their resume they aren't going to find out why, they will just move on to the next person.

4/6/2009 4:51:58 PM

A big HR department in what kind of company, though?

The biggest deal here is to know your audience, and, like you said, to accommodate them. Why don't you just make people go to your jobs site and apply online instead of parsing doc files to get the info into a database? Sounds like you're doing it backwards.

Going in blind, and especially going in blind for a programming/IT job, I'm still going to stick with PDFs, unless a different format is requested or clearly preferred.

[Edited on April 6, 2009 at 5:56 PM. Reason : .]

4/6/2009 5:55:15 PM

PD FUCKING F

4/6/2009 7:20:20 PM

I like PDF. It's fool proof, looks the best, good for archiving.

Our HR probably asks for doc, though, since thats what everything comes in as. OS X is excellent for PDF viewing.

[Edited on April 6, 2009 at 7:58 PM. Reason : .]

4/6/2009 7:56:56 PM

Quote :

"With technology jobs especially, you never know about what the receiving end is going to think of your choice of format. For instance, when I got a job as an applications developer for embedded linux, there was no way in hell I was going to send them a .doc file first."

When I applied to Microsoft, I send my resume as a PDF

Mostly because Word is complete garbage for page composition. My resume is actually native to inDesign, and then exported to PDF. The doc version is a crippled, just because I have to, sort of thing.

Quote :

"But it's not the best option. Plain word document is your best option. Trust me on this, I work in a big HR department and know recruiting very well. PDF's will not parse in databases correctly so your formatting gets shat upon. Not saying PDF isn't good, it is, but .doc is just a small measure more dependable and better from our end."

Trust me, I will never be applying for a job where my chances of being noticed are directly tied to the ability of some retarded data shredding system to parse my resume into keywords.

4/6/2009 10:34:46 PM

Quote :

"Trust me, I will never be applying for a job where my chances of being noticed are directly tied to the ability of some retarded data shredding system to parse my resume into keywords."

And that too.

4/6/2009 10:42:33 PM

Quote :

"When I applied to Microsoft, I send my resume as a PDF "

Now those, ladies and gentlemen, are some iron balls.

4/7/2009 12:26:05 AM

XPS anyone?

4/7/2009 12:27:49 AM

omfg pdf solves all the problems i had with .doc...why the fuck didnt i think of that sooner...

4/7/2009 12:28:05 AM

That's right, .pdf is best. Why has been posted in the thread a hundred times already. I'll restate what I think the main one is:

.pdf guarantees that they will get your resume the way you intended for it to look and not fucked up by word trying to deal with your crazy format scheme.

I got a job with NetApp just a week ago, my resume went in as a .pdf and every one of the hiring managers had a copy of it that looked like it was supposed to

4/9/2009 2:13:47 PM

PDF

its clean, professional looking and preserves your formatting.

4/9/2009 2:24:41 PM

Quote :

"Trust me, I will never be applying for a job where my chances of being noticed are directly tied to the ability of some retarded data shredding system to parse my resume into keywords."

This is a GREAT chance for for this in this scientific field, especially if you are applying for a contracted position.

4/9/2009 2:44:47 PM

send them both a DOCX and a PDF.

4/9/2009 2:47:22 PM

That's the best thing to do, as I have already said in this thread. That's what I do unless they have a resume system ONLY, but if there is an option, without a specific format, .doc and .pdf it is.

4/9/2009 2:49:46 PM

bitmap image

4/9/2009 3:04:20 PM

I would actually do a .gif of a .ppt slide presentation of my resume.

4/9/2009 3:07:38 PM

Quote :

"It's pretty simple. If they ask for a specific format, send that format. If they don't, PDF is the best option."

/thread

If their bitchy HR department wants it in a specific format for data entry but failed to put it in the application/job description then you don't want to work for a company with that kind of HR department.

Besides, I have been part of the hiring process in a tech company. If someone sent me a resume in a format I couldn't read but I didn't specify which, then I would ask them to send it in a different format and I wouldn't hold it against them. If they sent me a .doc and I asked for something else I would delete their application and forget about them.

4/9/2009 3:48:45 PM

Man, I really hate it when they make you submit your resume in plain text on their website. How the F am I supposed to format it?? blech

4/9/2009 3:53:12 PM

pdf

.

4/9/2009 4:04:22 PM

Quote :

"Trust me, I will never be applying for a job where my chances of being noticed are directly tied to the ability of some retarded data shredding system to parse my resume into keywords."

Dude, you don't know what you are talking about. Applicant tracking systems do this very frequently and across the board. It has nothing to do with 'being noticed' or whatever the fuck you are saying, it's just a back end system thing....it's an easier parse with a higher number of systems if it's a doc bar none. Tons of companies use ATS's large and small.

IF the original poster's question is which one is easier because he had a company have problems reading the document and we assume there's no extra effort to get to any format.....doc definitely will open and parse in more systems bar none. If you want to be defiant about PDF go for it, that's fine dude but the question was what was the best format and I define best as most widely able to be read.

4/9/2009 4:36:30 PM

Quote :

"Plain word document is your best option. Trust me on this, I work in a big HR department and know recruiting very well. PDF's will not parse in databases correctly so your formatting gets shat upon. Not saying PDF isn't good, it is, but .doc is just a small measure more dependable and better from our end."

You're defining it as the most easily able to be shredded with a key-word hunting program. If you want someone to actually look at it, then PDF wins. doc's can kick around the formatting and push your resume over that magical 1 page limit and could put you in the trash can real quick, not to mention making it look like shit.

I don't even want to think about if the HR is using a mac, Jesus....

4/9/2009 5:08:30 PM

Quote :

"You're defining it as the most easily able to be shredded with a key-word hunting program"

Dude you don't know what an applicant tracking system is. It isn't for that although yes you can query the database, it's just a database for candidates that have applied to jobs. Candidate profiles, etc.

Additionally it doesn't shred, it parses the document to populate database fields like 'company name', 'title', contact info and so forth. Every candidate has a saved profile seperate from the resume. My point as that most ATS's parse docs far easier than PDF's on average.

4/9/2009 5:27:23 PM

Quote :

"the question was what was the best format and I define best as most widely able to be read."

The best is what get's me (or him) the job.

Shredding my shit into some automated HR system uses doesn't help me do that at all. In fact, I've yet to see a single time where my resume, in ANY format, was able to be shredded automagically.

I've always had to enter all the HR bullshit form data, then attach my real resume to it at the end. You might use it for tracking, but I know from a lot of personal experience, all that data doesn't do anything for getting you HIRED, whereas a well crafted, composed, and thoughtful resume can be the different between that first phone interview and no call back at all (regardless on the actual content).

4/9/2009 6:43:11 PM

But again, you're arguing some weird seperete issue, JUST TO ARGUE.

1. ATS's do not alter your resume, regardless of format. It keeps it as an attachment to be perserved - viewed and downloaded. Jesus christ, wake up.

2. This 'shred' you talk about is a parse, it just extracts info into line item by line item into a database profile fields completely independent of your resume. You know, First name, Last Name, Address, Email, Job Title, that sort of thing.

3. Recruiters and Hiring managers evaluate candidates on the attached resume, NOT the profile. The profile is simply for organization and the resume is attached to it.

4. Those line item database fields are used only for employment laws and for tracking if you get hired or you do not.


Stop slinging around bullshit when you don't know what you are talking about. It's annoying.

4/10/2009 9:31:12 AM