How to Prepare PDFs for a Job Application

Should I send my resume as a PDF or Word file?

Use PDF for your resume, cover letter and supporting documents unless the job posting asks for another format. A PDF looks the same on every computer, keeps your page count, and opens in any browser. USAJOBS, the US federal jobs site, recommends PDF for this reason. If a posting asks for Word files, send those instead.

Our guide PDF vs DOCX compares the two formats in detail. To turn a Word resume into a PDF without Word, use Word to PDF. Starting from scratch? The Resume Builder and the Cover Letter Template download a PDF directly, and the resume templates page shows each design first.

How do I combine my resume and documents into one PDF?

Open Merge PDF, add your files in the order the posting asks for, such as resume, cover letter, then certificates, and drag to reorder if needed. Turn photographed documents into PDF first with JPG to PDF, then download the single file. Only combine when the posting asks for one file.

1. Turn photos of certificates or transcripts into PDF with JPG to PDF.
2. Open Merge PDF and add the resume, cover letter and other PDFs.
3. Put them in the order the posting asks for, then download one PDF.
4. Check the size and shrink it with Compress PDF if needed.

How big can my application PDF be?

It depends on the site, which usually states the limit on the upload page; USAJOBS takes resumes up to 5 MB. Photographed documents are what make files large: our 5-page pack was 3,514 KB, nearly all of it the two certificate photos. Compress PDF at Balanced brought it to 119 KB.

Built and measured 2026-10-12 with this site's Merge and Compress engines (src/data/guides/job-application.test.ts).

For a hard limit, type it into Compress PDF's target size; see PDF Too Large to Upload? for what to do when a file still will not fit.

How should I name my resume file?

Name each file with your name and what it is, for example Ana-Silva-Resume.pdf and Ana-Silva-Cover-Letter.pdf. A recruiter may download files from many applicants, and a name like resume-final-v3.pdf gets lost among them. Use the posting's naming rule if it gives one, and stick to letters, numbers and hyphens.

Also check the title inside the PDF, which some readers show instead of the file name: open Remove PDF Metadata to see it, and set it or clear it along with any old author names.

What should I check before I upload?

Open every file and read it once. Check the page count: a two-page resume should still be two pages. Try selecting a line of your resume; if you cannot, it is a picture, and software that reads applications cannot read it either. Make sure no file has a password, and that photographed pages are upright and readable.

A resume saved from a scan or photo can be made readable with OCR PDF, but saving it from your word processor gives cleaner text. To turn a sideways page, use Rotate PDF.