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Sending CV by Email

Hi,

Some jobs I'm thinking of going for say that you should send a CV by Email. I'm wondering if there's any preferred format. PDF or word?

Thanks in advance.

Reply 1

digitalparadox

Most people send it by Word and it's generally the most compatible with employers computers. Either option doesn't really matter but you would be going with the flow if you use word.

Reply 2

20083

And probably best make sure it's a .RTF (Rich Text File) depending on the company. Some (very few) companies still use older applications like Lotus word.

Reply 3

Clubber Lang

I use word all the time...

Does RTF still keep nice and proper formatting if the file was made in word?

Reply 4

Knogle

Robber's ghost

Hi,

Some jobs I'm thinking of going for say that you should send a CV by Email. I'm wondering if there's any preferred format. PDF or word?

Thanks in advance.

PDF anytime. It's professional and corporations will definitely be able to read it, regardless of the platform they use (hence the name Portable Document Format).

Reply 5

Nutter

Yes, I would have thought that corporations would prefer PDF files as well because there is no way the intended formatting of your document could be lost (unlike Word or OpenOffice documents, where you're at the mercy of the firm's computers and software). Open Office comes with an inbuilt PDF converter, but if you're using Microsoft Word, there are alot of free PDF converters online that can convert your documents instantly without you needing to create any account. http://www.pdfonline.com/ is one such site.

And please, ever decent firm would have Adobe Acrobat Reader on their computers, especially the HR department!

Reply 6

Brown Patrick Bateman

Definitely PDF - is a lot cleaner, without Word's green and red squiggly lines, the paperclip etc. Word also stores how many times you've revised/saved, how long you took to write it, when you created it etc in Files->Properties->Stats. Only outdated PCs won't have Adobe Acrobat installed, and if there's a problem they'd most likely email back asking for Word/RTF version rather than ignore you.

Reply 7

pRinC3sS

do it but, many department stores admit to not reading any cvs wic r sent using an email unless u are asked to attach it along to with your application..

Reply 8

20083

jojo72

I use word all the time...

Does RTF still keep nice and proper formatting if the file was made in word?

RTF stands for Rich Text Format. It was developed as a way to keep all formatting in your document in a document that is protable between different applications.

These days there are very very few companies (if any) which can't accept .doc, but a place I used to work for just recently changed from Lotus.

Reply 9

President_Ben

I'm sure they would cope with getting Adobe Acrobat Reader... after all, so many business documents are published in pdf.

Reply 10

20083

And with PDF you know that it can't be changed - always a plus.

Reply 11

Nutter

Can't be edited, and neither can the text be selected (if you convert it using the original Adobe Acrobat software and choose that particular option). That software, while being very pricey, offers a multitude of nifty options that you'd never have thought existed.

Reply 12

Knogle

Nutter

I don't see why you don't want the text to be selected. Besides, there are ways to get around that if companies really wanted to. But yes, the flexibility exists.

Reply 13

Nutter

Knogle

Besides, there are ways to get around that if companies really wanted to.

Care to enlighten me?

Reply 14

Knogle

Nutter

Care to enlighten me?

I've read of some pdf-creating tools which allow you to import 'locked' PDF files (as long as they aren't encrypted with a password, it's fine), and re-export them without those security settings enabled. Which tools allow you to do that exactly I'm not sure, but it's certainly possible with the right software.

Reply 15

nero44

most def PDF! every larger company can cope em, and if not, it is unlikely that they accept application documents via internet...

also a pdf file has the advantage of combining several documents (word file, scanned picture of a recommendation or transcripts) into one file. Make sure to check your output file and keep it at a decent size.

I've talked to the lady of the HR department of my last intern, and she says its terrible when applicants send a bunch of bits and pieces of an application and not checking file sizes and formats. Because then she has to assemble everything to make the application package to be sent to the relevant department.