Sending
PDF, Word or a JPG: which file should you send?
PDF: the default for almost everything
A PDF keeps your fonts, spacing and columns exactly as designed on any device and any operating system. This is why PDF is the right choice for almost every application — email, portal upload, recruiter review.
The one exception: some online application forms explicitly ask for a Word document, and a few older systems genuinely struggle with PDFs. If the job advertises a format, obey it without exception.
Word: when the employer asks, or when ATS paranoia is high
Word files are what a surprising number of applicant tracking systems were originally built to read. If a role is at an organisation known for heavy ATS use, or the upload field says .docx, send .docx.
One warning: Word can reflow content if the recipient has different fonts installed. Export from a machine you trust, and check that the file still looks right before you attach it.
JPG or PNG: almost never
An image of your CV has no selectable text. Most parsers will extract nothing at all, so your application can arrive as an empty record and you will never know why.
The only sensible use is a design portfolio where the image genuinely is the artefact, and even then send a link as well as the image.
Name the file properly
This is the single most common avoidable mistake in applications. A file called document1.pdf or 0d9576e2-2228-460f-9408-09655457ade8.pdf looks careless, and some systems show recruiters the filename before they open anything.
Use Firstname-Lastname-CV.pdf. Our export buttons do this for you automatically — the studio shows you the exact file name before you click.
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