Export your resume to PDF and Word

PDF: File > Download > PDF Document

This is the export we test on every release. For each template we download the sample this way and check that:

• the text can be selected and copied, in the right order;
• every font is embedded, so the PDF looks the same everywhere;
• no letters turn into odd characters, like “fi” joined into one glyph or bullets becoming boxes;
• no words come apart, like “Proj ect”;
• an open-source parser puts the name, jobs, dates and bullets into the right fields.

The results are on each template's page. How we test explains the setup.

What about printing to PDF?

Some people prefer File > Print > Save as PDF. If you do, open “More settings” in Chrome's print dialog and turn off Headers and footers, or the date and the document's web address get printed on your resume. Then open the PDF and try selecting a line of text. If you can't select it, the PDF is an image and a parser can't read it.

Word: File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx)

Some portals only accept .docx. Download it straight from Google Docs. Our templates are built so this export holds up: one font that Word already has, dates aligned with tab stops rather than tables or spaces, and bullets that use a normal character. We download each template this way too, and check that the text, headings and bullets come through in order.

Before you upload the .docx, open it once in Word and look for three things:

1. The page count is the same as in Google Docs.
2. The dates still line up on the right edge.
3. Word doesn't warn about missing fonts.

If you write in Word from the start, skip Google Docs and use the “Download Word (.docx)” button on any template page.

Don't convert a PDF to Word

PDF-to-Word converters guess the layout. They often turn lines into text boxes and tables, which is exactly what trips up parsers. Always go back to the Google Doc and download the .docx from there.

Naming the file

Recruiters see your file name in their inbox and in their system. Use Firstname-Lastname-Resume.pdf and Firstname-Lastname-Cover-Letter.pdf. In Google Docs, rename the document before downloading and the file takes the same name.