When you send your resume, you may find that it is better to convert it from a word processing format to PDF. This is often viewed as more professional and easier to read, as PDF files – short for portable document format – are viewed as an industry standard for reading documents. Thankfully, there are many easy ways to do this. Here’s an overview.
Using Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is one of the industry leaders in a variety of digital transfer, storage, and conversions. Using this program can allow you to make many positive changes to your document, including using it as a word to PDF converter. Adobe Acrobat comes with an automatic converter, meaning that you can easily amend your document and change it from word to PDF.
Of course, Adobe Acrobat also comes with many more features. You can easily open a document in any format, including mobile. It allows you to add advanced features, like graphics or online signatures. You can also set up a file so that it is password-protected, thus ensuring that only people who are supposed to open the file actually are able to do so. Importantly, Adobe Acrobat also allows you to edit PDF files. This is not a standard feature on many PDFs, and when it comes to your resume, it’s highly important, as it allows you to catch any last-second typos.
Using Online Converters
There are a variety of online converts that can allow you to save a word file and turn it into a PDF. Some of these converters are free, some come with trial memberships, and others require a premium membership. Generally speaking, they all operate the same way: You upload a file, and it will spit the file back out as a PDF. You then have to redownload the file.
Programs like this will allow you to get the job done. However, they lack the features that other programs come with, and you may have to pay for them. Furthermore, many of these programs have minimal security features, and you’re not sure who is reading your file on the other end. This may mean that you are giving someone you don’t know access to the sensitive personal information that is on the file you are uploading.
Using Word
If you use Microsoft Word, good news for you: Newer versions allow you to save your document as a PDF. All you have to do is go to “save as” and change the file type to PDF. As nice as this is, keep in mind that it doesn’t come with the various other benefits that other PDF converters, such as Adobe Acrobat, may come with. You won’t be able to convert the file back to a word document, and once you save the file as a PDF, you may have trouble editing it.
Related: Free Resume Templates for Microsoft Word
There are many reasons you should change your resume to a PDF document. Thankfully, there are also many ways to do so.
Before You Go
If you are building a resume then these creative resume templates (PSD & Word) will surely help to build one and then convert it to PDF using methods above. What’s more, you can also build a resume website with these resume website templates that are available for free.