CV File Format

The vast majority of CVs we see are in Microsoft Word and with good reason – it’s the #1 word processing package in the world.

As a consequence most recruitment agencies and employers use it as standard and all of their systems are geared around it, and if you use another file format then you may run into problems.

There are 2 main reasons for this:

Firstly, they may not be able to open the file. This applies to Microsoft Works files that are used on many home PCs and have the file extension “.wps” and to OpenOffice files with the file extension “.odt”. Most companies just don’t have this software and will not be able to see your CV.

Secondly, many agencies use what is called parsing software which automatically reads your CV and puts the information into a database. Generally speaking this software is only set up for Word documents and will not read other formats – even Adobe PDF. file – so your CV won’t get onto the database.

Solution:-

Use Microsoft Word!

If you only have MS Works or Open Office you can get around this issue by saving the file using the “Save As” option and selecting the option to save as a Word Document.