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Do you have Acrobat?

19:53 / 24.02.04

I need to make a PDF in Acrobat since I need the PDF to contain active links and apparently you can only do this via Acrobat. Has anyone got it, and if so, would you convert a Word document to PDF for me if I sent it to you?

It's only my CV, so you might get a laugh, too.

Red Cross Iodized Salt

22:06 / 24.02.04

I can do it if it still needs doing...

15:02 / 25.02.04

Did they actually specify that you have to use PDF, with links?

16:09 / 25.02.04

Red Cross did it for me, but no they didn't. I just think it's nicer.

17:31 / 25.02.04

RCIS, you favor-stealer!

00:40 / 26.02.04

Seriously, I wouldn't. Provide your CV in the most basic format possible. Plain text is best, then RTF if that's not enough, then, if you must, Word 6.0 - you can put links in that. (If they're http:// links, you can just put them as plain text, practically any app apart from Notepad will let people click on them.)

Unless you know precisely how they view CVs, do that.

If you're going to send a PDF, really, really send a plain text or other Word-readable version as well.

07:25 / 26.02.04

Fridge: Really? Thanks for your advice.

Damn, part of the reason for the PDF idea is that (as far as I understand it) there is a size difference between PC and Mac fonts and in the past when I have sent people documents I created which look fine on a Mac, the pages go out of whack on a PC.

Also, it was a choice of font thing. I wanted to use particular fonts and I can't be sure the people I send my CV to in Word format will have them.

I guess I was just assuming that everyone can read PDF's.

07:53 / 26.02.04

I'd say it's a reasonable assumption these days that most people will be able to read .pdf files without any trouble. Some agencies like to tinker with the CV before sending it on to a prospective employer, however, and will thus prefer to receive it in MS Word format. Whether you think this is a good thing depends on how much you trust the agency, but if they get you a decent job, what the hell!

tom-karika nukes it from orbit

09:52 / 26.02.04

The way that I make PDFs is using Open Office. I'm pretty sure that it can save any text file as PDF out of the box, and it can import Word documents pretty well too. It's free.

It's a big download though, so you might want to order a CD from somewhere like here (Still only, alot cheaper than Acrobat at £2.50)

10:05 / 26.02.04

Why not just get Acrobat. It's free if you use Limewire:
Oops I'm advocating piracy

13:45 / 26.02.04

It's not so much that they can't read them as that you never know what they might want to do with the data. Maybe they have a database that needs to have text cut and pasted into it. Maybe they store everything in a certain format. If it's too much bother for someone to deal with they'll put it at the bottom of the to do list or just dump it, and you don't want that.

Unless it's for a design job (or even if it is) I wouldn't worry about fonts at all - pick serif or sans-serif, i.e. TNR or Arial. If you're worried about pagination, do it in a word processor and fiddle with the "keep paragraphs together" options. Like I say, Word 6.0 is a pretty universal standard cross-platform, though you're safer with RTF which never has any conversion issues unless the program they're using is *really* crap.

People who look at CVs just want to see the relevant information clearly and concisely laid out in a format they can read and use. I think you may be worrying too much about the appearance.

15:15 / 26.02.04

I'll chime in on the side of fridge here... when you put together a resume or CV you want the information to be accessible and simple to get to. The specs that you place down are really what the employer should be enamored with, not your choice of script font for a header.

I know for a fact (now this is generally regarding a design job) that overdone resumes that come through most ad agencies and design shops get tossed. No colored papers, no more than maybe two fonts, and try to keep it to a minimum amount of pages. At least in design, the resume is one of the first pieces you do for the job and is a good indicator of a few things.

15:29 / 26.02.04

Yes that's all it is. Two fonts on white paper. Two colours; black for all the copy and olive for the headings. And it's two pages exactly.

I just like things to look good. But not overdo it.