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Paste a job ad

Resume file and page checker

Drop in your resume, cover letter or statement as a PDF or Word file. See its real file type, page count, size, and whether job sites can read its text, plus a word count for Word files. Add the ad's limits to check you're within them. Your file never leaves your device.

  • Free
  • No sign-up
  • Stays on your device
The ad's limits, if it sets any

What it checks

  • The real file type, from the file itself, not its name. A Word file renamed to end in .pdf is still a Word file.
  • Pages: the exact count for a PDF. For a Word file, the count Word saved with it.
  • Words, for Word and text files, counted the way online forms count them.
  • Text a computer can read. A scanned page is only a picture, and recruiter software can't read it.
  • Protection: a password or restrictions that stop some job sites opening it.
  • Paper size: A4, or US Letter for jobs in the US and Canada.
  • Size and name: a sensible size, and a name with yours in it and no odd symbols.

Before you send your resume

  1. Use the file type the ad asks for. If it doesn't say, a PDF keeps your layout exactly as you made it.
  2. Keep within the page and word limits. A limit in the ad is a rule, like the closing date.
  3. Check the text can be selected. Open the PDF and try to highlight a line. If you can't, software can't read it either.
  4. Name it clearly, for example First-Last-Resume.pdf, so a recruiter can find it again.
  5. Open it once more on another device, such as your phone, to see what they'll see.

Not sure what the ad asks for? Our guide to reading a job ad shows where the rules hide.

Why Word's page count can change

Word works out pages with the fonts and printer settings of the computer it's on. On another computer, lines can wrap differently, and a two-page resume can become three.

A PDF fixes every line in place, so its page count never changes. If the ad sets a page limit and accepts PDF, sending a PDF is the safe choice. If it asks for Word, leave some room at the bottom of the last page.

Questions

Is my file uploaded?

No. The checker reads your file inside your browser. It never reaches our servers, so we can't see it, keep it or share it.

How does it count words?

As online forms and Word do: anything between two spaces is a word, so a lone dash counts too. Seal the Offer counts words in your documents the same way, so the numbers match.

Why doesn't it count the words in a PDF?

Reading the words out of a PDF needs a large program that would slow this page down. Copy the text from your PDF into the free word counter instead.

What does "No text found" mean?

The PDF holds a picture of each page, not text. That happens when a document is scanned, or saved as an image. Recruiter software can't read it. Save the document as PDF straight from Word or Google Docs instead.

When you have a job ad

Know every rule in the ad

Paste the job ad into Seal the Offer. It lists what to send, file types, page and word limits and the closing date, each quoted from the ad. No payment needed to see them.

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