Ledge

How to get resume and portfolio files ready to upload from a Mac

· 6 min read

Save your resume as a PDF (in Pages, File > Export To > PDF; in almost any other app, File > Print, then Save as PDF from the PDF menu), give it a name with your own name in it, and open it in Preview to check it before it goes anywhere. Combine portfolio pieces into one PDF that fits under the portal’s size limit. Then gather every file you need in one place before you open the application form, so you are not hunting through folders halfway through it.

Save the resume as a PDF

A PDF keeps your layout, fonts and spacing exactly as you set them, and it opens the same way on any computer. Unless the job posting asks for an editable document, send PDF.

From Pages:

  1. Open the resume and choose File > Export To > PDF.
  2. Set Image Quality to Best if the resume includes a photo or logo.
  3. Leave the password option off. A recruiter who cannot open the file will not ask you for the password.
  4. Continue to the save dialog, name the file and choose a folder.

If a posting insists on an editable file, the same Export To menu in Pages also saves a .docx document.

From TextEdit: choose File > Export as PDF.

From any other app, including a browser-based editor: choose File > Print (Command-P), open the PDF menu at the bottom of the print dialog and choose Save as PDF. That menu belongs to macOS, so it appears in nearly every app that can print. Online editors usually also have their own download as PDF option, which is worth trying first; if your links stop working in one route, try the other.

Name the files so a recruiter can find them

The person on the other end may download dozens of applications into one folder. A file called resume final v3.pdf disappears among them.

  • Resume: First Last Resume.pdf
  • Cover letter: First Last Cover Letter.pdf
  • Portfolio: First Last Portfolio.pdf

Stick to letters, numbers, spaces and hyphens. Some upload systems mangle accents, slashes and symbols in file names, and a few replace spaces too, so if you see that happen, use hyphens instead.

To rename a file in Finder, select it and press Return, type the new name and press Return again. How to rename a batch of files on a Mac before you send them helps when there are portfolio images to rename as a set.

If you tailor your resume for each role, keep the role out of the file name you send. A file named for one company sent to another is an awkward thing to explain. Keep the tailored copies apart in folders instead (more on that below).

Check the PDF before it goes anywhere

Open the PDF in Preview and look at it the way a stranger will.

  • Page count. One stray line spilling onto a second page is easy to miss in the editor and obvious in the PDF. Tighten the spacing in the original and export again.
  • Fonts. If a heading suddenly appears in a different typeface, the font was not embedded properly. Export again from the original app rather than printing from somewhere else.
  • Links. Hover the pointer over your email address, portfolio link and profile links. If the pointer does not change to a hand, the link did not survive. Exporting directly from the original app usually keeps links; printing sometimes does not.
  • Selectable text. Press Command-A in Preview. If the text highlights, it is real text that screening software can read. If nothing highlights, the PDF is a picture of a resume, often from a scan, and automated systems may read it as blank. Export it again from the original document.
  • File size. Select the file in Finder and press Command-I. A text-only resume should be modest in size; a large one usually has an oversized photo or graphic inside.

Put the portfolio in one PDF

Many portals allow only a few attachments, each with a size cap. One portfolio PDF is easier for you to upload and easier for a reviewer to open than a pile of separate images.

If the finished PDF is over the limit, the gentlest fix is to resize the large images before combining them. Preview also has File > Export with a Quartz Filter called Reduce File Size, but it can blur images badly, so check the result page by page. For a large body of work, a link to an online portfolio in your resume is often the better answer.

Gather everything before you open the form

Make one folder per application, named for the company and role, and keep in it the exact files you sent. When a recruiter calls three weeks later, you will want to see the version they are looking at.

Then the upload itself. Application forms usually ask for each document in its own field, sometimes across several pages, and the files tend to be scattered: the resume in Documents, the portfolio in Downloads where the export landed, a reference letter on the desktop.

Ledge keeps them in one place for the length of the form. Drag each file up to the notch at the top of the screen and let go; it lands on a shelf that drops from the notch and stays there until you take it somewhere. When the form asks for your resume, press Option-Space or click the notch and drag the resume off the shelf into the upload field. Do the same for the cover letter on the next page. When you are done, drop the set onto the application’s folder in a Finder window, and the files move there, filed with the application they belong to.

Ledge does not fill in forms or change your files, and it has no account and no cloud, so a resume with your address and phone number on it stays on your Mac until you upload it. It needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

Questions

Should I send a PDF or an editable document?

Follow the job posting. If it does not say, send a PDF: it looks the same for everyone and cannot be accidentally edited.

Why did the portal fill in my details wrongly from my resume?

Many portals read the text out of your file to prefill their form, and unusual layouts, such as text in columns or inside graphics, confuse that step. Check every prefilled field before you submit, and keep the main details in plain text near the top of the resume.

Why is my resume PDF so large?

Usually a photo, logo or background image was placed at full camera size. Resize it in the original document and export the PDF again.