Submit the format the application portal asks for. If it accepts both PDF and Word, use a text-based PDF when keeping your layout matters, and keep a simple DOCX copy ready for any system or employer that favors it. No evidence supports a universal winner, and the documentation from employers and vendors does not agree on one format for every parser.
What a six-parser test can and cannot settle
The question sounds like it should have a clean answer, and a side-by-side test of six resume parsers would be the obvious way to get one. No published test in the material behind this article names six parsers, the resume files used, or field-level results, so it cannot rank PDF against Word. What the vendor documentation does establish is narrower: upload rules differ by system, parsers can fail on specific layouts, and the fields a parser fills in still need checking by you.
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What the published guidance says
Four sources are worth reading side by side. They disagree about emphasis, not about the basic rule.
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| Source (date as stated) | Accepted formats | What it says about parsing |
|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse Support, “Supported formats for resumes, cover letters and other candidate uploads” (updated August 19, 2026) | DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF, TXT; maximum upload 100 MB | Lists the accepted formats for candidate uploads. Accepting a format does not promise the same parse quality for every format. |
| Workday Documentation, “Concept: Resume Parsing” | Not stated in this document | Parsing populates candidate or application fields for review. Results “can vary based on resume format and order of words.” It advises avoiding images and image-based styles. |
| Roche Careers, “Resume Parsing FAQ” | Recommends .docx and .pdf | Roche’s guidance: “While PDFs are best at keeping your format intact overall, the .docx format is the most accurately parsed by ATSs.” This is Roche’s own position, not a rule for all vendors. |
| Greenhouse Support, “Unsuccessful resume parse” (updated March 2, 2026) | Not stated in this document | Lists the common causes of failed or partial parsing (see the next section). |
The practical reading: Greenhouse accepts both PDF and DOCX, Roche says DOCX is parsed most accurately, and Workday warns that the result depends on the file. Those three statements are consistent with one conclusion. The file type matters less than whether the document is simple enough to read in order.
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What causes a parse to fail
Greenhouse lists the following causes of failed or partial parsing. They apply to either format, because they describe how the document is laid out rather than how it was saved:
- Large files. Heavy files, especially ones with embedded images, can fail to process. Stay well under the 100 MB Greenhouse limit and export a lighter file.
- Graphics and image resumes. A resume built from images, or one where text was flattened into a picture, gives the parser nothing to read.
- Tables. Skills grids and two-column timelines often come out with fields in the wrong order.
- Headers and footers. Name, phone, and email placed in a header may be skipped entirely.
- Text boxes. Text inside a floating box can be read out of sequence or dropped.
- Columns. A two-column layout can make the parser read across lines, mixing jobs and dates.
- Inconsistent section formats. If one job uses “2019–2021” and another uses “March 2019 to June 2021”, the extraction can be uneven.
How to choose between PDF and Word
- Read the portal’s upload instructions first. If only one format is listed, use it. If the portal lists a file type you cannot produce, export to a format it does accept.
- If both are accepted, decide what you are optimizing for. Choose a text-based PDF when the page appearance matters, such as a designed resume that must look the same on every screen. Choose DOCX when you want the simplest structure to parse, which is the option Roche recommends.
- Test that a PDF has a text layer. Open the file in a PDF viewer, drag to select a full line, copy it, and paste it into a plain text editor. If nothing is selected, or the pasted text is garbled, the PDF is image-based. Re-export it from the original document, for example with File, then Save As or Export as PDF in your word processor, instead of printing it to an image.
- Simplify the layout in either format. Use one column, standard headings such as Experience and Education, and keep contact details in the body rather than a header or text box.
- Keep a plain DOCX copy. Some portals or employers will request Word, and a clean copy avoids reformatting under deadline.
- Review the parsed fields after upload. Parsing fills application fields; it does not guarantee they are correct.
Checking the result after upload
Once the portal has read your file, compare the auto-filled fields with your resume line by line before you submit. Look for these specific problems:
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- Job titles and employer names attached to the wrong dates.
- Education entries in a different order from your resume, or a missing degree.
- Skills or certifications that were read from a sidebar or table and placed under the wrong heading.
- Contact details pulled from a header or footer, or left blank.
Correct each field in the form. Do not rely on the uploaded file alone to carry the correction.
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- Fields are empty. The file is probably image-based or heavily graphic. Test for a text layer as above, then re-export from a text-based source.
- Jobs are out of order or merged. Check for a two-column layout or a table. Rebuild the section as single-column text.
- Contact details are missing. Move them out of the header and into the first lines of the body.
- The upload is rejected. Check the format against the portal’s list and the file size against the stated limit, for Greenhouse 100 MB.
When the portal accepts both formats and the parse still looks wrong in both, the layout is the likelier cause than the file type, and the fix is the structure rather than switching formats.
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Why no single format is the right answer
Vendors do not agree on one format, and they do not publish parser-level accuracy figures that would let you compare PDF against DOCX across systems. Greenhouse publishes what it accepts and what causes failures. Workday says results vary with format and word order. Roche prefers DOCX for parsing and PDF for appearance. Those statements are each accurate for their own system, which is why the portal’s instructions outrank any general rule, including the one in this article.
A PDF is not a guaranteed loss for the parser, and a DOCX is not a guaranteed win. Both fail for the same reasons: images, tables, text boxes, columns, and inconsistent sections.
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Reader phrasing
If you searched “PDF or Word?”, the short answer is the one above. If you searched “Should I submit my resume as a PDF or DOCX for an ATS?”, the answer is the same: follow the portal, keep the structure simple, and check what the system extracted.
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