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Because they are probably using some antiquated system that only allows Word docs which should give you a clue about their technical environment and make you reconsider working there being that it is almost 2016. Or the actual HR person is not used to anything else but Word docs and doesn't like change which should give you a clue about the people in that environment and make you reconsider working there being that it is almost 2016.
Microsoft Word for good or bad is an industry standard accepted exchange for editable documents. PDF is not an editable format.
Definitely true. The Word requests are always made by email from an HR person after they look at your resume and demonstrate interest.
I just opened my .pdf with Word and there's just no way it's going to fit onto one page without deleting a few lines. I'll ask them why they need Word, and if I feel there's actually interest, chop a couple lines off my resume. But I'm not going to spend an hour making a "nice" resume template in Word that'll keep everything to 1 page when I have a perfectly nice .tex template.
If you are going to ask them why they want it in Word, don't bother, because you just eliminated yourself from further consideration by HR. Those people are not flexible.
But you prefer to spend an hour complaining about this. I believe you really don't want a job and you are using this to limit yourself from consideration. You have to ask yourself, do you really want to work or do you want to sit home with your LaTex resume and watch daytime soaps?
You have likely not applied for positions in large companies or organizations. Even if they will look at a PDF, by the time they are actually interested in you seriously they will ask for a Word version of the document.
That's not true. I am interested in the OP's question because demanding Word resumes seems strange to me based on very recent experience. I'm applying for jobs at large companies and organizations right now. As in, I sent in my most recent applications two nights ago. The interest in my application is serious enough that I'm in salary negotiations with one place.
Some of this job search has been conducted informally by mailing out my resume or vita. I've always sent those as a PDF even though I wrote them in Word. I don't know where they are going to end up as forwarding an email is so easy, so I want to make something that isn't easy to modify.
I've also applied for formally for jobs using the HR websites of two large organizations. Both of them asked for an uploaded resume, which I did as a PDF. Then they asked me to fill in their form with the information from my resume. The website scanned this information from my PDF resume and I had only had to do some light editing.
If they want it in Word, just send it in Word. It's mildly obnoxious, but it's not *that* big of a deal. Pestering your contact person about why they structure their hiring process as they do is just going to make you seem oddly oppositional/defiant. And it's not as though the "why" does you any good--what difference does it make to you if this person wants a Word document because they plan to edit everyone's resumes before handing them over or because their software is antiquated or because they own stock in Microsoft and want to encourage its use?
Copy. Paste. Select all. Choose a neutral font. Make sure it is an appropriate size. Fix any weird characters that didn't move across correctly, if necessary. You are looking at 5 minutes tops. Any other futzy formatting is gravy; no need to spend an hour if you would prefer not to.
And that hit the nail on the head of this little exercise by the OP. The issue isn't LaTex, it is to show rage against the machine that the employer are a bunch of sell-outs and are some sort of corporate shill for big commercial applications instead of accepting a LaTex file directly that could be uploaded via FTP. Gosh, I have known so many academics like this. They will spend a ton of money on computer hardware, but won't give a cent to a commercial application because they "don't want to spend the money" or some other defiant act.
I really do not want some HR-administrative type to edit my resume. If they could understand the content of my resume, they'd have a real job. If there's no other way to get your resume into the hands of somebody who might understand it, then you have to do what you have to do, but let's not pretend there isn't a danger to you. It could very easy get stripped of important information or the key bits buried because the person editing doesn't know what is important.
Yeah, you by-pass HR entirely to e-mail your resume to the hiring manager but that takes work.
I was interviewed and saw when the interviewer's copy of my resume and it had been entirely re-formatted. It was distilled down to important information to them. When I was hired I was on a committee looking at resumes to fill a position, and all the resumes had the same format. It made things easier, if the requirement was someone had to have a Masters in CS, then I could easily look through 150 resumes to see the ones that did. If the requirement was XYZ years of experience in ABC software then I could see that too.
A lot of people also don't know how to write a resume and keep all kinds of useless information on it, like how they worked at summer camps, played hockey in high school, play drums as hobby, and junk that has nothing to do with the job. Worst of all, they put this information in an order which greatly hurts their chances of being considered for the position.
What you consider to be important isn't important to them. They are bringing forth the keywords of the job description.
I agree with this. But more importantly, if I don't get the job, it's not that big a deal. It's just a part-time side gig. If they're actually interested in working with me, that's great. But if it's a sticking point or they're going to act like they're doing me a favor by giving me a little extra work, I'm not going to waste my time.
The truth comes out. You don't want the job. Case closed.
1. Ask them why they want your resume in Word
2. Advise them that the only way you will recreate your resume in Word is if they're interested in you.
3. Ask them if they're interested in you
4. Report back with results
2a. Ask them for the FTP account and password where you can upload your resume .TeX
2b. Ask them how much money have they spend on Microsoft Word.
2c. Lecture them in a condescending manner that they should be using Open Office and LaTex
2d. Tell them you have dropped them from consideration until they change all work stations to Open Source systems running Ubuntu, wait that's becoming popular now too...I got it, DSL (Damn Small Linux) and only then will you be interested in the job once they comply with your unreasonable demands.
No, it is not. PDF was not created to be an editable format. It was created to be able to be viewed and printed on a wide variety of devices. It is not accepted to send a PDF document to clerks for them to edit them, which is why they asked for it on Word.
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