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File size limits for job applications

Limits checked on October 26, 2026

Most job sites cap the size of the resume or CV you upload, and the error you get when a file is too big rarely says by how much. These are the limits the sites publish themselves. Each one links to the help page it comes from, with the date we last checked it. If we couldn't find a limit on a site's own help pages, the site isn't listed: a gap is more useful to you than a guess.

The upload box itself has the final word. If it shows a different limit from the one here, go by the box: sites change their limits, and an employer's form can have its own rules.

Limits by site

SiteUpload limitFile types
LinkedIn (Easy Apply)Under 2 MB recommendedWord or PDF
USAJOBS (US federal jobs)5 MBPDF recommended; also DOC, DOCX, RTF, TXT, ODT, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG
Reed (UK)1 MBNot stated on the help page
Greenhouse (employers' application forms)100 MBDOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF, TXT
Workable (employers' application forms)5 MB for the resumePDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML, ODT

Notes and sources

Greenhouse and Workable aren't job boards. They're hiring systems that employers use for the “Apply” form on their own careers pages, so you'll meet them after clicking through from a job ad. The form or its web address often shows the system's name.

Sites that aren't listed

We couldn't confirm a limit for Indeed, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, Totaljobs or forms run on Lever from their own help pages, so they aren't in the table. The same goes for large employers that run their own application systems: each one sets its own limit. In every case, look at the text next to the upload button, which usually gives the maximum size and the file types it takes.

Getting your file under the limit

A CV that's mostly text is usually small when it's saved straight to PDF from Word, Google Docs or Pages. When a file is too big, the cause is almost always one of three things: a scan or phone photo of a printed page, a large photo or logo, or a design template full of graphics.

  1. Save it again from the original. If you have the Word or Google Docs file, export it as a PDF rather than printing and scanning it. That alone often fixes it, and the text stays selectable, which the employer's system needs to read it.
  2. Compress the PDF to a target size. In the PDF Compressor, choose “Target size” and type the limit. It tries stronger settings one by one and stops at the first that fits, keeping text selectable if it can. Aim a little under: enter 900 KB for a 1 MB limit, because sites don't all count a megabyte the same way.
  3. Shrink a photo or scan before it goes into the PDF. The Image Compressor has a “To a target size” mode for a certificate, ID or headshot. If the form wants a PDF, turn the images into one with Image to PDF.
  4. One upload box, two documents? If a form asks for a CV and cover letter but takes a single file, join them with the PDF Merger, then check the combined size.

All four tools run in your browser, so your CV isn't uploaded anywhere to be compressed.

Before you upload

  • Open the compressed file and read it at full size. If small print has gone fuzzy, use a plainer template or drop the photo rather than compressing harder.
  • Try selecting a line of text. If you can't, the page is a picture, and an employer's system may not be able to read it.
  • Keep within any page limit too: USAJOBS, for example, rejects resumes over two pages whatever their size.
  • Give the file a name that says who it's from, such as jane-smith-cv.pdf, not final-v3.pdf.

Found a limit that has changed, or a help page we should add? Tell us through the contact page and we'll check it against the source.