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Comment by reidrac | Hacker News Reader

I always use PDF, but most agencies will ask you for the CV in an editable format.

I specially dislike that, but if you think about it nothing prevents them to copy & paste into a doc document (well, if they ask for an editable format may be they lack the skills to do it, who knows!).

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They do this so they can remove your contact details and also sometimes they like to add a "cover" page with the details of their agency.

Well, they are trying to help you get a job, they have a better idea on how to do it so the least you could do is provide them with the information they need. Given that most people still use Windows, I would, at least, send a Word document with the PDF. You can also send the ODT, nothing against that.

I never send an ODT, just a PDF.

My feeling is that it is just a business for them (as in not "helping me") and they will change anything in my CV (yes, lie; or worse: it will look like I lied) to get me an interview and get their share. The downside of this approach is that I will lose my time with a job interview I can't pass because I'm not a good match.

I know that not all agencies work that way, but some do.

They don't do this to help you get a job. Recruiters insist on an editable version so they can remove your contact details and insert their letterhead. This makes it harder for their clients to contact you directly and cut out their fee.

Recruiter here. Another bigger reason for inserting letterhead is so when the company finds the résumé in their DB 6 months later and revisits the candidate, the manager knows the source of hire (and the possibility of a fee).

I'm sure that happens sometimes but I've seen lots of CVs coming from recruiters which had new sections crafted by the recruiters themselves like a summary of why I should care about that person, etc. They depend on me hiring that person to get their fee so I expect them to provide me more than the CV itself.

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