TL;DR: Open PDFKits compressor, drop your CV, target 1-2 MB. Text stays sharp, photo gets re-encoded smaller, file never leaves your browser. Below: platform-specific upload limits and step-by-step instructions.
LinkedIn 5 MB. Indeed 5 MB (varies by employer's ATS). Workday 10 MB. Greenhouse 50 MB but most ATS plugins drop to 10 MB. Lever 10 MB. SmartRecruiters 20 MB. Direct email to recruiters 10 MB safe default. Most resumes start at 2-8 MB if they include a photo, designed header, or scanned signature. Target <1 MB to stay within all platforms and avoid ATS pre-screen rejections (some ATS warn for files over 2 MB).
1. Export from your source. If your CV is in Word, Google Docs, or InDesign, export PDF with "Print to PDF" rather than "Save as PDF" — typically 30% smaller. 2. Open PDFKits. Go to Compress PDF. No upload to any server, the file is processed in your browser. 3. Pick Medium compression. For a typical 2-3 page resume with a photo, Medium gets you to ~1 MB while keeping the photo sharp and text crisp. Strong compression goes lower but may posterize the photo. 4. Download. Save with a clear filename like FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf.
(1) Including a high-resolution photo at 300 DPI — switch to 150 DPI before exporting. (2) Embedding an entire portfolio inside the resume — link to it instead. (3) Using Pages or Keynote's "best quality" export, which embeds raw PNG images. (4) Forgetting to flatten form fields if your template has any (use Optimize PDF).
If your resume needs editing: Edit PDF. To convert from Word: Word to PDF. To extract text for ATS analysis: PDF to Text. For email-specific compression guidance: Compress PDF for Email.