How to turn a photo into a PDF for a job application

The job form asks for a certificate, a reference letter or a signed page. You have it on paper. The upload box says PDF only. You have a phone, and that is enough.

A photo of a page does not make a good attachment as it is. It is often crooked, grey and dark in one corner, and it may be the wrong file type. This guide shows how to turn photos into one tidy PDF, how to get it under an upload limit, and what to check before you submit.

Pick the right tool for the photo

There are two tools for this, and the choice depends on what you are holding.

• Paper that you photograph now: use Scan to PDF. It straightens each page and cleans up the look. It suits certificates, letters, transcripts and signed forms.
• Pictures you already have, such as a clean screenshot or a good photo of your work: use JPG to PDF. It puts each picture on a page as it is, without re-saving it.

If the page is a document, choose Scan to PDF. Straightening is what makes it look professional.

Turn paper into a PDF in five steps

1. Open Scan to PDF in your phone's browser and press Take a photo. Allow the camera for this page if your browser asks.
2. Photograph each page in turn. Press Take another photo to add the next one. On a computer you choose photos you already have instead.
3. Pick a page and drag the four green dots onto the corners of the paper. Everything outside them is cut away, and a slanted photo becomes an upright page.
4. Choose a look for each page: Original, Grey, or Black and white. Check the preview and put the pages in order.
5. Press Make PDF, choose Fit to scan, A4 or US Letter, and download.

Take a photo that reads well

Most bad scans come from the photo, not the tool.

• Put the paper flat on a plain, darker surface, so the edges stand out when you place the corner dots.
• Use even light. Daylight from a window works well. Stand so your own shadow is not on the page.
• Hold the phone straight above the paper, not at an angle, and keep the whole sheet in view.
• Hold still, and look at the photo before you move on. Retake it if the words are soft.

Choose a look: Original, Grey or Black and white

Original keeps the photo as it is. Use it for a page with a colored seal, a logo or a photograph you need to show. Grey removes the color, which suits printing. Black and white turns every spot either black or white, so text looks sharp and the file stays small. A slider sets how dark a spot must be to count as ink. Slide it until the writing is clear and the paper looks clean.

For a typed letter, Black and white is usually the clearest. For a handwritten page or a stamp, try Grey first, then check that nothing faint has vanished.

Make it fit the upload box

Read the application page before you upload. Look for the file types it accepts and a size limit, which is usually printed near the upload button. Write the number down.

Scan to PDF saves pages at about 200 DPI on an A4 sheet, so a short document stays a sensible size. If your file is still over the limit, open Compress PDF, keep Balanced selected, and under Do you have a size limit? choose Under 1, 2, 5 or 10 MB. Balanced shrinks the pictures one step at a time until the file fits, and tells you which step it used.

If even the smallest step is over your limit, the tool says so and shows the smallest size it reached. Then try fewer pages or a Black and white look, which makes a smaller file than color.

Several documents, one file

Some forms give you one upload box for everything. Scan each document, then join the files with Merge PDF and drag them into the order the form asks for. Organize PDF can move or turn a single page afterward. Joining several bank statements into one file works the same way; see how to combine bank statements into one PDF.

For a resume and cover letter, see how to combine a resume and cover letter in one PDF. For a heavy resume file, see how to compress a CV or resume PDF.

Do not photograph your resume

If you have the resume as a file, save or export it as a PDF from the program you wrote it in. Do not take a photo of a printout. A scan is a picture, so its words cannot be searched, selected or copied. Anything that tries to read the text in your file has nothing to read.

If a paper document must stay a scan, you can run it through OCR PDF afterward. It adds a hidden text layer so the words can be searched and selected. It reads English best, and sharp, straight, printed pages work best.

Check the file before you upload

• Open the PDF and scroll through every page.
• Zoom in on the smallest text, stamps and dates. If they are hard to read, retake that photo.
• Check the page order and that no page is sideways.
• Look at the corners. There should be no part of your thumb, table or a shadow.
• Check the size against the limit, and give the file a clear name, such as Maya-Reyes-certificate.pdf.

Share only what is asked for

Application forms sometimes ask for copies of documents. Send what the employer asks for, and no more. If a scan shows details the form does not need, leave them out, or ask the employer what they want. Your photos stay in your browser while you work, but what you upload at the end is up to you.

A worked example

Maya needs to upload a training certificate and a signed reference letter, two pages in all, to a careers page that accepts one PDF. She photographs both pages on her kitchen table by a window, drags the corners onto each sheet and picks Black and white for the letter and Original for the certificate, which has a colored seal.

The first file is over the limit shown on the page, so she opens Compress PDF, keeps Balanced and picks the matching size limit. She zooms in on the seal and the signature, sees both are clear and uploads the file.

A short checklist

• Read the accepted file type and size limit first.
• Photograph flat, in even light, from straight above.
• Set the four corners on every page.
• Pick a look per page and check the preview.
• Compress only if you need to, using Balanced.
• Zoom in on the result and name the file clearly.

Scan to PDF is free to start: 2 free uses in total, no account needed. Free files can be up to 50 MB. More for people on the job hunt is on the job seekers page.