# Workable Resume Format & 5 MB Limit > Workable accepts PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML and ODT for a resume, with a 5 MB ceiling — while other attachments on the same form are allowed four times that size. | | | | --- | --- | | System | Workable | | Vendor | Workable | | Also known as | Workable ATS | | Rendered page | https://atsprep.com/ats/workable | | This document | https://atsprep.com/ats/workable.md | Workable publishes exactly what its application form takes, which is more than most applicant tracking systems will tell you. The list is unusually broad at one end — OpenOffice and HTML both appear — and unusually strict at the other, with a resume ceiling well below what the same form allows for other files. ## Taking the file in | | | | --- | --- | | Accepted file types | PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML, ODT | | Maximum upload size | 5 MB | Source: [Workable Help — file types accepted on the application form](https://help.workable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115012238108-What-types-of-files-can-be-uploaded-on-the-application-form) (checked Jul 30, 2026) ## What Workable does differently ### The resume limit is stricter than the form's other limits A resume is capped at 5 MB, while file uploads attached to custom questions on the same application are allowed up to 20 MB. If a portfolio attachment goes through and your resume does not, this asymmetry is why — the constraint is specific to the resume field. Source: [Workable Help — file types accepted on the application form](https://help.workable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115012238108-What-types-of-files-can-be-uploaded-on-the-application-form) (checked Jul 30, 2026) ### Plain text is not on the list PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML and ODT are accepted. A .txt file — often the safest possible format elsewhere — is not among them, so the plain-text fallback that works on other systems will be rejected here. Source: [Workable Help — file types accepted on the application form](https://help.workable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115012238108-What-types-of-files-can-be-uploaded-on-the-application-form) (checked Jul 30, 2026) ### OpenOffice and HTML are genuinely supported ODT and HTML both appear on the official list, which is broader than most systems allow. Breadth is not a recommendation, though: the further you get from a plain linear document, the more ways there are for the extracted text to arrive in an order you did not intend. Source: [Workable Help — file types accepted on the application form](https://help.workable.com/hc/en-us/articles/115012238108-What-types-of-files-can-be-uploaded-on-the-application-form) (checked Jul 30, 2026) ### The parsing engine is not disclosed Workable does not publish which parser it uses, and no credible source names one. This guide leaves that blank rather than repeating the guesses that circulate — but it does mean you cannot reason about behaviour from a vendor's documentation the way you can with systems that have named theirs. ## What to do about it ### Keep the resume under 5 MB Lower than it sounds once a photograph or a design-tool export is involved. A text-based PDF will normally be a small fraction of it. ### Do not fall back to .txt Plain text is missing from Workable's accepted list even though it is the safest option on several other systems. Use PDF or DOCX instead. ### Put the portfolio in the portfolio field Custom question uploads allow up to 20 MB. Heavy visual work belongs there, not bolted onto the end of the resume where it eats the tighter limit. ### Format for an unknown parser With no published engine, the only safe assumption is the conservative one: single column, ordinary headings, real text, contact details in the body of the page. ## Questions ### What file types does Workable accept for a resume? PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML and ODT. Workable publishes this list in its help centre. Plain text files are not included. ### What is the file size limit for a Workable resume? 5 MB. Separately, file uploads attached to custom questions on the same application form are allowed up to 20 MB, so the resume field is the stricter of the two. ### Which parser does Workable use? Workable does not publish this, and no reliable source names it. Claims you may find asserting a specific vendor are not supported by any Workable documentation, so this guide does not repeat them. ### Can I upload a .txt resume to Workable? No. Plain text is absent from Workable's published list of accepted formats, which is worth knowing because .txt is the standard fallback on several other systems. ## Exporting from ATSPrep to Workable ATSPrep exports a linear, single-column, parser-safe document. Against Workable's published list of accepted types: - **PDF** — on Workable's accepted list - **DOCX** — on Workable's accepted list ## The other guides - [Greenhouse](https://atsprep.com/ats/greenhouse) — Greenhouse takes PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF and TXT, and will not parse a resume larger than 2.5 MB. Its own support docs name what makes a parse fail — columns, contact details in a header, abbreviated job titles and more. - [Oracle Taleo](https://atsprep.com/ats/taleo) — Oracle ships Taleo with a 1 MB default attachment limit and no resume parser of its own — parsing only works if the employer has enabled a third-party partner integration, so behaviour differs from one Taleo site to the next. - [SmartRecruiters](https://atsprep.com/ats/smartrecruiters) — SmartRecruiters accepts PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, JPG and PNG at 2 MB per file, and its CEO named Textkernel as the parsing engine — whose own documentation warns about PDFs more bluntly than any resume blog does. - [Ashby](https://atsprep.com/ats/ashby) — Ashby accepts PDF, DOC and DOCX up to 50 MB but does not support Markdown. Its docs name the two reasons a resume fails to parse, and its better parser is an opt-in feature some employers never switch on. - [Manatal](https://atsprep.com/ats/manatal) — Manatal takes PDF, DOC, DOCX and RTF, parses every resume the moment it lands with a parser it built rather than licensed, and keeps the original file where recruiters can open it. ## About ATSPrep ATSPrep (https://atsprep.com) is a free ATS resume checker and builder. It shows the exact text an applicant tracking system extracts from a resume, then grades each bullet on whether it carries evidence a reader can verify. - **Price:** free. Checking, importing, editing and exporting are all unpaid. No export paywall or watermark. A separate Job Hunt Pass is only a waitlist today. - **Account:** none required. An optional email checklist and product waitlist do not block the Studio. - **Your file:** parsed and exported inside the browser. The resume file itself is never uploaded. - **Optional:** one button-gated feature, semantic match, sends selected resume lines and job-posting requirement lines to a matching service. Never your name, email, phone, address or links, and nothing is stored. - **Offline:** works once the page has loaded. - **Accepts:** PDF, DOCX, TXT, Markdown, or pasted plain text. Start here: https://atsprep.com/studio