Compress a PDF for a job application

Job sites do not share one upload limit. jobs.ch publishes 5 MB, Lever 10 MB, Personio 20 MB, Workday 30 MB, and Greenhouse 100 MB.

This page starts a little under the published jobs.ch limit of 5 MB. Change the portal or the size if the application asks for something else.

Questions

Does the file leave my device?

No. The PDF is compressed in this browser and is not uploaded.

Will the text stay selectable?

The lossless pass and the recompression of embedded images keep the text selectable. If you then turn the pages into images, the text can no longer be copied or searched.

What happens if the file cannot reach this size?

You can download the smallest file that still keeps the text. If that is still too big, you can turn the pages into images. If even that cannot reach the target, the smallest result is shown and can still be downloaded.

How do I start with a smaller PDF?

Fewer pages, a grayscale scan, or a lower scan resolution all make a smaller file. A photo of a page is usually larger than a text scan of the same page.