Is it ok to send a CV as a PDF by email to someone who's expecting to receive it in some form, or is there some etiquette in certain situations where a hardcopy by snail mail is preferable? A colleague mentioned me to a Head of Dept in another college about getting some more teaching. He is apparently looking for new tutors to possibly start next term, so I'm supposed to send him my CV asap. I've never met him myself, though he knows my colleague and my supervisor. I was just going to email it off as the post's still a bit unpredictable around here, but then wondered if I was making a bit of a faux pas?

Any advice would be welcome. :-)

I would just email it. Most people mean "by email" when they talk about sending things anyway these days, and besides as a head of department, he will be checking his email regularly and appreciate the ease at which he can just print your copy out....

I would have thought this was fine. You're sending it somewhat speculatively, so email is a good option, and the person can always print it out if they want to. They can also read it on the computer easily. My husband (a post-doc) has also sent his CV in this way before.

======= Date Modified 16 Nov 2009 20:17:15 =======
I thought people might be too busy with the moral decay thread to respond, so thank you both for your speedy responses!! :-)