What Do I Name My Resume? IT MATTERS!
March 3rd, 2011I saw this tweet from my technical recruiter friend Robert Merrill:
Robert always has fun information… I clicked on his “proof” link, which goes to a great post on how to name your resume, as well as 9 ways to NOT name your resume.
Click to see his post titled YES! Your Resume’s File Name DOES Matter
What is your resume named?
It really matters!
That is helpful advice straight from the recruiter. I’ve never sent a simple resume.doc, but I have embedded the date in it. I like the idea of putting branding right in the title.
Lew Sauder, Author, Consulting 101: 101 Tips For Success in Consulting (www.Consulting101Book.com)
Lew, if I was hiring a consultant, and saw that in the title of their resume, i wouldn’t surely read it!
*Would! I would surely read it!
Good points. (Except for the dig at librarians–I am one and didn’t appreciate it.)
I don’t remember when and how I figured out that the filename matters, but I always make sure it has my name in it–and usually the date I sent it in, especially if I applied for a position at the same organization a few years ago.
As for formats, again, you’re absolutely right. I have the advantages of having been around in the early days of email attachments, when getting anything to work was dicey, and of having used WordPerfect, OpenOffice, and NeoOffice as well as Word. PDF–always.
Good thing I didn’t dig at librarians… Robert! LOL
Lol. I thought I posted a reply already.
I only meant that librarians are very organized and that some resumes I receive employ a tracking mechanism so complex it rivals the Dewey Decimal System.
When I was interviewing recent college grads, I thought it was interesting to see their file names with the function I was working in, which was PR. So the file name would be “Jane Doe — PR” It made it seem like they were applying to a variety of functions at various companies, which they likely were … but I didn’t need to know.
You got it! That’s exactly the point — use the resume’s title to explain who you are and what you’re looking for.
I see what you mean, Robert. No problem. I’ll refrain from assigning DDC numbers to my resumes–when sending them out, anyway.