Fashion Mode

What's in a Name? A LOT if it's Your Resume's Name!

When I began writing resumes for friends and family- many many moons ago, the technology I had was a Brother Word Processor. No computer, no tablet PC... just a word processor. Today, resumes are digital. Word Docs, PDF, online, in the 'cloud'... pretty much everywhere BUT paper. Yes, I know you print out copies to take to interviews, but the days of having a file folder with 200 copies of your resume are over.

That's a good thing, though. Technology has made it easy to share, easy to search, easy to save, easy on the planet. It's all good. But the thing people have FORGOTTEN is that in the attempt for job seekers to keep their resume files organized, they are forgetting that other people read not only the content, but the file name you give your sweet piece of hard work.

What do most people name their resumes?

resume.doc: Really? This company has placed an ad for not only the position you are applying to, but it's quite likely they are hiring for multiple positions. You think you're the ONLY resume.doc? In order to save it, they are going to have to rename it. That's a pain in the rear end. Trust me on this.

2010 resume.doc - I say again - REALLY? Now I know that you haven't updated in at LEAST 2 years. And I will still have to rename it, most likely.

2012 resume.doc - well, at least its recent. But why do you have resumes saved by year? Do you look for a new job every year? Why? As my teenager would say, "you're acting suspect"!

Faecbook_Resume.doc - If you're applying for a job at a company (say, Facebook), and you use that company name in the resume file name, please spell it right!

Resume10_v3.doc - It doesn't really matter to me what version your resume is, and in and of itself, but the whole version thing just annoys me!

So, are you committing any of these Resume Naming Sins? I hope not, but chances are... yes. You are.

So what SHOULD you name your brainchild of a resume? Here's a few (better) options:

Fae, Rukia Resume.doc (Last Name, First name)

ResumeWriterRukiaFae.doc (Job Title and Name)

BeachResumeFae. doc (company name you are applying for and your last name)

Seeing the trend? Include your name in some fashion, and the job title is great as well. Of course, anything is better than the sins listed above...

Another thing to keep in mind... Not every one is working off the same version of Word. Some companies don't even USE Microsoft. This is why I ALWAYS include a PDF version with my resumes. And you should ALWAYS include a PDF version of your resume when you are sending it to a company. This saves a couple of hassles- 1- If they are using a different Word version than you, the formatting you use may come out ALL scrambled on THEIR system. If it looks like garbage or a discombobulated mess, they are NOT going to try and read it!

And 2- If they are not using Microsoft products, a PDF is pretty much a safe bet that they can read it!

PDF files are, for the most part, universal. I always recommend sending the PDF version if at all possible.