Believe it or not, the naming convention you use to save your resume makes a difference. We have all heard the saying, “It’s the little things” and in the case of the job search, it is absolutely the little things. Which little things you ask? Don’t worry, Career Tracker has your back. We worry about the little details that you may not be aware of so you don’t have to. Below are two little details you don’t have to worry about, courtesy of Career Tracker.
Saving your document as a .pdf
One of the benefits of using the Career Tracker resume builder is that our technology saves your document as a .PDF. When your document is saved as a .PDF vs. a Word document, your resume cannot be tampered with. What this means is that your resume is not able to be accidentally edited as it is emailed around the interview loop. Accidental edits will reveal themselves as typos and weak formatting skills. Both will send your resume straight to the recycle bin and you won’t even know why you were declined.
Resume name
The Resume name is a small thing but it is a biggie. You want to use the Career Tracker resume builder to save and name your resume in a very specific way. Don’t worry, our formatting template sets you up for success. We are very purposeful about this nuance. You want to save your resume with your name and the title you are applying for. So, if you are applying for a bank teller position, you would save your resume as, “John Smith Bank Teller”. (Our naming convention formats FirstName_LastName_TitlePosition so you don’t have to worry) If you are feeling extra outgoing, you could name your document John Smith Bank Teller Extraordinaire.
Business Logic behind naming convention
Most bank teller candidates save their document in one of the following generic formats:
- Resume.pdf
- Smith.pdf.
- Smith 2018.pdf
- 2018.pdf
When a recruiter or hiring manager is looking for your resume in an electronic folder of 100 resumes, “Resume”, “2018”, and “Smith” doesn’t help you stand out as a candidate. This is especially true when the recruiter or hiring manager is hiring for multiple positions. Yes, a lot of larger companies have Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) but not all hiring managers have access to the software. Granting additional hiring managers with access is an additional licensing cost. Hiring managers will often have the recruiter filter through 100 resumes and ask them to forward the top 5 – 7 candidates.
This is a simple trick, but you make the hiring managers job easier when you name your resume and cover letter in a specific manner. At the end of the day, this is what being hired is all about. Making your manager’s job easier.
If you want your resume to stand out in a crowd, use the Career Tracker naming convention.
Key Takeaway: Save your resume with a name that identifies you and your skill set. Set yourself apart from the 100 documents saved as “Resume.pdf” or “John Smith.pdf”.
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