When you submit a resume to a potential employer (or to a recruiter) it is important to put your best foot forward. While the resume may be perfect, the title of the resume may tell the recipient more than you want them to know.
As you know, we at Sand Search advocate tweaking your resume for EVERY potential opportunity. This gives you the opportunity to highlight the relevant experience for the specific employer. But what you don’t want is your resume to let the reader know where else you have sent the resume or what other positions you are seeking.
Let me give you an example of actual resume titles I have seen:
“Resume version 9”
“Non-government position resume”
“Legal Resume”
“Grocery List”
“Litigation Resume”
“2014 Resume”
“Firm or in-house resume”
“firm name resume” (where firm name was filled out and the wrong firm).
Even if the resume is well-written, when I get a resume that is titled ‘Version #9’, I wonder what was in the previous 8 versions and also wonder if there is a 10th version out there somewhere. When I see non-government resumes, I know that the candidate is also pursuing government positions. The same is true when I know that there are both law firm and in-house versions available. When it has the wrong firm name, I know that employers wonder why you applied to another firm and why you didn’t get that job.
So what should you do? Make sure that the resume you send has a reasonable title. I like your name and “resume”. For example: “Sandok Resume” or “Resume – Craig Sandok” would be best. Stating the specific firm name is also appropriate. If your resume has a date (which we don’t recommend) make sure that it is current. Finally, ensuring that the document is in a PDF format prevents others from backing out your changes and seeing prior drafts, titles or metadata.
These simple changes can make a big difference when sending resumes to others. Take a moment to look in your document folder to see how you have your resumes labeled!