Job Search Secret: Naming Your Résumé

In a recent study of more than 10,000 résumé files from a variety of industries, a résumé-writing firm found that the file names of more than half, 54 percent, did not contain the job seeker's name.

I have to concur with it's findings. Last week a former client of mine who has been an HR executive for many years, sent me her resume so I could forward it to a contact at a company I knew. Well wouldn't you know the file name of her resume was "final_version.doc" - I had to scold her for not following a basic job hunting rule.

Don't call your résumé "résumé.doc." It means a recruiter will be forced to spend time renaming the file - assuming you've made the cut. Make it easy for people to find your résumé. Use your name in it. Call it "John Smith résumé.doc."