Below are two things all candidates need to know when saving a resume file and how they should title it.

Saving your resume with the last updated date in the saved title is a no no.

I get a lot of resumes sent to me. One of the things that stick out to me right away is when a candidate saves their resume with their first name, last name and a date on it.

ex. Heidi Dunavant 1-22-2025

it’s generally not recommended to include the date you last updated your resume when sending it to recruiters. While it’s a good practice to keep your resume current, adding a specific date can sometimes make it seem less polished or even suggest a potential for ongoing updates, which can be unnecessary.

It also makes me wonder why did you change your resume in January. Have you been looking for a new job since January?

Are you actually even still employed?

What happened in January that you had to update your resume?

Here’s why:

• Focus on the Content:
• Avoid Appearance of Inconsistency:
• Recruiters Understand Updates:
• Keep it Clean and Professional:

Instead of including a date, ensure your resume is always up-to-date with your most recent skills, experiences, and achievements. You can also tailor your resume to each specific job application to highlight the most relevant information.

When a Date Might Be Necessary:

There might be specific circumstances where including a date could be beneficial, but these are rare:

• Tracking Multiple Versions:
• Internal Tracking:

However, in most cases, it’s best to keep your resume clean and focused on the content, without including a specific date of update.

Issue #2. Stop sending over files that do not have your first name and last name on them

ex. 14632.bgrjm.pdf

This shows that you are not paying attention to the document you sent to the recruiter and were too lazy to actually save it in your computer with your full name on it. This means I have to resave it with your first and last name so that I can access it again when I am looking for it.

It does show a lack of professionalism if you do not have your full name saved on your resume.

ex. Heidi Dunavant resume

See, it’s that simple!