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A  recruiter gives me a call on the same day as I send out a new version of my CV. So I try to ascertain which version of my CV he has. Not easy and I have to make an educated guess.

I think it is inevitable that people will have many copies of their CV out int he world on Job boards, recruiter and company websites etc. As well as tailored CVs for some vacancies.

My solution is to give every CV I send out a unique file name and include a simple name in the CV Footer for easy reference. Has anyone ever had this problem, tried this approach out and found it useful or come up with a better idea?

mpew914's picture

Hi, N. Willis,

I am not an expert on job searches so I will not respond with any kind of authority here...  I think this is a great idea and if I get into a similar situation I am going to try it.  If you keep the footer small and unobtrusive I can't see where it will be an issue.  Same with the file name.  A unique alpha-numeric code plus your name should work fine.  Let's face it...  A two digit code can give you about 1300 combinations.  If you have more resumes than that you should change careers to recruiting!

Thanks for the great idea!

nwillis's picture

That's a great idea for a 2 digit code, i hadn't thought of that and so so simple, the full range of numbers and letters so it doesn't matter about classifying which type of CV it is. With 2 digits that can be sending out up to 5  per day. Brilliant. Thanks to you also.

t_viemont's picture

You could also put the footer info in a white font, so that you could see it when it was highlighted but wouldn't show up otherwise. 

nwillis's picture

Ah, there is more than just a mile of goodness in that.

Last week I had a call from a recruiter. She could not offer me a job, but when I asked her she said the reference at the bottom of my CV was C16PUB. That stands for Chronological Version 16, Public. That is my basic one without my home address. So I   could then send her one with my address on it. SO it has helped to have it available.

But your idea is obvious and brilliant because there are other things that can go at the bottom such s full and original file name, last review date, where it was posted etc which at some point may be useful to me but nobody else.

So I will take your idea very seriously and give it a good old hammering and see how much good I can get out of it.

 

Thanks again

mainer's picture

I had the same problem, and like you, I used the header/footer section to ensure I knew to whom I had sent the resume. I have about 7 different resumes and I know how I used them. Moreover, I save all of them in a folder and each file is named in this format: Resume for ABC (yyyy)

nwillis's picture

HI

Thanks for that, it seems a better solution to a common problem. But I like your renaming idea and may make better use of white writing in the footer.