One of the most common irritations that hiring managers run into, and pastoral search committees are no different, is the titling of resumes. The average position opening may attract anywhere from ten to 100 applicants, and some positions even more than that. Can you imagine as a search committee or pastor rifling through hundreds of resumes?
Now, what if the resumes were all titled the same; specifically “Resume.docx”?
That’s not very helpful when you’re looking for that one resume for Rev. John Smith. Now, reimagine that stack of a hundred resumes and imagine having to reopen dozens of them in order to find that one you’re looking for. So, please don’t title your resume anything like the following:
- Joey’s Resume
- New Resume
- Doc1
- Hireme
- Resmue
Instead, choose a helpful resume title; one that identifies your name and potentially your position or title, such as “JohnSmith-YouthPastor.PDF”. As long as your resume includes your name, you’re ahead of the curve.
Don’t let something as simple as your resume title stop you from getting an interview.