Naming Your CV File: The Professional UK Standard

## The Perfect CV File Name: A Professional Guide In the UK recruitment market, attention to detail is often used as a primary filter. A messy filename—like marketing-cv-draft.docx—signals a lack of care before a consultant has even read your personal statement. Your CV file name serves two purposes: **Professionalism** and **Discoverability**. ## The UK Standard Convention For the British market, we prioritise the Surname and the Role. The recommended format is: **Surname-Firstname-CV-Role.pdf** Example: Pine-Gary-CV-Marketing-Director.pdf ### Why Surname first? Many UK recruitment databases and legacy filing systems still sort alphabetically by Surname. By front-loading your surname, you ensure you are filed correctly in local folders. ## Common Mistakes to Avoid ### 1. The "Untitled" Disaster ❌ Document1.pdf ❌ CV.pdf **The Risk:** Recruitment consultants often download dozens of CVs a day. If yours is named "CV.pdf", you force them to rename it manually to save it. Do not give them homework. ### 2. The "Internal" Monologue ❌ Gary-CV-Draft-For-Review.pdf ❌ Gary-CV-2025-New.pdf **The Risk:** Words like "Draft," "New," or "Review" suggest the document is unfinished. You want to project confidence and finality. ## Technical Mechanics: Hyphens & Case ### Use Hyphens, Not Spaces Never use spaces in a filename (Gary Pine CV.pdf). Why? Some older applicant systems convert spaces into %20, turning your file into: Gary%20Pine%20CV%20Marketing.pdf This looks broken and unprofessional. Always use hyphens (-) or underscores (_). ## PDF vs Word (The 2025 UK Reality) The debate continues, but the evidence is now clear: **For ATS Parsing:** A `.docx` file (standard Microsoft Word) is the safest format. ATS parsers are optimised for Word documents and extract data more reliably. **For Human Readers:** PDF locks in your formatting across devices. **The Verdict:** If uploading to an online portal, use `.docx`. If emailing directly to a recruiter, use PDF. When in doubt, check the job advert for specific instructions. Many UK recruiters strip personal details before forwarding CVs to clients. Word makes this easier for them—which means your application moves faster. ## Summary Checklist Before you hit "Send" or "Upload," check your file against these rules: - [ ] Does the file start with your Surname? (e.g. Pine-Gary) - [ ] Does it include the target Job Title? - [ ] Have you removed all version numbers (v2, final)? - [ ] Are you using the right format? (.docx for portals, PDF for direct emails)