In short: both spellings are correct. Where a machine reads or searches the word — file name, email subject, application form field — write plain resume. In prose, write résumé with both accents or resume with none, never the half-accented resumé, and keep one form across everything you send.
Companion to how do you spell resume, which covers the dictionaries, UK usage and etymology.
Is resume with accents correct?
Yes. Merriam-Webster lists résumé as the headword with the variants "or resume or less commonly resumé" (checked 2026-10-14); the Chicago Manual of Style defers to Merriam-Webster for spelling. Only the one-accent resumé is marked less common.
Where should you use plain resume?
Wherever software, not a person, handles the word:
- File name:
FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf, ASCII only; an é is one more thing a mail client, zip tool or upload form can rewrite. See naming your resume file. - Email subject lines, form fields and document titles: recruiters search these as plain text.
Do accents break applicant tracking systems?
Not by themselves. The character é is ordinary UTF-8 and parsers read it like any other letter. Two problems are documented, and neither is "the ATS rejects accents":
1.Encoding conversions. Text moved between systems that disagree about the encoding turns résumé into "résumé". A transfer bug; it hits names too.
2.Recruiter search. Whether "resume" also finds "résumé" depends on whether the system folds accents in its index, which vendors do not document.
Both disappear when the searchable copy is plain. See how an ATS reads your resume, and run your file through the free plain text resume converter to list its accented characters.
How do you type é?
| Device or app | How to type é |
|---|---|
| Mac | Hold E and pick é, or Option + E, then E |
| Windows | Alt + 0233 (numeric keypad), or Win + . |
| Microsoft Word (Windows) | Ctrl + ' (apostrophe), then E |
| iPhone and Android | Long-press e and slide to é |
Frequently asked questions
Should I write résumé or resume on my resume?
It usually should not appear at all; the heading is your name. If it does, either form is correct.
Can I name my file résumé.pdf?
No — use FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf; it survives every mail client, zip tool and upload form.
Will an ATS reject my resume for using é?
No documented system does. The known risks are a garbled encoding conversion and a search that may not match the accented form.
Is resumé with one accent wrong?
Not wrong — Merriam-Webster lists it as a less common variant — but readers notice it. Use two accents or none.