Resume work history and employment verificationCreateCV Editorial TeamAug 29, 20267 min read
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A company name can change while your work, manager, team, and employment dates remain continuous. If your resume lists only the old name, a recruiter may not recognize the organization today. If it lists only the new name, the dates on your resume may not match older records. The clearest solution is to treat the employer name as both an identity and a timeline problem: show the name used while you worked there, then add the current or successor name for recognition.
This approach applies when an employer rebranded, changed its legal or public name, merged with another company, or was acquired. It also helps you show promotion and progression without making one continuous employment relationship look like several unrelated jobs. The exact format depends on whether you remained continuously employed and whether the transition materially changed your employment relationship.
The core format: show both company names
Start with the name that is most useful to the reader, then identify the former or successor name in a short parenthetical. Indeed recommends showing both names when useful, using wording such as “formerly” or “previously” to connect the current company with the name that appeared during your employment. See the source’s examples in Indeed’s guidance on renamed companies.
For a simple rebrand, use a company line such as one of these:
Northstar Digital (formerly BrightPath Media) — Chicago, IL
Northstar Digital — formerly BrightPath Media — Chicago, IL
BrightPath Media (now Northstar Digital) — Chicago, IL
Choose the order based on recognition. If the company is now known by Northstar Digital and that is the name a recruiter is likely to recognize, lead with Northstar Digital. If your employment documents, portfolio, or professional contacts primarily use BrightPath Media, lead with the old name and add the current name. The goal is not to make a legal statement about ownership; it is to make the organization easy to identify across time.
Keep the rest of the entry conventional. A resume guide from Queensborough Community College Career Services recommends including the company, location, title, and beginning and ending dates for each position, with positions presented in reverse chronological order. A renamed employer does not remove the need for those basics.
How to preserve a continuous employment timeline
If you stayed continuously with the same organization or team, group your positions under one employer block. Put the company names and transition note at the top, then list each title with its own dates. This makes progression visible and avoids the appearance that you left one employer and immediately joined another.
For example, a rebrand could appear like this:
Northstar Digital (formerly BrightPath Media) — Chicago, IL
Senior Account Manager | Jan 2023–Present
Account Manager | Jun 2020–Dec 2022
This structure gives each role its own title and dates while making the relationship between the roles obvious. It also follows the practical resume principle of showing the beginning and ending dates for each position rather than replacing the entire history with one broad date range.
If the organization was acquired or merged, add the transaction and date beside the employer name. Indeed suggests wording such as “acquired by [new company] in [year]” or “merged with [company] in [month and year].” For example:
Harbor Analytics (acquired by Meridian Group in 2024) — Boston, MA
Product Manager | Mar 2024–Present
Associate Product Manager | Aug 2021–Feb 2024
The transition note supplies context without forcing the reader to interpret two employer names as two unrelated jobs. Grouping multiple roles under one company block is especially useful when the change did not interrupt your employment and your responsibilities developed through promotions.
When to combine entries and when to split them
There is no single formatting choice for every merger, acquisition, or name change. Use the relationship between the jobs as your decision point. The following rule is a practical synthesis of the supplied guidance, not a universal legal requirement: combine entries when employment was continuous; split them when the transition created a genuinely separate employment relationship or materially changed the role.
Use one combined employer entry when
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You remained continuously employed through the name change, merger, or acquisition.
Your team or organization continued substantially through the transition.
You want to show promotions and increasing responsibility as one progression.
The old and new names refer to the same work history from the reader’s perspective.
Use separate entries when
The acquisition created a new legal employer and a new employment period.
Your employment ended and later restarted under the successor company.
The transition produced a materially different role, team, or set of responsibilities.
Separate entries are needed to show distinct dates accurately.
When you split the entries, still connect the names. For example:
Meridian Group (formerly Harbor Analytics) — Boston, MA
Product Manager | Mar 2024–Present
Harbor Analytics — Boston, MA
Associate Product Manager | Aug 2021–Feb 2024
This version is appropriate when the two periods need to be distinguished, but the parenthetical keeps the employer history connected. Do not split an entry merely because the logo, branding, or public name changed if your employment relationship remained continuous.
Write the company line, dates, and bullets clearly
The company line should answer the recognition question quickly: what was the organization called then, and what is it called now? Keep the transition wording short. “Formerly,” “now,” “acquired by,” and “merged with” are usually enough to establish the relationship. Avoid placing a long explanation before your title and accomplishments, because the reader still needs to find your role quickly.
Use exact month and year dates when the transition affects how the timeline is understood. For each position, show the title and beginning and ending dates. If you are still employed, use “Present” as the ending point. Keep the dates consistent across the entire resume so a reader can follow the sequence without calculating gaps.
Your accomplishment bullets should describe what you did in the role, not retell the company transaction. A transition note belongs in the employer heading; your bullets should preserve the evidence of your work. For instance, under a grouped entry, you might separate the accomplishments by title and show how your scope grew from managing campaigns to leading a team. That makes the name change context helpful rather than dominant.
Before submitting, compare the company line and dates with the records a recruiter or verifier may see. Including the former or successor name helps connect those records to the name you use on the resume. It also reduces the risk that a straightforward rebrand will look like unexplained employer turnover.
A practical editing process before you apply
Use this short process to choose and check your format. It is designed for a resume that must be accurate, readable, and easy to compare with employment records.
Write down the company name you used during each period of employment, including the location and exact month-and-year dates.
Identify the current, successor, or merged company name that a recruiter may recognize.
Mark whether your employment was continuous. If it was, draft one employer block; if not, draft separate entries.
Add a concise transition note: “formerly,” “now,” “acquired by,” or “merged with,” plus the year or month and year when relevant.
Place every title in reverse chronological order, with its own dates and accomplishment bullets.
Read the entry as someone unfamiliar with the company. Confirm that the old name, new name, role sequence, and dates can all be understood without additional explanation.
Use the same naming convention in your cover letter, application fields, and professional profiles when those fields allow clarification.
For additional structure, compare your draft with a relevant resume example collection or browse resume templates after you have decided whether the history should be grouped or split. The design should support the timeline decision, not hide it.
The simplest answer to use in most cases
When a company changed names while you remained employed, list both names, preserve the original employment dates, and group your roles under one employer heading. When an acquisition or merger created a genuinely separate employment period, use separate entries but connect them with a parenthetical and, when useful, the transaction date.
A strong entry lets the reader answer three questions immediately: who employed you at the time, what is that organization called now, and how did your role progress? If your format answers all three without making the timeline look fragmented, you have handled the renamed company correctly.