Foolproof Resume Proofreading Tips

As a hiring manager who reviewed thousands of resumes in my years in the corporate world, you would be amazed at the typos that I saw on resumes received from job prospects. But, "it's just a typo" some people may think. Anyone can make an honest mistake, right?

The harsh reality is that an innocent error can raise concerns about an applicant that has submitted an otherwise excellent resume. It can imply that the applicant isn't concerned about details, isn't interested enough to take the extra steps necessary to submit a perfect resume, or is simply careless.

Many jobs will have many applicants, making the competition intense. For sought after positions, it's not uncommon for a hiring manager to receive more than a hundred resumes. It's also not unusual for them to sort through that pile very quickly to select finalists to interview. In fact, Jennifer Shryock, a resume and interviewing expert, states that "a hiring manager might only give each resume a quick 10-15 second review before making a yes or no decision."

Resumes that are not weeded out in the first round may receive a second review of just another minute or two. An error found in the resume during either of the first two rounds can result in the applicant being eliminated from further consideration. An innocent error just isn't worth that, right?

Sometimes even perfectionists can miss their own errors. After working on your resume so extensively, it is easy to miss your own mistakes. Therefore, it is critical that you take extra care to complete a thorough proofing process and correct any errors. Shryock suggests using the steps presented below.

Use spell check. Just don't rely on it. If a word used is the wrong one, but is spelled correctly, a spell checker will not flag it as wrong. For example, a spell checker can't identify misused real words. It won't pick up "their" if used instead of "they're" or the use of "identify" instead of "identity" and similar errors. Spell checkers are also unable to identify words that were omitted entirely.

Proofread from a physical copy. Do not proofread on your computer monitor. Research shows that proofing on screen does not catch nearly as many errors as when proofing from a hard copy. If you absolutely have no choice but to proof it online, be sure to enlarge your text for easy reading, and proof your writing slowly by reading line by line.

Pass your resume by someone else's eyes. Ask someone with strong English skills to proof your work. Often an objective person is able to easily catch errors that you missed when proofing yourself.

Proofread slowly. Once your resume is completed, it's often assumed to be ready to submit after a very quick glance through it. In reality, very thorough proofing takes a good deal of time. Set aside ample time to thoroughly proofread your resume. Always be sure to have another person proofread it as well.

Use your dictionary. Be certain that your word choices are correct. If grammar is not one of your strengths, it's a great idea to hire a grammar expert to check your work and make any necessary modifications.

Read each line aloud. Listen for phrasing. Does it flow awkwardly or sound strange when read aloud? Its not unusual for errors to be caught this way.

Read from the bottom up, reading backwards. When you view your own words in their intended order, you can sometimes see what you "think" you see, rather than the words that are actually there. When you proof from the bottom up, you are reading out of context and are much more apt to recognize errors.

Use a straight edge ruler or even a piece of paper to proof line by line, one at a time. Then, within each line, proof carefully word by word. Review your resume line by line slowly. Avoid the temptation to rush ahead and skim quickly.

Check punctuation closely. It is important to use commas, semi-colons, and other punctuation consistently and correctly. Using accurate punctuation is a problem area for many job applicants. If you are uncertain, consider hiring a grammar expert.

Confirm that bullet points are written in a consistent format. Do all bullets end with a period or not? Begin each bullet with capital letters or not? All start with a verb? Be sure you're consistent.

Review one more time with a fresh perspective. You will see things differently by allowing a day or two to go by since last reviewing your resume. You are likely to find that pesky error that was missed the first time around. And who knows? You just might think of a brilliant point that will make all the difference.

As you've likely heard, you only have one opportunity to make a first impression. It's worth it to take all the necessary steps to ensure that your resume does just that.