Top Proofreading Tips for Your Resume

by Debra Wheatman on Nov 19, 2010 in Resume Writing, Resume Writing Advice

After you have re-read your resume at least 40 or 50 times, the words tend to become a big blur. However, even one misspelled word or grammatical error can cost you an interview. Perfection is the goal when it comes to resume writing. It is for this reason that our firm employs a professional proofreader to review all our resumes.

Unfortunately, it is all too easy to miss something glaring; so if you decide to go the do-it-yourself route, be sure to have as many people as possible double-check your work. Errors in spelling and grammar are the most common infractions, but poor punctuation and inconsistent style are frequent issues as well. Following are some basic guidelines to help make all your career documents error free:

Don’t trust spell-checker.

1. While doing a spell check is helpful, it is not a panacea. There is no substitute for the human eye.
2. Many words are part of the English language and can be missed by spell-checker.
3. Manger, loose, and principle are all technically correct, but on a resume, they may be typos for the words manager, lose, and principal.

Check your verb tenses very carefully.

1. It is all too common to see the past and present incorrectly co-mingled.
2. When using the combination of a paragraph with a bulleted list, the paragraph portion should be in the present tense if you are referencing your current employment.
3. Bullets listing your accomplishments should be in the past.

Consistency is King.

1. While it is acceptable for resume styles to vary quite a bit, whatever you decide to do must be consistent throughout the document.
2. If you use periods at the end of bulleted items in your resume, use them from beginning to end on every single bullet.
3. Make sure that when you bold a job title, every single job title is bold so they all match.
4. Font styles, font sizes, dashes, and dates should all be in sync.

Triple-Check Contact Information.

1. As obvious as it may seem, pay special attention to the accuracy of all of your contact information.
2. Make sure phone numbers and emails are correct on both resumes and cover letters.
3. Be sure to include your name, phone and email on page two of the resume, in case the pages get separated by accident.

While it is always preferable to have a professional writer and proofreader correct your resume, these tips should help you to focus on the most important items to review for accuracy. By presenting a resume that is error free, you will dramatically increase your chances of getting an interview and be one step closer to getting that new job!