One Mistake That Can Ruin Your Resume

The one mistake that can ruin your resume? Mistakes.

A recent study by a national employment website found that one out of four executives will throw a resume in the garbage (or hit the “delete” button) as soon as they spot a typo. Ouch! All the hard work you put into drafting and creating a resume can go down the drain in an instant if you fail to proofread it properly.

Sometimes, even the most meticulous people can miss a typo or a grammatical error, so be sure to do the following before sending out your resume:

Use a fresh pair of eyes

– Ask your friends, family members, and even professors to proofread your resume. Once you have written and read over your own writing you won’t be able to spot mistakes as easily – thank you human brain. A second or third set of eyes reviewing the material will help weed out grammar mistakes, typos, and awkward sentences.

Take a break between reviews

– Take a breather to clear your head and relax your eyes. Afterwards, you may be surprised to find errors you missed. It’s a good idea to prepare your resume the night before, and re-read it carefully the next morning.

Put pen to paper

– Look carefully at a hard copy of your resume. Print it out. It’s easier to spot typos and formatting errors on a printed sheet than on a computer monitor. Read through it backwards sentence by sentence and then paragraph by paragraph and mark up all your edits before going back to the computer.

Pay attention to word

– If preparing your resume as a Word document, pay attention to the markings indicating misspelled words and incorrect grammar, even if you believe you’re in the right. Many employers will view the document on software that highlight the same errors. Try and find other ways to word the sentence.

Read it out loud

– Finally, read your resume to yourself out loud. This will help you “hear” how others will read your document, and it will help you identify phrases that are clumsy or don’t make sense. Let your ears catch what your eyes can’t.

Make sure you exhaust all options for editing before submitting your resume. Typos are preventable mistakes that can cost you the job. If you feel uncomfortable asking friends, family, or professors, you can turn to Modern Tailored Resumes for all your career service needs.