How to proofread your resume

You feel proud of yourself. That resume has been written or updated.  Are you done?  Well, unless you have carefully proofread it, absolutely not.  Sending out a resume with errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, or font use is a big faux pas and can torpedo any chances of having hard work get a serious review.

At Key Corporate Services, we see lots of resumes.  While most are fine, some do arrive from candidates with errors of the kind previously mentioned.

So, here are some tips that can help you avoid those common errors in your resume.

Print it out. 

It’s amazing how reviewing a document like a resume on paper enables you to see errors not visible on a computer screen. Medical professionals say its because the human eye reads copy off a paper differently from that viewed on a computer screen.

Let the resume sit for a day before you go back and proofread it again.

It’s true that a “rested” set of eyes will see things tired eyes don’t. Coming back to a resume and reading it after a period of time has passed will help you to see mistakes not noticed initially.

Read it out loud.  Your ear will hear mistakes the eye sometimes misses. And another idea is to use a finger to follow each word on a page as you read.  This technique forces you to slow down and concentrate on the individual words making it easier to find any errors.

Read it backwards.  Reading backwards accomplishes a few things: It breaks the logical flow of language, removing the distinct words from their context and making it hard for our brains automatically to correct spelling or capitalization.

Have a friend read your resume.  Have two copies of the resume, one for you and one for your friend. One person reads out loud while the other follows along on their copy. Often times, this process reveals errors not previously found.

Check your fonts and make sure they are all standardized

Watch those bulleted lists.  Use periods only if the bulleted point is a complete sentence.

Following these simple tips will help you ensure your hard efforts at creating a great resume are not shortchanged by simple, yet avoidable mistakes.

From The Key Corporate Services Blog Team