Resume Tips – It’s Proofing Time!
If you have followed our previous 5 posts, you now know how to put together a basic resume in an acceptable business format. You will have listed your CONTACT INFO at the top (updated and active), your EXPERIENCE (which is your work history and it will be in descending order), your EDUCATION (making sure you leave off dates if you are concerned about ageism), followed by your SKILLS, AWARDS and VOLUNTEER SERVICE (when appropriate and valuable to a prospective employer).
All of that probably took you hours to put together as you researched your past employment exact dates, made sure you have the proper title of any Certifications or Degrees, weighed which of your skills are applicable to the job(s) you are seeking, and made sure you know what kind of achievements/awards and volunteer service will benefit you for the employers you plan to contact. (Tip: Check their websites and Linked In profiles). Now you are probably thinking, “Hey! This is great! I am DONE!!!”. But you are wrong. The next thing you need to do is one of the MOST important steps in preparing your resume. It’s time to PROOF IT. Use spell check, then read it again and again. However, when we compose a document, our minds can play tricks. We KNOW what it is supposed to say so when we READ it, we read it as it is supposed to be, which can leave typos and incorrect wording (think of “if” vs “it”). You need to find at least one, but hopefully two, other people who are gifted in proofing, writing, and spelling – but who also are PICKY. Your goal is for each of them to find at least ONE mistake, or one thing you can improve. But whatever you do, if you can possibly help it, do NOT send it out to employers or post it online if you have not gotten proper PROOFING. For resumes with proofing errors, it is usually a fast track ticket to the BAD PILE. If you can’t be 100% when you are representing yourself (when you have plenty of time and resources), then how can the employer expect you to do anything 100% accurately for them? Think about that. And then go find your former English teacher and beg them to check your resume. (High School teachers love former students. I happen to know this for a fact.) 🙂