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Who Should Proofread Your Resume Before You Send it to Potential Employers?

April 4th, 2018

You spend hours poring over your resume, trying to include every relevant detail. Finally, you send it off and on average, a recruiter will give you a six-second chance. This means a few things for the job seeker – make sure your layout is memorable, concise, and you avoid any obvious errors. In a Grammarly audit of 50 resumes on Indeed, they found an average of five errors among men and women in the United States.

 

Most programs contain some form of spell check, but some of the worst errors aren’t spelling. You can use incorrect grammar, fail to hyphenate properly, slip in and out of tenses, use several formatting styles or fall into passive voice. Because recruiters and employees read through resumes constantly, avoiding these common mistakes is essential to give you the best chance. Knowing the importance of reviewing prior to submission, the question becomes who should proofread your resume before you send it to potential employers?

 

You

Once you’ve completed your resume, sleep on it and don’t come back until you’re well-rested. This gives you time away because being too close to a project can blind you to very obvious errors. Print two copies of your resume in two different fonts and read through your original version first. Go line by line, word by word, and check everything. Are you keeping your tone active? Do you format your dates the same way? Did you confuse accept with except anywhere? Read it silently to yourself, then read it aloud. After you’ve proofed this version, move on the second with a different font. This change may make it easier to catch errors you may have missed.

 

Friends/Family

After you’ve made your edits, pass it along to people close to you who you trust. These additional sets of eyes may pick up on minor or major mistakes you were accustomed to noticing. More than simple editing, they maybe have a good grasp on language and provide additional feedback about wording and word choice.

 

Mentor/Someone Working in the Field

Finally, pass the edited version to your mentor if the position is in the same field or someone currently working in the field where you’re applying. They will review it for relevant content, making sure you’re including the information about your experience and abilities employers want to see.

 

We’re here to help!

While recruiters may only glance at your resume, we at Staffing Resources are here to make sure you’re noticed. We care about you and will work with you to develop your professional skills and find you the perfect job opportunity to use them. Learn more today!

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