You would think that when a person applies for a new job, they would take care to put their best image forward. People agonize over whether to wear the blue or brown blazer to the interview, but, amazingly, they don’t proofread their resumés for basic blunders. Then they never get the chance to choose which blazer to wear, because their resumé gets tossed on the reject pile the moment the employer or recruiter sees the mistakes.
Recruiters and Human Resources managers tell me that they are astounded by the number of grammatical errors and typos in the resumés they receive. People seem to shoot off job applications without even bothering to proofread or run Spell Check. One HR person did the courtesy of telling a candidate that there were errors on his resumé. He responded, “OK, but will I get the interview?” No, he did not. When he learns to spell and punctuate, he might be ready for a job.
Resumé Errors Make You Laughable – Not Hireable
An HR consultant recently told me of some resumé blunders that sent her spinning. One was substituting costumer for customer. Unless your customers are designing dresses for theatrical productions, I’m pretty sure this is a typo. But here’s one she saw three times in one day: fast-paste in place of fast-paced. I suppose this would work if someone in a theater was gluing together outfits for the costumers. Then a staff person could legitimately write that they were serving costumers in a fast-paste environment. Barring that, they’re out of luck in the job-search department.
Here are some other mistakes we’ve seen:
I will defiantly contribute to your organization (in place of definitely)
I singed and dated invoices for payment (in place of signed, unless they had some strange bookkeeping procedures)
I am a master at deploring (in place of deploying: “I can deplore people all over the world.”
My manger trusted me (in place of manager)
I have broad experience in the pubic sector. (in place of public)
How to Avoid Resumé Blunders
Proofread, proofread, proofread. Use the Spelling and Grammar Checker in MS Word, but do not rely on it exclusively. Many of the worst errors are simply the wrong words! Then run it through Grammarly. Then print it out and put it aside for a day or two. After letting it marinate, read it aloud, watching carefully for where you might have misused a word.
In the end, ask a trusted friend to read it for you and tell you if you’re embarrassing yourself. Then sprinkle magic dust on it and hope for the best.
On a broader scale, build your vocabulary and knowledge of the language by reading different periodicals and books. The more you see how others write, the better a feel you will have for how you can write.
And never underestimate the importance of using the right words and phrases and spelling them right.
Bonus: If you love real-life malapropisms and bloopers, join Reddit’s Bone Apple Tea feed. The mistakes are sure to bring a smile.
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