PROOFREADING

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"Imagine receiving letters with someone who doesn’t know the difference between ‘there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re' "

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Now that you have completed your resume, you must proofread it so that there are no errors. Your resume is your firsthand introduction to your employer. The employer will judge your level of professionalism that you will apply in your company with your resume.

How to proofread effectively?

Just like the first step of meditation is slow breathing exercises, the first step of proofreading is to read your resume slowly, right from your name to the last word. Check for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Next, run your resume on a spell check software on your computer.

In the end, you must read the resume backwards. This is an effective technique as it makes you slow down and you scrutinize every sentence in your resume.

Checklist for proofreading resume

Just to make sure that your resume is free from mistakes, use this checklist.

Spelling mistakes

• Do not use unfamiliar words.
• Use the resources on the internet, or a dictionary to find synonyms and make your resume stand out.
• Make sure to use a spell check software on your resume.
• Read every word on your resume. The spell-check will not find mistakes if you write there instead of they’re.

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Punctuation Mistakes

• Periods must be present at the end of every full sentence.
• The use of punctuation must be consistent.
• Put periods and commas within quotation marks (i.e. Ken Awards including the “Pushkar K. Alam Memorial Award for Social Service Award”).
• Abstain from using exclamation points.

Grammatical Mistakes

• If a sentence begins with a number, do not use a numeral, instead, write it out. (e.g. Twelve awards won while employed)
• All date formats must be consistent.

Check for word usage:

Check out for such ambiguous words.

• Lose (unable to win) / loose (unattached)
• Resign (quit your job) / Re-sign (to sign a contract again)
• Compliment (statement for admiration) / Complement (things that go together)
• Personal (Private) / Personnel (staff members)

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Check dates, Contact Information, Abbreviations and Spacing

• Check dates of your prior employment.
• Check your address and contact information. Make sure that the information is current and correct.
• Check abbreviations of state names. WB for West Bengal, AP goes both for Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, so it better to not use abbreviations in this situation.
• Spacing between categories, they must be consistent.

Resume design is important

• Crowding your resume with features like bold and italics, makes it lose its credibility.
• It is very important to note that all your contact information such as an address, phone number and email address must appear at the top of your resume.
• Print your resume on a good quality A4 size white paper. Only one side of the paper must be printed on.

What to omit from a resume.

• DO NOT mention salary history.
• DO NOT mention gender, age, race, marital status, and other similar personal information, unless you are required to do so, or while writing an international CV.

Remember, resumes are strictly scrutinized, even the smallest of a typo on your resume or cover letter may come between you and the position. The employers will think of you like an easy-going candidate who lacks attention and is unprofessional enough to present careless work.

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