The Washington Post gives us these startling figures from hiring executives:
In interviews with 150 senior executives from the nation's 1,000 largest companies, 40 percent of the respondents said that just one typo on a résumé would kick a job candidate out of the queue for consideration. Thirty percent said it would take just two mistakes before the résumé was discarded.
Let this serve as a reminder -- you need to proofread your resume. In fact, here's what I'd suggest you do with it once you have your resume written:
1. Run it through spellcheck.
2. Print it out and read it yourself.
3. Read it again.
4. Send it to a few friends/co-workers and have them proofread it for you.
Remember, two small, simple errors will eliminate you from consideration from 70% of the potential employers out there. And especially in today's tough job market, this is a problem you simply can not afford to let happen.
To really proofread anything, try reading it from the end and go backwards.
For some reason, it really makes the errors jump out at you.
Posted by: MC | September 03, 2009 at 08:24 PM
There really should be no errors. For many, their resume is a document that's been continually updated and (hopefully) improved.
Posted by: Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog | September 04, 2009 at 11:08 AM
It is amazing how many people do not proof their own resumes. I used to work in advertising and we were hiring for a Proofreader. We received about 20 resumes and over half of them had spelling errors!
It's a good habit to get into. Proof everything you send out - memos, emails, blogs, etc. It doesn't take long. There's nothing worse for me than having to read a business email that has a bunch of typos!
Posted by: Marc B. | September 04, 2009 at 01:05 PM
Hardly startling. If you want a job you should at least make the effort to turn in a perfect resume. Far more startling is how many people don't!
Posted by: Simplyforties | September 12, 2009 at 09:35 PM