Stealth Resume Errors: Spell Check Won’t Catch These Mistakes

by 2 min read

Relying on spell check and grammar check to
catch the errors in your resume? Not smart. We all know they may fail to spot misused words like affect when you mean effect or than when you mean then. But they also overlook bland adjectives or present-tense action verbs that
should be past tense. Grammar check often calls out an accomplishment
bullet as an incomplete sentence, although they’re perfectly acceptable in resumes.
Like it or not, there’s just no substitute for the human eye when it comes to proofreading and
critiquing.

Stealth Resume Errors: Spell Check Won't Catch These MistakesFrom Kaboodle, here’s a list of common resume errors, along with a
few more that can derail your job search, if you don’t find them before the employer does.

  • Its
    versus It’s (and all other apostrophes)
  • Sales
    versus Sails
  • Would
    Have     NOT Would of
  • Through
    versus Threw
  • Supposed
    To     NOT Suppose To
  • Wonder
    versus Wander
  • Their
    versus There versus They’re
  • Farther
    versus Further

Other Common Errors

  • Using “I”: First person is assumed in resumes. There’s no need to use I or my.
  • Action
    Verbs:     Always begin a task,
    responsibility or accomplishment bullet with a past-tense action verb, unless
    you’re describing a current job or activity.
  • Improper Capitalization: Only proper nouns should be
    capitalized. Words like software, network, firewall, security, routers, customer service
    and trouble shooting should not be capitalized. Cisco or Microsoft should be
    capitalized.
  • Lack
    of Theme or Direction:     One size doesn’t fit all when it
    comes to resumes. If the reviewer can’t spot your technical qualifications
    right off the bat or see why you’re a fit for the position, it’ll end up in the reject pile.
  • Lackluster: You need to include the
    keywords from the job posting, but also to paint a picture for the
    reviewer by injecting colorful adjectives and descriptive phrases. Create a
    list of adjectives that describe your personality, style and work environments,
    and then use it as a cheat sheet to write a colorful resume.

— Leslie Stevens-Huffman

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