According to one survey, recruiters spend less than 10 seconds reviewing each resume. So, it is essential to make a powerful first impression in seconds and avoid any shortcomings that can turn off the employer.
The simplest way to polish your resume is to proofread it before sending it. Proofreading helps ensure that your resume is free from grammar, style, spelling, and other issues and presents your best side to employers. Many job-seekers don’t take the time to proofread their resume. However, with today’s competition, sloppy formatting and grammar mistakes can easily cost you an interview.
In this article, we will explain why every job-seeker should consider professional proofreading and how you can correct a resume on your own.
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How can expert resume proofreading give you a head start?
When it comes to your career success, even the tiniest details matter. Sometimes, job-seekers make mistakes in their resumes without realizing it. A professional resume proofreading service can save the day. A CV proofreading expert will check your resume for all kinds of errors, improve formatting, and polish every section. What’s even more important, a professional editor predicts what can confuse the hiring manager and fixes all minor errors and shortcomings.
The advantages of expert resume proofreading
The cooperation with a resume editor can bring you the following benefits:
Accurate, error-free writing
The main thing that a resume proofreader does is check grammar, spelling, and punctuation in your resume. Recruiters see minor mistakes as sloppiness or lack of interest in a position, and 59% of hiring managers reject resumes with mistakes. Some misspelled words can also cause huge confusion – for example, if you use “pubic relations” instead of “public relations”.
A resume proofreader checks your resume word by word, ensuring accurate writing, correctness of proper names, consistent punctuation, and many more. With an impeccably written resume, you’ll find it easier to impress the recruiter.
Better flow and readability
In addition to correcting minor mistakes, a resume editor works on the word choice if necessary. They also ensure that each bullet point and each sentence make sense to the reader. An editor will help you describe your experience and skills more persuasively by replacing conversational language or jargon with professional terms and expressions.
The proofreader can also adjust the resume structure and order of sections. For example, entry-level candidates should place their education information above their work experience, and vice versa. An editor will correct the structure of your document depending on your experience and goals.
Removing the redundant information
Modern resumes have a two-page limit. Recruiters don’t like lengthy resumes and, in some situations, toss them. With this in mind, a resume editor can remove irrelevant or outdated information from your resume. They can remove jobs you had 17 years ago, obsolete skills, or unrelated part-time positions. With a concise, focused resume, you will have a better chance to be a good fit for the role.
Improved formatting
When it comes to the success of your resume, visual appeal is just as important as content. The overall structure of the document, the colors you use, the fonts, and even the size of bullet points all contribute to the impression your resume makes.
Resume proofreaders use plain, professional formatting to emphasize the critical details in the resume, make it visually structured, and draw attention. Resumes with aesthetically pleasing yet neat arrangements are favored by employers.
Higher chances for an interview
A professional proofreader will help you secure a desired job interview by fixing minor issues and writing mistakes in your resume. More importantly, an expertly edited resume will give you confidence during the job application. You will no longer hesitate if your resume is good enough and whether you’ve formatted it well, as resume editors use their expertise and understanding of the hiring process to make your resume shine.
How do you proofread your resume like a pro?
To effectively proofread a resume on your own, follow these guidelines:
- Put it aside for a while. After you’ve written your resume, distance from it for at least an hour so you can check it refreshed. Thus, you will be more focused throughout the process and spot more mistakes.
- Read it aloud slowly. When you look through your resume in silence, everything might look great. Yet, once you read it aloud, you will instantly notice long sentences, incorrect word choices,s and awkward phrases.
- Print it on paper. We read text on paper differently than on a computer screen and focus more attentively on each word. So, print your resume, take a colored pen, and correct mistakes as you read. By using this method, you will catch minor issues such as commas, typos, and misspelled words easier.
- Check tenses. Your past jobs and projects should go in the past tense. When describing ongoing roles and activities, use the present tense. Misusing tenses can confuse the reader.
- Eliminate repetitions. Repeating managed three times in a bulleted list is a sure way to make your resume sound dull. Vary your word choice and replace words with synonyms – for example, directed, supervised, or orchestrated.
- Check capitalization, commas, and pronouns. A resume shouldn’t use first-person pronouns, such as I or my. Use capital letters at the beginning of sentences and bullet points. Ensure punctuation is consistent: if you use a comma at the end of the bulleted statement, do so in all resume sections.
- Double-check your contact details. Be careful when checking crucial information, such as your name, phone number, email, and links. If you misspell a letter or a figure, the recruiters will have difficulty contacting you.
- Use an online spell checker. An online spell-checking tool like Grammarly can streamline your proofreading process and correct minor mistakes. It can also help you enhance the clarity of your writing. However, do not trust any software entirely, and check the text yourself.
- Organize sections in a logical order. Ensure you’ve listed your experience chronologically, starting with the most recent role. Place education after the work experience if you have 2+ years of professional experience.
- Work on formatting. Font size and type should be consistent in the document. You may use a different font for your name and subheadings. An optimal font size is 10-12 pts – this font is easy to look through. All idents and bullets should have the same formatting.
- Ask for help. If you are unsure how to format some sections or are afraid of missing something, don’t hesitate to contact a professional. An experienced editor will correct mistakes you have overlooked, improving the quality of your resume and helping you win more interviews.
Expert resume proofreading can open more doors, helping you impress busy recruiters with a perfectly formatted, organized, and error-free resume. If editing a resume on your own doesn’t bring you the desired result, hiring a professional can make all the difference. A proofreader will work on grammar, punctuation, and formatting to help you make a great first impression and reach your professional goals.