Save Yourself From Typos and Errors!

June 5, 2012

Has this ever happened to you? You spend hours composing a perfect resume and cover letter, getting in touch with all your references to let them know they might get a call, and crossing your fingers. You hit the “Send” button…and as the email screen fades away, you notice a typo or a mistake.

It happens to everyone sooner or later, but depending on the person receiving the email, it could be the difference between a phone call and the trash bin! Here are several methods that can employ to prevent these little disasters— in addition to your software’s spell checker!

Find a Friend
Four eyes are better than two, so change out the email address in the “To” field and swap it to a friend’s. Ideally, this will be a friend with plenty of time to look at your application before it needs to go out, so you might give them a call first and make sure. And hey, if you can find more than one person to look it over, so much the better!

Take Some Time
While your friend (or friends) check your cover letter and resume, step away from the computer and distract yourself by reading a book, cleaning the kitchen, or something else that takes your mind off of the application. Come back to the computer at least an hour or so later, then read over your material with fresh eyes. (If you have the time, let it sit overnight.) You may be amazed at what you missed the first time through!

Read it Out Loud
It’s true that the recipient of your application will see it on a screen, and sometimes an awkward phrasing sounds weird out loud but reads better in text. Still, reading out loud— especially your cover letter —can help you identify any errors because you have to see every single word as well as thinking about how the phrases come together in your head.

Again, these are tricks and tips for after you’ve run a spell check. Spell checkers don’t catch everything (like errors with “your” and “you’re”), but they catch a lot, so make sure to run that first! And if you need help getting your materials together, just contact us.