The most common blunder by job seekers? It’s misspellings and grammatical errors, according to a recent survey on behalf of The Creative Group, a staffing service in Menlo Park, Calif.
A survey of 250 marketing and advertising executives tagged inattention to spelling and other details as the biggest problem with resumes. Second was providing too much information.
Other resume mistakes included:
* Ineffective layout or design.
* Insufficient information.
* Inaccurate information.
* Information that is unrelated to the job.
For me, job seekers need to go no further than send me a resume with typos or other errors. The survey found that 33 percent of the respondents found that to be the most common mistake.
For me, it’s a pet peeve.
I believe that if you want a job in journalism, your resume ought to be perfect in spelling, grammar and accuracy.
I’m not saying that I’m perfect. Regular readers know that I’m not above making a mistake. But I don’t believe that I’ve ever sent out a resume that I hadn’t checked for accuracy 10 times myself and also had others proofread.
Apparently, that’s not real common with some folks.
The executives surveyed volunteered some of these glitches:
Languages: “Speak English and Spinach.”
Cover letter: “I prefer a fast-paste work environment,” “I’m attacking my resume for you to review” and “My work ethics are impeachable.”
Duties: “I was the company’s liaison with the sock exchange.”
I recently hired Michelle Dunlop to cover aerospace while Bryan Corliss pursues a master’s degree through a fellowship granted by Columbia University in New York City.
Among the applicants was one who thought it was important to tell me he had top-secret clearance while an Army lieutenant. That’s interesting, but not really relevant to the job.
Another applicant, in writing about his technical skills, mentioned strong experience in “internet browsers” and “Internet research.” According to Herald style, Internet is capitalized. I probably wouldn’t have minded it either way, but it’s certainly wrong to capitalize it in one circumstance and to not capitalize it in another.
Still another candidate described himself as “an exceptionally strong candidate for your aerospace reporter opening.”
He had a lot of experience, but he didn’t make the cut of my top three candidates. I think resume writers should let the person doing the hiring decide who the exceptionally strong candidates are.
Dave Willmer, executive director of The Creative Group, suggests that people shouldn’t just rely on computers to catch errors.
“The spell-check function often offers a false sense of security – it won’t spot problems such as misused words.”
I personally have never liked spell check because it wants to change my name from Mike Benbow to Mike Bon-bon. I would never rely on it alone, although it’s a good way to find a lot of misspellings.
Willmer suggests job seekers should think like editors to refine their applications.
“This includes cutting information that doesn’t add to the story they want their resumes to tell and ensuring the design and layout enhance the reader’s ability to quickly understand their strengths and qualifications,” he said. “An extra set of eyes is always helpful.”
Good advice.
Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com.
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