Submitting a resume as a Microsoft Word document? Think it is error-free? Take a look again. Do you see any squiggly lines underneath words or phrases indicating Microsoft Word thinks you made an error?
In some cases, Microsoft Word is incorrect. The name of a business you worked for or even an acronym used in your industry may not be recognized within the Microsoft Word dictionary. In those cases it is OK to ignore the squiggly line. However, people often start ignoring them, because they realize the first one they see is Microsoft Word's mistake, and then ignore every instance that shows up on their resume, assuming they are all being highlighted in error. Inadvertently they end up ignoring real spelling or grammatical mistakes. And, since Microsoft Word so kindly highlights them with the squiggly line, they jump right out at the hiring manager who immediately wonders if you have the capacity to provide attention to detail.
Hiring managers have told us it drives them a bit nuts when they find obvious errors on a resume. This is especially the case when Microsoft Word is literally pointing them out to you and you still ignore them and submit anyway! You may say you have excellent written communication skills and thoroughness within your resume, but the document itself demonstrates the opposite! And, that is the only actual proof they have, making it a no-brainer to cast your resume aside and look through the 200 others that have been submitted error-free.
In fact, hiring managers tell us that the top reason causing them to discard a resume is obvious, over-looked mistakes. Keep in mind that they have to narrow down a huge pile of resumes into 5-10 that they can realistically follow-up with and interview. So a hiring manager is not approaching the review process with the "let's see what the person can do for me" frame of mind, but instead is looking to eliminate all candidates that are clearly unworthy of more time and effort so they have a manageable number left.
Don't give the hiring manager an easy reason to discard your resume. You only have one shot to make it on the "follow-up" pile. Either carefully proofread your resume on your own, or let Revision Resume provide you a resume critique, pointing out any issues observed before the hiring manager sees them.
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