Your resume is the first impression most companies will have of you. It can feel impossible to distill your entire character on one or two pages, but it’s an important step. Employers review resumes and have to make a quick decision about the next steps. A simple spelling mistake can make all the difference. Here are some of the most common spelling mistakes and how to make sure they’re not on your resume.
Simple Typos
A number one cause of misspellings on a resume is simple typos. They may be things that even your spell check won’t catch because they are words, but not the right words. Watch out for common mistakes like:
- Manger instead of manager
- Principal versus principle
- It’s instead of its
When writing your resume, look over it carefully to avoid typos. Ask for help, too, since we sometimes miss these simple errors simply because we know what they should be.
Wrong Words
Some words are commonly used in the wrong way as well. For example, affect and effect can be easy to mix up. Affect is a verb meaning you’ve had an impact, but effect is the noun representing the result of the change. Insure and ensure are similarly mixed-up words. Review everything to make sure you’re using the right one.
Grammar Errors
While spelling is a big issue, grammar is also a concern for many companies. Don’t randomly capitalize, make sure you haven’t used apostrophes in plural words, and avoid run-on sentences. You also have to make sure you don’t shift tenses. Many people shift from present tense to past tense, but it’s best to keep it consistent.
Company Names
When you include the formal names of past employers, make sure you’re spelling them correctly. Some company names can be more challenging to spell, so always double-check. For example, if you worked for the German car company Volkswagen, make sure you haven’t misspelled it as Volkswagon. It’s also common to add an S at the end of a company name, so avoid that mistake.
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