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Proofreading your CV

Too many people rely on Microsoft Word’s built-in spell check system. Each day, we view CVs with errors which could have been prevented by proofreading. Common errors we see in CVs include:

martial instead of marital

Manger instead of Manager

liased instead of liaised

In addition, we often see CVs where the spell check has been set as US English rather than UK English. This results in words such as:

recognized instead of recognised

color instead of colour

Other areas to watch out for:

Putting the wrong word in the wrong place, such as “their” and “there”

Not using a capital letter for “I”

Putting “i” and “e” the wrong way round, e.g.: “freind”, rather than “friend”

Missing out letters (often in the middle of words)

Many people find it hard to spot mistakes when reading text on a computer screen, so it’s a good idea to proofread your CV after printing it out on paper. Also, consider asking someone else to check over your CV for errors.

Proofreading tips:

Be methodical and check one line at a time

Cultivate a healthy sense of doubt – if you know you make certain mistakes, keep an eye out for them

Don’t start proofreading your CV straight after writing it

Concentrate on one word at a time

Read what is ON the page, not what you THINK is on there (maybe the hardest part of proofreading)

Try reading your CV aloud – this often helps spot errors

Proofread your CV in a quiet environment, away from any distractions

Spend as much time as possible proofreading your CV

 

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1 Comment »

  1. Mike Sellars said,

    April 16, 2010 @ 10:20 am

    From the ‘thorny words’ section of my No-Nonsense Proofreading Course:

    Accept/Except
    Affect/Effect
    A lot/Allot
    All Ready/Already
    All Together/Altogether
    Alter/Altar
    Ascent/Assent
    Breath/Breathe
    Canvas/Canvass
    Complement/Compliment
    Course/Coarse
    Council/Counsel
    Decent/Descent/Dissent
    Desert/Dessert
    Elicit/Illicit
    Eminent/Imminent
    Flaunt/Flout
    Forego/Forgo
    Forth/Fourth
    Grisly/Grizzly
    Hoard/Horde
    Incidence/Incidents
    Its/It’s
    Lead/Led
    Loath/Loathe
    Lose/Loose
    Palate/Palette
    Passed/Past
    Pedal/Peddle
    Plain/Plane
    Precede/Proceed
    Principal/Principle
    Proscribe/Prescribe
    Rain/Rein/Reign
    Stationary/Stationery
    Their/There/They’re
    Weather/Whether
    Who’s/Whose
    Your/You’re

    Even seasoned proof readers can get caught out by these little devils.

    Hope you find it useful.

    Kind regards,
    Mike

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