9 out of every 10 resumes I review have a typo in them.
When I started working in recruiting about a year ago, I couldn’t believe how common it was. Even some of the most senior professionals have obvious spelling, grammar, and formatting errors.
One director candidate described themselves as highly detail-oriented but had inconsistent margins and three different styles of dashes between employment dates. This didn’t mean they were a bad candidate. In fact, they ultimately got the job.
A typo doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get the role, but it can be the first thing a hiring manager notices.
I think one reason this happens so often is that it’s incredibly difficult to objectively review your own resume. It’s similar to hearing a recording of your own voice. On top of that, it’s easy to overlook mistakes when you’ve read the same document dozens of times.
That’s why it helps to have someone else review it. Whether it’s a colleague, mentor, or recruiter, a second set of eyes can catch things you might miss.
When representing a candidate, along with personally reviewing their resume and using tools to check for the hardest to spot errors, we’ll write a tailored cover letter to highlight their achievements. The resume acts as a vital source of information to highlight which experiences are most relevant, and we’ll even offer advice on how to position the resume with the candidate’s experiences most pertinent to the job.
Resumes are your first opportunity to demonstrate attention to detail and professionalism. Before you send it out, pop it into an AI tool to look for typos, and don’t be afraid to ask someone else to take a look.