Are You a Detail-Oriented and Quality-Focused ‘Manger’?

I was amused to visit a couple of blogs recently that spotlight real resume blunders that not only are real but also no doubt really ruined many job candidates’ chances before their qualifications could be given due consideration. To add a little levity to your day, you may wish to Google “resume blunders.”

(From a cover letter I found on one site: “I will get the job done, and I will get bitter each day.”)

While we can all derive some entertainment from this, the fact of the matter is sobering: Most hiring executives and recruiters when asked how they react to typos and mistakes on the resumes they receive indicated that the resume would immediately find its way to the circular file.

A survey by OfficeTeam.com found that even a single resume typo could ruin your job prospects. The survey was conducted for OfficeTeam by an independent research firm and included responses from 150 senior executives at the nation’s 1,000 largest companies.

Executives were asked, “How many typos in a resume does it take for you to decide not to consider a job candidate for a position with your company?” Their responses:

One typo—–47%
Two typos —–37%
Three typos—–7%
Four or more typos—–6%
Don’t know/no answer—–3% Total: 100%

The title of my blog entry today showcases a blunder that I see at least once a week in resumes submitted by executives for my evaluation: the substitution of ‘manger’ for the word ‘manager’. Be very careful of this one, as it will slip right by your spell checker. A good strategy to use is to make a habit of doing a “search and replace” for common errors such as this in your document to be absolutely sure they do not slip past you and into the hands of the recruiter or hiring executive who stands between you and that dream position.

And just in case your face has been red at some point in your job search due to a misspelled word or other mistake, you can gain some comfort from the fact that those on the other side of the hiring table are not immune. A recent discussion among my colleagues in the Career Management Alliance spotlighted just a couple of blunders in position announcements. One colleague encountered this gem:

“Must be detailed oriented.”

Another resume writer pointed out her favorite from a sample posting provided to her by a client. The ad stated that since the organization was a non-profit, “salary will be commiserate with…” She observed, “Now maybe they really did mean ‘commiserate’, but somehow I doubt it .”

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