Most job seekers put hours (or should put hours) into the resume that sums up their working life. But the same people often drop the ball with the last ten minutes, the check that catches a wrong phone number or a job title from two roles ago. That can be an expensive slip.

Run through this list before every application, including the fifth one this week. Most items take a minute or less, and the whole pass is quicker than explaining a mistake to a recruiter who has already seen it.

Contact details

Start at the top. A recruiter who cannot reach you simply moves on to the next name in the pile.

  • Your name matches the one on your application form and online profiles
  • The phone number is right, and your voicemail greeting sounds like someone an employer would want to call back
  • The email address is professional and one you check every day
  • City and state are current, or a relocation note says where and when you are moving
  • Every link opens the right profile or portfolio, and none of them leads to a page you have not updated in years
  • Your current employer's email address and phone number appear nowhere on the page

Fit with this job

Hold the resume next to the job posting and read them side by side. The top third of your page should answer the posting's first few requirements without the reader having to hunt for them, because that is the part of the page a busy recruiter reads most closely.

  • Your summary names the job or field you are applying for
  • Skills and tools from the posting appear in your own lines wherever they are true
  • Licenses and certifications are written the way the posting writes them, with the full name and the short form
  • Your strongest match for this job sits near the top of the page
  • Anything that does nothing for this application has been cut or shortened

Bullets and dates

Read each bullet on its own. Whenever possible, it should tie a skill to a result you achieved in that job. Any applicant can say they work hard. To stand out, you need to show the reader something that changed because you were there, such as a backlog cleared, a sale closed or a complaint turned around.

  • Each bullet starts with a verb, and the same verb never opens two bullets in a row
  • Your current job is written in the present tense and past jobs in the past tense
  • Every date uses the same pattern, and no two jobs overlap unless they really did
  • Each number is one you could explain in an interview
  • No bullet says "responsible for" or "duties included"

Layout

Look at the page from arm's length before you read a word of it. Headings, spacing and dates should line up so neatly that the structure is clear even when the text is too small to read. Crooked columns jump out at once.

  • Headings, fonts and bullet symbols match from top to bottom
  • Margins sit between half an inch and one inch
  • A two-page resume has your name and a page number on page two
  • No stray symbols, tracked changes or comments survive in the file
  • The page still reads well on a phone screen

Proofreading

A single typo can knock an otherwise strong resume out of the running, which is a frustrating way to lose out, since one slow read-through would have caught it. Better yet, after you finish editing and before you upload, have someone you trust look over the page as well.

Spell checkers miss plenty. Read it aloud once, then read it again from the bottom line up, one line at a time, so your eyes stop filling in what they expect to see. Keep an eye out for real words in the wrong place, such as manger for manager or form for from.

  • Employer, school and product names are spelled the way their owners spell them
  • Your own name and contact details have been checked letter by letter
  • Numbers, dates and job titles match what you entered on the application form

The file and the send

Finally, you will want to check the file itself and the instructions that came with the job. Read them twice. While many people upload whatever version was open last, it is a good idea to confirm the file type and file name every time, in the minute before you press send. This allows you to keep track of which version went to which employer.

  • The file type is the one the posting asked for
  • The file name includes your name, plus the job title if you are applying for more than one role
  • A cover letter is attached if the posting asked for one
  • Any reference number or screening answer the posting requested is included
  • You saved a copy of the job posting, since it may disappear before your interview