Proofreading Your Contact Information

I received a couple resumes this week with mistakes in the candidate’s contact information.  Neither of the errors were caught by spell check.  Despite this, they were clear mistakes.

The first resume had an error in the job seeker’s street address.  I wanted to check if a job was within commuting distance for the candidate and decided to go to google maps.  I copied the address straight off the resume and pasted it into the search bar.  The address came up as non-existent.  The candidate had misspelled the street name by missing one letter. 

The second resume had an error in the email address.  The candidate transposed letters in the address.  This is an even bigger problem than the street address. 

Both mistakes were very minor typos – only one or two letters wrong.  Despite this, they could cause a significant problem.  A wrong email could prevent a hiring manager from getting in contact with the candidate.  The street address could become a problem at the time of an offer.  Many companies will overnight a formal offer letter to the candidate.  If this goes to the wrong address or is returned, it can delay the entire process. 

Mistakes in the contact information are especially tough to identify.  You know the information incredibly well and see what it is supposed to be – not what it is.  To ensure you don’t have a mistake, read the contact information letter by letter and word by word.  Check the contact info periodically.  It is easy to make a minor change and add a mistake and never realize it.