But trust me on the sunscreen…and the proofreading

If I could offer only one tip for the future, proofreading would be it. Actually, I’d say it’s even more important than sunscreen. Follow my logic for a second, will you? Because if you don’t proof your resume, you can’t get a job. And if you can’t get a job, you won’t have any money. If you don’t have money, you can’t buy sunscreen. Makes sense, right?

It completely blows my mind that people don’t spend an adequate amount of time proofreading their resumes. I understand if proofreading isn’t your thing. But that certainly doesn’t mean you can’t ask a friend or family member to look it over. It’s common sense! Or so I thought…

A few months after I started my first job, everyone in my office was gushing about this one copywriter’s portfolio that had arrived in the mail. They built up so much hype around it that I couldn’t wait to see it. But as soon as it landed on my desk, I spotted a small, but still significant, typo sitting pretty on the first page.

So what did I do? I showed it to my boss, who immediately threw the book in the trash. Am I a jerk? Maybe. But copywriting is a competitive field and honestly, proofreading is about 85% of what we do. If you can’t even proof your own resume, you might want to rethink you career (which is exactly what my boss said in response.) But hey, I’m not a complete jerk—I anonymously e-mailed the poor guy to tell him about the error, and he really appreciated it.

A few months ago, a friend sent me a resume from one of her other friends to give my boss. He wanted to be a copywriter, too. Of course I was curious, so I started reading through his resume. Not only was it riddled with grammatical errors and a very blatant spelling error, but he also included completely irrelevant work experience, like his stints as a dog walker and sailing assistant…at the very top! I was flabbergasted.

Moral of the story: Proof your resume! And definitely make sure it includes only relevant information. In the meantime, go ahead and have a good laugh at the expense of some very amusing resume mishaps:

Resumania—Explore oodles of excerpts from real resumes. Be sure to read the talk bubbles filled with snappy little comments.

150 Funniest Resume Mistakes, Bloopers and Blunders Ever—A compilation of the best resume quotes from a variety of career websites. Some might make you wince, but most will make you laugh. One of my favorites is that someone listed “stalking, shipping and receiving” under work experience. A professional stalker? Heck yes. He’s hired!

So have you guys ever come across a terrible typo on a resume? Or a mention of completely irrelevant information that made everyone in your office laugh? Go ahead and share your stories!