One of my first military memories is an instructor ripping an “Irish pennant” (piece of string) off of my uniform shoulder and asking me why I had such poor attention to detail. It took me many years to realize that the guy wasn’t out of his skull. While the Irish pennant on my uniform wasn’t, by itself, going to hurt anybody or get in the way of the mission, it still revealed my lack of attention to detail.

In the military, skipping details can have grave consequences. In the academic sector, the result can be poor scores, failed projects, and the impression that you aren’t on top of your game. A friend once gave me some advice on buying used cars: “If the carpets aren’t vacuumed, don’t buy it.” It’s an indicator. If the previous owners didn’t vacuum the carpet, they may have skipped important maintenance.

We’re all taught the importance of attention to detail in the military. So why do many of us forget those lessons when making a first impression on a resume?

School professors in the private sector typically don’t have time to micromanage. You’ll find that education has more leeway, and more options than the military. So, when reviewing new students, counselors look for indicators that he or she can be trusted to operate autonomously. If your résumé is riddled with errors and inconsistencies, perhaps your work will look the same or worse. What teacher has time to proofread every piece of student work before it gets submitted for a grade?

Showing attention to detail is one way to earn trust and land an admissions slot. Here are some tips to make sure your résumé is “checked out:”

1. Be consistent with abbreviations.
   Example: Don’t use CA (instead of Calif.) in one part of your résumé and Fla. in another. Don’t use Mgr. in one part and Mgr (without the period) in another.
2. Be consistent with person, tense and grammar.
   Example: If your résumé is written in the past tense, first person (I performed…), don’t also use present tense, first person (I perform …).
3. Be consistent with capitalization.
   Example: Position titles “Operations Officer” and “Personnel manager” are not consistent.
4. Be consistent with dates.
   Example: Sep 04, Sep 2004, September 2004, 9/04, 9/2004 … pick one and stick with it.
5. Be consistent with punctuation.
   Example: If you have a period after your position titles, make sure all are punctuated the same way.
6. Include key contact information.
   Example: At a minimum, include full name, address, e-mail and phone number.
7. You’re vs. your.
   Example: This is a common error. “Your” indicates possession. “You’re” is a contraction of “You are.”
8. Education and schooling
   Example: Make sure you give graduation dates.
9. Be consistent with numbers
   Example: Typically, any number less than 10 should be spelled out (one, two, three, etc.). Numbers 10 or higher should be indicated with numerals (11, 12, 13, etc.).
10. SPEL CHEK!
    Example: See how a misspelled word distracts from the purpose of the story? Don’t trust your spell checker as it may not identify words correctly spelled but used in the wrong context. For example: their, they’re and there are all “spelled” correctly! Check it yourself many times and have others check it.

Quiz: Can you find the “attention to detail” error in this story?
Click here for the answer: (pop-up window)