The Importance of Revision

 Nowadays many companies do their recruiting through the web, which allows applicants to submit materials such as resumes and cover letters electronically. This makes back-and-forth communication a little easier, and if anything saves some trees.

There is a downside to sending materials online, however. Typos and grammatical errors are more likely to be found if a hard copy is printed and reviewed, says novelist Danette Haworth(daybydaywriter.wordpress.com). It is also highly recommended that applicants send their materials to their own email addresses first to avoid the distribution of the wrong materials (or no materials at all!). It's happened to the best of us: "you'll find my materials attached", without an attached file to be found. If you intend to attach something in an email to an employer, make sure you actually do it.  Perhaps even more importantly, be sure that you're sending the right materials. 
 
 Vanessa Hodja, a student from Toronto found out the importance of this the hard way.  Instead of attaching and sending her resume to a  career center regarding an administrative assistant position, Hodja attached an unflattering image of actor Nicolas Cage. Needless to say, Hodja was not offered the position.* 

Hodja's "resume"
Source: bit.ly/PW56oL


 From Hodja's mistake we can take away a few pointers to avoid embarrassing mishaps in the job application process:

• Send drafts of emails to yourself first. Not only will you catch mistakes this way, but you can also see if the formatting has changed.
• Go over all of your materials every time you send them out to a new employer (even if you are sure they were perfect the last time you used them).
• Save your materials under a title that is recognizable and professional. This way, you will be sure that you are attaching the right material, and the employer will be able to recognize it in his/her downloads.
• Be sure you are sending from a professional email. Using an email address like beachcutie77@yahoo.com won't get you any points in the professionalism department.

Remember, revision is crucial. If you're not sure that you've caught all errors, send your materials to a friend first. Sometimes having someone else edit for you will help you catch that spelling mistake you've glanced over ten times.


By Kelly Gooch
contact: goochke@jmu.edu


Original article from Monster.com by Katheryn K. Randolph
*See full article at http://college.monster.com/news/articles/2172-student-accidentally-attaches-nicolas-cage-photo-in-place-of-resume----did-she-get-the-job