In this competitive job market, it is mandatory that you step up your game in order to rise to the top of the resume heap. While there are some things that you can do now that might help fill in some blanks in your work history, like take a refresher course or perhaps do some volunteer work, there are two simple things that could make or break your job candidacy. Splelling and grammer… um… spelling and grammar.

The quickest turn-off for any potential employer is not the gap in your resume that represents your time off raising your children; but rather the insidious little typos that so often pervade even some top executives’ resumes. Let me give it to you straight… if you have glaring typos and grammatical errors in your resume and cover letter, it is more likely than not that you will be passed up for the job.

To say that misspellings are pervasive is an understatement. They are everywhere. I recently conducted a Craig’s List search for a kitchen table and was aghast at the number of times I ran across postings for a lovely “Dinning Set” or “Rod Iron Table and Chairs” (for those who might see nothing wrong with this, the terms should be “Dining Set” and “Wrought Iron Table and Chairs”).

Now imagine being a Human Resources Director and having a stack of resumes to sift through. One cover letter states “I graguated with a bs in Mass Comunncations from UCLA.” Another applicant writes “I attended Golden Valley Community College where I received a liberal arts degree, then went on to intern at Widgets Inc.” While the first candidate clearly graduated from a big name university, her resume is completely emasculated by typing errors and her job candidacy will likely be quickly dismissed. The second candidate, albeit from a less prestigious school, might just have a shot with her clear, well-written prose.

Common boo-boos that drive me nuts… and my simple rules to get them right

A LOT. I’ve seen elementary school teachers get this one wrong. Just as “a bunch” is always two words, so is “a lot”. Let me write that again… “a lot” is ALWAYS TWO WORDS.

THERE, THEIR, THEY’RE. “Their” is a plural possessive pronoun, which refers to more than one person’s ownership of something, as in “That is their house.” “They’re” is the hyphenated version of “they are”. “They’re coming over after soccer practice.” Chances are that if you are not looking for a possessive pronoun or a compound version of “they are” then the “there” you want is “there”.

YOUR and YOU’RE. Once again, “Your” is a possessive pronoun and “You’re” is the hyphenated version of “You are”.

ITS and IT’S. I’ll make this easy. “It’s” is the shortened version of “it is”. Everything else is “its”.

Beyond these very common blunders, there are a million others that can and do pop up. I proofread this article no less than six times… and I still found a typo on the last pass. Don’t forget that Spell Check won’t catch every error, so it is very important that you meticulously read your resume and cover letter out loud ten times. Then have someone else read it ten times.

Whether you are seeking full-time employment or a part-time job, remember that spelling and grammar count toward your final grade… a lot.