The Voice of Job Seekers

Mark Anthony Dyson ★ Career Writer ★ Speaker ★ Thinker ★ Award-winning Blog & Podcast! ★ "The Job Scam Report" on Substack! ★ I hack and reimagine the modern job search!

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by Mark Anthony Dyson

2 More Online Resources To Help Proofread Resumes

2 More Online Resources To Help Proofread Resumes

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I have reviewed a number of resources to help proofread resumes or any job search document such as cover letters or email. Since typos, grammar, and spelling can decide your chances of nabbing an interview and positively branding yourself, these tools will bring you closer to perfection.

I have found 2 other resources both online that offers more choices to help you proofread any document, including your resume. Although I recommend finding someone who proofreads well, both of these could be used in conjunction with two keen and knowledgeable eyes:

PaperRater.com

Paper Rater is a FREE resource for proofreading various types of writing such as research, article drafts, and casual. It is unique because of how you can set up the proofreading guidelines according to grade level from 1st to post doctoral. It allows you to set a plagiarism setting to determine originality. There is a box for citations but overall does not say what standard such as APA or MLA styles are used.

I gave it a go with a couple of blog posts that I completed for future additions. I have checked the box for 10th grade just  to see if there was a suggestion or a difference maker. The post was about 500 words long, no citations or links at the time, with and without checking the originality checker. Although the originality took longer, it was hardly noticeable.

Fortunately, I had very few errors, and in fact, picked up and highlighted the word “bodacious (shout out to Snuffy Smith).” Another interesting thing that may help some is how the grade level works for vocabulary. The checker states that my “vocabulary sophistication” was below my grade level (again this was the 10th grade measure), and that I should use more sophisticated words for clarity.

PaperRater is entirely free now and is entertaining adding a Premium service. This service could be improved by adding a résumé formatted checker that would embrace the unique Word formatting.

Previous Posts about editing and proofreading:

Five Resources to Help Correct Resume Grammar Errors

Three More Resources to Help Correct Resume Grammar Errors Part 2

3 More Resources to Help Proofread Your Resume

 

Intelligent Editing

Perfect It 2

PerfectIt 2 is allows you to test drive it for 30 days without giving your payment information. Like Grammarly (although not as expensive) charges for regular use ($49). Unlike Grammarly and many others, you can download the trial. I tested it on a client’s resume and was more detailed than I thought. As stated below, it will check the complete document first removing comments and Word corrections:

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Then it will note changes in 23 different places. Then it will list the suggestions and asks you permission for the suggested changes.

Image(1)

Image(2)

Once the changes take place a report is produced of corrections PerfectIt made as seen below:Image(3)

Overall, PerfectIt corrects in much detail. The cost of a year membership, I think its one of the great bargains you can find.

Are there suggestions that I didn’t think of. What are yours? Please comment below.

image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

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Filed Under: Job Search, Resume Tagged With: Grammar, Job Search, Resume

by Mark Anthony Dyson

The Resume Objective Question: Useless or Use Less

The Resume Objective Question: Useless or Use Less

 

The resume objective section is useless unless your practicing to write one for a grade in your freshman year in college. A reader recently pointed to me an article that they read on NBC Universal Life Goes Strong blog on how we should blow up the objective statement on résumés. When you read the article, it aligns closely with what I believe:

Leslie Ayres (@JobSearchGuru), The Real Job Guru, wrote the article, “The Resume Objective is Dead, So Why Are You Still Using It?” makes 3 points that are very true:

1) Objective statements are completely about the candidate

2) Companies also ditched the candidate because of it was all about the candidate

3) The competitiveness of candidates who say much more than, “… hire me and I’ll be more focused!”

Three more articles Several more articles on résumé from respectable and knowledgeable career pros:

Resume Objective Statements That Kill Your Hiring Prospects by Jacob Share (@JacobShare)
Why Your Resume’s Objective Statement Doesn’t Work by Phil Rosenberg (@philreCareered)

Is Your Résumé Telling Your Story? by Daisy Wright (@CareerTips2Go)

IS YOUR RÉSUMÉ A CLUNKER? by Melissa Cooley (@TheJobQuest)

Simply, objective statements don’t compete anymore. They don’t say enough about the candidate, nor doesn’t grab the reviewer’s attention. So what should we do?

One suggestion is using the position headline:

(SEEKING PROFESSIONAL POSITION) SOFTWARE ENGINEER

A discussion that I had recently with another career pro is that the head is not appropriate when uploading to a site that the résumé will not scan. The headlines that are suggested:

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

SUMMARY

These are two different approaches contingent on whether if the first set of eyes will be human or not. Mind you, that there are college career centers that are still advising their students to write an objective statement.

Traditionally, an objective statement stated,

Objective: To use my excellent organization and discipline to advance my career in finance.

Yes, at one time it was OK to impress an employer with this statement. Now, a career summary or branding statement will compete against the vague “Objective” statement. My current client who gets it and although we are working on the length, she understands the gist:

Enthused developmental Math Subject Matter Expert actively engaged in instructional design programs geared towards diverse student learners. Offer and assert skills and experience as an instructor and a project manager obtained from seven years of teaching, and more than 12 years in Fortune 500 companies. Implement strategies for evaluation and assessment results of classroom instruction to address the needs of learners with a diversity of learning styles resulting in 100% participation and 80-90% passing compliance. Thrive and excel as a project manager who understands the breadth of challenges that require strategic tasking between planning, change management, coaching, mentoring, tutoring, and teaching.

Yes, it is too long, but once a vague summary is now a contribution statement. Once we edit, this branding statement will be lean and mean. Notice how the results are integrated into the statement. Numbers always catches the eye of a potential employer. The lesson here as well is to overwrite at first, then it is easier to truncate as a whole.

By now, the objective statement on your résumé is USELESS. Whether it’s called an “Objective” or “Summary,” think contribution when you write this statement. Even a little attitude would help in writing this statement when based on FACT.

Do you have an objective statement that says nothing? Are you guiltyof a vagueness on your résumé? Please, confess your crime below?

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

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Filed Under: Resume Tagged With: Objective Statements, Resume

by Mark Anthony Dyson

3 More Resources to Help Proofread Your Resume

3 More Resources to Help Proofread Your Resume

Once again, I found additional resources to help anyone proofread his or her writing anything career related (or anything at all). Every communication leaves an impression these days and I hate to see people lose out on opportunities because spelling or grammar! So to help you proofread your resume, I scoured the web and found three more tools you can consider using.

Roadtogrammar.com

image

This site provides 365 categories of quizzes. Some of the categories are slightly redundant but this tool provides simple quizzes to help you with weaknesses in grammar.

I took the adverb test and scored 14 of 15. Some are more challenging than others, and while it doesn’t do the grammar check for you, a good way of reviving some of the basics learned in school and proofread your resume and other documents in the first draft. There are games and additional challenges to at least help you make a step forward improving your grammar.

 

Gingersoftware.com

This site is a diamond in the ruff in the scope of Internet tools. It is F-R-E-E.

image

I downloaded the software which works well with Word, Firefox, Chrome, and Outlook. I tried it with Word (I use 2010, but works with 2003) by entering part of this post. The Ginger box has a small box that appears at the top of the page that says F2 in green, which instructs you to highlight the sentence, paragraph, or complete paper and press F2. I chose a paragraph and Voila! The above graphic appears offering a corrected sentence.

This app does not detect the passive voice phrases. For casual notes, it wouldn’t matter, but for your résumé, too much passive voice makes you sound as if you avoid responsibility (Heeehe!). Just kidding. It’s not a good look.

For you bloggers out there using Windows Live…Sorry! It doesn’t work there but it will work with your Outlook. So if you are writing business letters or letters to employers, this will check your spelling and grammar. This is one of the best free proofreading tools I’ve tried so far.+ Add New Category

 

 

Interested in what I reviewed last fall? Here are the two articles I previously written you can check out:

Five Resources to Help Correct Resume Grammar Errors

Three More Resources to Help Correct Resume Grammar Errors Part 2

 

Spellboy.com

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This site, unlike the others that I have reviewed, is strictly a spell check site with a couple of unique features. On the right, it has several sections that the first will check your blog (if you have one) for spelling errors. Of course, I had to try THIS BLOG and the search found 16 errors. Words like uncategorized, javascript, and jobseeker (which I purposely spell the way I do at times). Once I spelled attributes, a-t-r-r-i-b-u-t-e-s, but it does not say which article. I have 97 articles before today, no sleep loss tonight.

The other two interesting boxes feature that the app can be present on your iGoogle page or Chrome extension (by the way, all three apps mentioned today have Chrome extensions). The other suggests that it has a mobile app. I checked my Android phone, no luck.

Please let us know if it is on the iPhone in the comment section.

There is no excuse now to not proofread any written material you author. This will improve your personal brand, and hopefully, produce quality documents. Is this helpful information? What grammar or spelling challenges do you hope to overcome?

Please share in the comment section.

 

 

 

 

 

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About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

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Filed Under: Career, Resume Tagged With: Career, Proofread, Resume

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I moderated a panel on Wealth Management for executives by Black Enterprise Magazine in October 2023 in Miami.

I was interviewed on Scripps News show, “The Why!” 4/13/2023

I talked with John Tarnoff and Kerry Hannon of “The Second Act” podcast about job searching after 50 in October 2022.

I was on “The Career Confidante” podcast to talk about “boomerang employees” and “job fishing” in June 2022.

Making Job Search a Lifestyle With “Dr. Dawn Graham on Careers,” SiriusXM Ch. 132, Wharton School of Business May 2021

In May 2020, I talked with LinkedIn’s Senior News Editor Andrew Seaman on “#GetHired” Live.”

Beverly Jones, host of the NPR podcast “Jazzed About Work,” invited me back to talk job scams, job search trends, and AI tools in April 2024

WOUB Digital · Episode 183 : Job search expert Mark Dyson says beware of scams, know AI & keep learning

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