Resume Proofreading Checklist: 15 Things to Check Before Sending

Why Proofreading Your Resume Is Non-Negotiable

A single typo on your resume can cost you an interview. According to a CareerBuilder survey, 77% of hiring managers say they would immediately dismiss a candidate whose resume contains spelling or grammatical errors. Think about it — if you cannot proofread a one-to-two page document about yourself, how careful will you be with work products that matter to the company?

Proofreading goes beyond catching typos. It means verifying every fact, ensuring consistent formatting, and checking that your resume presents the most professional version of yourself. Use this 15-point checklist before submitting any resume.

Content Accuracy

1. Check all dates. Ensure employment dates are accurate and do not overlap. Verify graduation dates. Use consistent date formatting throughout (all months spelled out or all abbreviated).
2. Verify company names and titles. Spell company names correctly, including proper capitalization and punctuation. Confirm your exact job title as the company used it.
3. Check your contact information. Call your own phone number to verify it is correct. Send a test email to your listed address. Click your LinkedIn URL to make sure it works.
4. Review all numbers and metrics. Double-check every statistic, percentage, dollar amount, and team size. Inaccurate numbers can be exposed during reference checks.
5. Verify certifications and degrees. Ensure correct names, issuing organizations, and dates for all certifications and educational credentials.

Grammar and Spelling

1. Run spell check — then do not trust it blindly. Spell checkers miss contextual errors like 'manager' vs. 'manger,' 'form' vs. 'from,' or 'led' vs. 'lead.'
2. Check verb tense consistency. Current positions should use present tense ('Manage team of 8'). Past positions should use past tense ('Managed team of 8'). Never mix tenses within the same section.
3. Eliminate common grammar errors. Watch for its vs. it's, your vs. you're, affect vs. effect, and their vs. there vs. they're.
4. Read it aloud. Reading your resume out loud forces your brain to process each word individually, catching errors your eyes skip when reading silently.
5. Read it backward. Start from the last word and read backward sentence by sentence. This disrupts your brain's pattern-completion and reveals errors hidden by context.

Formatting and Design

1. Check consistent formatting. Are all section headings the same size and style? Are all bullet points the same type? Are margins consistent on all sides?
2. Verify the PDF export. Export to PDF and open it on a different device. Check that fonts, spacing, and layout are preserved exactly as intended.
3. Check the file name. Use a professional name like 'FirstName_LastName_Resume.pdf.' Avoid 'resume_v3_FINAL_updated.pdf' or generic names.
4. Test ATS compatibility. Copy all text from the PDF and paste it into a plain text editor. If it is readable and in order, your formatting is ATS-safe.
5. Get a second opinion. Have someone else review your resume with fresh eyes. They will catch things you missed after staring at it for hours.

Streamline the Process

Our free resume builder handles many of these formatting and compatibility concerns automatically — clean fonts, ATS-safe structure, properly formatted PDF exports. But content accuracy and grammar are always your responsibility. Pair our builder with this checklist, and you will submit error-free resumes every time. Run a final check with our ATS resume checker for complete confidence.