Nobody is perfect; we all make mistakes, no matter what our age or background. However, when it comes to filling out job applications, mistakes are actually damaging, especially when you are looking to land that dream career. Before you hand in that paper, look it over and see if you have abused any of the below common errors.
1. Poor spelling mistakes. It’s not a requirement that you use fancy words that somebody could only find if they went through an instruction manual; especially if you are not sure of how to spell them. Nobody is expecting you to be William Shakespeare or Stephen King, but poor spelling makes you appear as though you are unprofessional or even lazy. Keep a dictionary nearby and consult it when you aren’t sure. It’s better to be safe rather than sloppy. If possible, try to get at least one person to check it, in case you missed something.
2. Leaving sections of the application blank. Even if the information they are asking of you is not available for whatever reason, it wouldn’t be in your best interest to simply leave the answer area blank. Hoping they either won’t notice or care is a bad move. If you do this, they might assume you are trying to hide something. Everything on there is important to the employer; if it wasn’t, they wouldn’t bother to include it. If you can’t put anything in a certain section, simply write “Not Applicable.” When you do this, you at least show that you have read everything.
3. Not following given instructions. This is similar to leaving areas of the job application blank, but can be just as damaging. For instance, if you were to write your first name where your last name should be, it would not only prove to be confusing for the employer, but it also makes you look sloppy. Take your time; slowly go through each part of the application. Read it several times if you need to, so long as you understand the directions. If you have to keep scribbling over what you wrote, it will only make things worse.
4. Using poor handwriting. If your friends and family members have always teased you about your scratchy handwriting, you are going to have to suppress it as best you can. If anybody looking at your form can’t read it, what good will that do? They might assume anything you write at work will come out incomprehensible, and that’s no good. Make a game of it; give them a first-rate show. Pretend you have the best penmanship in the world; even if that’s as far from the truth as you can get. No matter what, don’t rush.