When Spellcheck Fails: 12 Common Resume Typos You’re Overlooking

Writing a strong resume is a struggle. You stress over what to include, how long it should be, whether it has the right keywords, and if it’s exciting enough to get HR’s attention. On top of all that, you want to eliminate resume mistakes and have a flawless document.

You know the importance of proofreading your resume, but too often job seekers rely on their word processor’s spellcheck to flag resume mistakes. While they’ll catch obvious misspellings, spellcheckers are far from perfect and can’t be trusted 100%.

Here are 12 common resume typos and easily overlooked resume mistakes to avoid:

1. Manger vs. Manager

Unless you’re in the agricultural or culinary industries, “manger” is a serious resume typo to look out for.

2. Heath vs. Health

Double check all your intended uses of “health” in your resume – unless your name is Heath, you work for Hershey, or you’re mentioning “an area of open uncultivated land, especially in Britain, with characteristic vegetation of heather, gorse, and coarse grasses.”

3. Insure vs. Ensure

Some may say these two words are interchangeable, but if you’re communicating your ability to make sure something happens, which many of us do in our resumes, “ensure” is the correct choice. Only use “insure” if you’re referring to insurance policies.

4. Pubic vs. Public

This one’s a doozy. We all know you meant public, but don’t let yourself be the laughing stock of your prospective employer’s HR department.

5. Sh*t vs. Shift

Here’s another one that will make your reader smile for the wrong reasons.

6. Preset vs. Present

Spellcheck won’t tell you if you’ve inadvertently described a current position as “predetermined, set, or fixed.”

7. Orientated vs. Oriented

While “orientated” isn’t technically wrong, the shorter and simpler “oriented” is the preferred choice for American English.

8. Preform vs. Perform

“Perform” is a commonly used word in resumes. Make sure you aren’t transposing the “r” and the “e” and typing a different word altogether.

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9. Asses vs. Assess

A bunch of donkeys shouldn’t be in your document. Remember to check for that extra “s” at the end!

10. HIPPA vs. HIPAA

This one is frequently seen in medical resumes. It may feel more familiar to type “HIPPA” thanks to our semiaquatic mammal friends the hippos, but the correct spelling is “HIPAA” which stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

11. Principle vs. Principal

Both of these words are common in resumes, so make sure you’re using the right one. For example, “Principles of Marketing” vs. “Principal Scientist.” A helpful thing to remember is that “Principal” almost always refers to a person.

12. Preventative vs. Preventive

The usage of these two words has been hotly debated for quite some time. However, similar to #7, the shorter “preventive” is the better choice for your resume (and it’s preferred by The New York Times, AP Stylebook, and Chicago Manual of Style).

Proofread your resume for these hard-to-spot typos, and don’t forget to print it, read it aloud, and have someone else read it as well. Fresh eyes are invaluable, especially since you’ve likely reviewed your resume countless times by now and will miss mistakes.