If you lack confidence in your writing ability, you may find proofreading your resume and cover letter intimidating. Editing your work becomes much less taxing, however, if you break the process into more manageable steps. Don't attempt to catch every error in one pass. Instead, read your documents several times, checking for different types of problems each time around. For instance, you might look for extraneous words to weed out on the first read-through, spelling goofs on the second and punctuation errors on the third.

Consider how easily the following mistakes could have been caught and corrected if the job candidates had put more time into systematic proofreading:

"SKILLS: Possess a flexible and dental-oriented attitude."
You must really sink your teeth into your work.

"TECHNICAL PROFICIENCIES: Kknowledgable of various computer programs."
Spell-check not being one of them.

"SKILLS: Strong presentatone skills to persuade a range of audiences."
We hope you're more careful when proofreading your PowerPoint slides.

Never underestimate the difference a comma or semicolon can make.

"INTERESTS: Chess, soccer, cricket bowling."
Crickets can bowl?

"JOB HISTORY: Restaurant manager. Cleaned and supervised employees."
That is clearly going above and beyond the call of duty.

Missing words also can prove problematic.

COVER LETTER: "I'm a project manager available to hit the ground."
He's also available to pound the pavement.

"OTHER: Keen interest in current."

Must be an electrician.

Finally, we assume this next job seeker meant to include the all-important word not in the second sentence:

COVER LETTER: "I have owned my own business. I know how devastating being on time is."