Imagine you’re hiring a new writer for your department. You’ve whittled the stack of resumes down to two excellent candidates. Each applicant’s experience is ideal for the job, and the skill sets are nearly identical. In a final attempt to find something that’ll tip the balance in one applicant’s favour, you scan their resumes again. That’s when you notice their email addresses. The first candidate can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). The other candidate chose .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) as her handle. Which person would you rather work alongside?

This scenario came to mind during the highly entertaining and enlightening January chapter meeting, where Jack Molisani of ProSpring Inc. presented the Top 10 Mistakes Writers Make When Looking For Work. The mistakes fall into two main categories — carelessness in presenting your application and failing to address the requirements of the job. (For the complete list, visit the Resources page at http://www.prospring.net.)

Don’t get sloppy

Ensure your resume reflects the best practices of your profession. If you must submit your application in Word, turn track changes off, and look at the hidden characters to ensure you haven’t created a dog’s breakfast of manual formatting (because the recruiter, rest assured, will check). Name the file using your first and last name — calling it “resume.doc” almost guarantees that your painstakingly compiled two pages will be lost in the shuffle. Lastly, proofread, proofread, and then proofread again. A typo in a job application is the kiss of death.

Tailor the application to the job

If your perfectly formatted and proofread application reaches the right person, what else might go wrong? The skills summary in your resume or cover letter might not correspond directly to the job requirements as written. You might not have highlighted your strengths by placing the most relevant information near the top of your cover letter. You may have neglected to address questions a recruiter might have right off the top — questions about gaps in your work history, or why you’re seeking a permanent position after working for years as a contract writer.

If there was an over-arching theme to Jack’s advice, it was “help recruiters do their jobs.” When you make their lives easier, your application has a much better shot at rising to the top of the slush pile.