Resume Correspondence: How Casual is too Casual?
Nonprofits are often generalized as less formal than corporate settings. Whether that’s true or not–and of course the atmosphere varies from one organization to another–when applying for jobs, I recommend erring on the side of formality. For example:
1. Use capitalization, like you learned way back in English class. For example, if you’re filling out our online application, don’t say you’re krista francis and worked at jubilee. First of all, obviously use your own name, not mine! (Smile.) Second, employ some capital letters, please.
2. Spell-check. We all make typos or occasionally misspell words. For most positions, I wouldn’t disqualify someone over a typo or two.* But why take chances? Turn on and use your spell checker on your e-mail, browser and Word!
3. Punctuation and spacing. Your resume and cover should read like business documents, not text messages. If you’re not sure about basic punctuation, brush up rules here or do a quick Google search. A frequent error relateds to spacing and punctuation. You should insert a space after commas, periods and colons. (Example: I bought peas, carrots, milk and bread. Not: I bought peas,carrots,milk and bread.)
4. Proof your work. Better yet, if possible, have someone else proof for you.
If you incorporate these basics, you will eliminate many of the errors I see throughout my workday. Good luck with your job search!
*unless you’re applying for a writing, editing or communications position, in which case spelling errors will eliminate you from consideration.
photo by SeeMidTN.com (aka Brent)
