The pros and cons of online resume proofreading tools

An error-free resume helps you convey your strengths to hiring managers and makes a positive professional impression. According to the statistic, 59% of hiring managers will reject a resume that contains typos, grammar, or spelling errors. For these and many other reasons, it’s important to review the resume and get rid of any mistakes before submitting it to a company.

To many employers, clear writing communicates high attention to detail and interest in the position. The fastest modern way to eliminate errors in writing is to use online proofreading software. These tools help spot and fix the most common mistakes that job-seekers make. In today’s article, we are going to familiarize you with the most popular editing tools, and present the pros and cons of using them.

If you are too busy to lack confidence in your writing abilities, using professional CV proofreading services online (for example, Resumeperk.com) is your best option. An expert from a resume editing company will edit grammar, punctuation and typos to ensure error-free writing. Moreover, the writer of such service will take care of the overall flow, style and word choice in your document, which is particularly important for non-native English speakers.

The most popular tools for CV and resume proofreading

ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is a platform designed for creative, business, and academic writers. In addition to standard correction of grammar and punctuation, it also offers the features of a style editor and provides writing tips. You can edit the text in real-time online, which is suitable for busy professionals. This platform generates summary and style reports where you can track mistakes and see suggestions for improving readability and clarity. A free version edits only 500 words at a time (which can be a challenge if your resume is longer), and a paid premium plan costs $79 a year.

Typely

Typely is a distraction-free writing environment designed for all types of writers. If you seek the economical way of resume editing, this tool will be the best service for you, as it’s completely free for every user. It provides grammar and spelling checking features and offers suggestions to improve your writing. You can customize proofreading settings to your needs and see the statistics about your text once it’s checked. This platform has a limitation of 50,000 characters and doesn’t allow you to upload documents so you have to copy and paste the text.

Grammarly

One of the most worldwide-known editing tools, Grammarly offers AI-powered comprehensive online proofreading. It corrects grammar, typos, punctuation, and improves clarity, delivery and engagement of the written text. All issues in the text are highlighted so you can approve or reject them. This software allows you to choose the preferred audience, style and tone of the text to make proofreading more efficient and precise. Advanced proofreading options such as word choice or tone are paid, and the premium plan is $11.66 per month.

Hemingway Editor

This online app is mostly focused on making your writing more concise, focused and free from fluff. Experienced professionals often tend to write their resumes using complex words and sentences, so this tool can be of great help in making your text understandable for non-technical recruiters. It offers suggestions to shorten sentences, remove adjectives and make your writing clearer. Hemingway Editor is free and, if used regularly, helps you become a better writer and communicate to a wider audience more effectively.

The pros of online proofreading tools

  • Fast and convenient to use. All you need to do is to upload the document or insert resume text into the spell checker. The software will spot all types of mistakes within seconds, provide suggestions to strengthen your writing and even compile writing statistics, summarizing commonly made mistakes.
  • It’s cheap (or free). Most online tools have a free version, and premium plans are quite affordable. You can improve the resume text without spending a penny, or purchase paid subscription and use it for other documents at work, benefiting from advanced suggestions and improvements.
  • It streamlines the editing process. Let’s face it: manual editing is dull and time-consuming. You have to go through your resume word by word ensuring the correctness of writing. An online tool underlines most shortcomings within seconds, thus streamlining the editing and saving your time.

What about the downsides?

  • The software cannot spot all errors. Although online software finds most of the typical writing issues, there’s no guarantee that 100% of the issues will be found. For example, the software may have troubles with homophones. Therefore, an occasional typo or word with a different meaning may confuse the hiring manager and spoil the impression.
  • Problems with proper names and terminology. As professional documents, resumes use names of organizations, institutions, titles and terminology. The software can mark these names as mistakes and correct them, thus creating confusion in your document. Make sure to approve the changes in an online editor carefully.
  • The need for a human editor. Quality editing is impossible to imagine without a human editor. Ideally, after an automated spell check the resume should be reviewed by a professional who will give the document a final review and correct issues that the software didn’t manage to find. Moreover, when it comes to resumes, it’s not only grammar and poor word choice that can turn off the employer. An incorrect resume structure, lack of strong verbs, incorrect length and other issues can be a ‘red flag’ for a hiring manager, but no spell checker will ever mark them as mistakes.

The conclusion

Using online spell-checking software is a perfect first step for polishing your resume. It helps eliminate the most common writing issues and streamline further editing for you. However, when it comes to an important document such as the resume, do not rely on online tools completely.

Ideally, you need to show it to a qualified editor or a company providing editing services. An experienced editor will spot advanced issues that the software didn’t find. Moreover, they will recommend advanced improvements to strengthen the presentation, structure and language of your resume so that it makes an ideal impression from the first seconds.

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