Pay Attention to Adjectives on Your Resume

If you are a recent college graduate, you probably don't have "extensive" experience in the position your are applying for. Or, if you recently switched careers, you probably aren't an "expert" in your new job field. 

Let your experience speak for itself. Be honest and direct in your application. If you have the skills an employer is looking for, he/she will consider interviewing you. In some cases, over-the-top hyperbole often turns hiring committees off.

Homophones? What Are Those?

This business probably meant to use the word patience--not patients.

Whether you know it or not, you are using homophones throughout your resume and cover letter. The challenge is to make sure you are using each word in the appropriate context.

Homophones are words that sound similar, but their meanings (and sometimes spellings) are different. For example, there and their or it's and its.

A word commonly misused on resumes and cover letters is compliment (rather than complement). I must admit that I was guilty of interchanging the two words until an editor pointed out the difference. (You compliment someone on their outfit, but your skills would be an excellent complement to their team.)

Other homophones commonly misused are: to/too/two, lead/led, bare/bear, cent/scent/sent, dependent/dependant and foreward/forward.

What homophones do you struggle with?