Did you know that a proofreader’s average salary is $55,104? If you’re a detail-oriented grammar perfectionist, this career might be for you.
A successful job search always starts with a good resume. Check out these proofreader resume tips you should follow and two resume examples you can use as templates.
Resume Tips for New Proofreaders
If you’re a new proofreader, here are some tips for creating your resume to stand out in the job market.
Build a Skills-Based Resume
In my opinion, skills-based resumes are the best resume type you can produce if you do not have enough professional experience yet. This resume style is ideal if you’re transitioning to a completely different career with inadequate credentials and experience.
Focus on your industry-related skills. For instance, you can mention your proofreading skills and how you can spot errors in spelling, style, and grammar.
You can also include your ability to show alignment with style guidelines and use a software program like Adobe Acrobat Professional.
Soft skills are also essential in a skills-based resume. You can say that your excellent communication skills as a proofreader help you reach the same goals as your writer.
Example:
- BAD: Worked as a general proofreader for Proofread Perfect Inc. for three months.
- GOOD: Checked academic projects, business documents, and other PDF documents for errors in grammar, consistency of spelling, and adherence to a company style guide.
Use Keywords
Using keywords in the job posting will help you build a job-winning resume. This strategy is a quick way for employers to notice your relevant resume. For example, if the job title says you need to proofread news stories, share your experiences working with news articles.
If the rules of grammar are a priority of the client, demonstrate your proficiency in the English language. There’s a wide variety of keywords you might find helpful for your resume. Here are some examples:
- AP Style.
- Blogging.
- Content Creation.
- Editing.
- Digital Content.
- MLA.
- Publishing.
- WordPress.
- Microsoft Office Suite.
- Quality Check
It also helps to include relevant action verbs to your resume, such as the following:
- Analyze.
- Collaborate.
- Create.
- Develop.
- Edit.
- Enhance.
- Examine.
- Identify.
- Implement.
- Manage.
- Proofread.
- Oversee.
- Refine.
- Support.
Smart keyword usage ranks your resume higher on an applicant tracking system or ATS. It’s a software program used by customers or hiring managers to scan and rank applications.
Quantify Your Proofreading Experience
It’s not enough that you simply proofread documents in the past or say you have previous editing experience for a company. Always quantify your accomplishments and provide context to give the hiring manager an idea of your abilities.
For example, you can say that you worked on a 9-month project proofreading a wide range of company documents. Discuss whether you edited legal documents, business proposals, or social media posts.
Specify the proofreading-related tasks you had while in charge of project management. Did you review marketing materials for spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes?
Any average proofreader resume should include this basic layout for their work experiences.
Example:
- Good: Copy-edited and proofread 14 articles for the annual publication of the town of Stars Hollow in 2020, provided support throughout the entire publication process and improved SEO performance by 10%.
- Bad: Edited digital articles for the annual publication of the town of Stars Hollow and improved SEO performance.
Include Leadership Skills
An attractive resume of a proofreader goes beyond including skills like ensuring the accuracy of spelling and overall content quality. For some employers offering proofreading jobs, it’s not enough that you know how to correct grammar errors or fix a written document’s layout.
Show the client that you also have leadership skills, especially if you will be working with creative teams. Share your business experience on special projects with a team of editors.
You can also share your successful editing projects of confidential documents with other editors. Make sure you have a strong background in leadership so you can get a management position.
Example:
- Bad: Worked with several teams on proofreading and editing a comprehensive report.
- Good: Collaborated with several health researchers, proofreaders, and editors on the Biannual Report for Health in 2020, fixed typographical errors, and ensured overall accuracy of content through constructive feedback.
Take a Course
Aside from reading expert advice from resume experts, it also helps to take a proofreading course before building a professional resume to land a position or freelance editing job. This will help you determine the type of content and document you work with, especially if you don’t have work experience yet.
A proofreading course will show you what types of skills you already have and the projects you can accept. Some online classes also help you build the resume, from the format to your background.
The best course should help you hone the skills that need improvement. That way, more potential clients will be attracted to your abilities.
Proofread Anywhere’s course will teach you techniques to spot spelling and grammatical errors in materials. It also provides guidelines on how to build a proofreading business, deal with tight deadlines, and take breaks as a freelancer.
What is the Difference Between a Resume and a CV?
Knowing the difference between a resume and curriculum vitae will help you avoid mistakes in the application process.
Remember that a resume is a document for job searching that presents vital facts about your academic background, skills, and experience. A CV is an academic document with a more complex format as it details the whole course of your career.
While resumes are only one to two pages long, a CV can reach up to 13 pages if necessary. That’s because it includes your publications, honors, awards, and an in-depth explanation of your professional career.
Your resume doesn’t have to contain all your experience, skills, and academic credentials. It should only involve details relevant to the job you’re applying for.
For instance, if you’re applying as a proofreader, you don’t have to mention your experience with web development or graphic design.
While a resume only needs your contact education, relevant education, skills, and experience, here’s what to include in a CV:
- Personal profile.
- Books.
- Peer-Reviewed publications.
- Awards and honors.
- Grants.
- Conferences.
- Teaching experience.
- Non-academic activities.
- Language and skills.
- References.
How to Match Your Resume with the Job Description
Now you know that a resume should only include information about you relevant to the job description. To be a proofreader, there are specific steps you need to take to align the resume with the job.
Compare the Job Posting with Other Posts
Compare the job posting with other posts on the website. You will see overlaps in keywords, which you should incorporate in your document. But make sure to prioritize keywords that appear on the top part of the posting.
For example, a job description might say you need impressive attention to detail regarding grammatical mistakes. Include this skill on the top part of your resume. Then, include the rest of the common keywords in the following bullet points.
Align Yourself with the Client or Company
Alignment with clients’ expectations is also essential. For instance, some companies prefer proofreaders and editors with a background in copywriting. Try highlighting your expertise in this area in the work experience section.
If the job posting is looking for assistant news editors, there’s no need to mention your irrelevant work experience in content marketing.
Format the Resume Correctly
Using functional and combination resumes will help people apply as proofreaders without experience. Keep it skill-based and thoroughly explain every ability you possess.
As mentioned, using specific keywords is essential when formatting the document. Many HR analytics programs collect and scan resumes for buzz words to narrow their choices.
Bullet points will keep the sentence structure clearer and the entire paper neater. Make the keywords flow logically and naturally. Otherwise, you might not pass the interview phase.
You also want to proofread your own resume before submitting it. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors can put off employers. Even ATS can prevent your document from being read or received if it has many mistakes.
Check out this example of a proofreader’s job description. The relevant keywords are highlighted to help you include them in your resume.
Proofreader Job Description
The ABC company is a women-owned business consisting of language teachers, education professionals, and trainers. Apply your proofreading and copy-editing skills in our creative and empowering environment. We are searching for proofreaders with a strong background in copywriting to be a part of our creative team to improve our content creation.
Responsibilities
- Perform copy-editing and proofreading for instructional materials submitted by teachers, instructional designers, and trainers while providing suggestions for proofreading.
- Use the Chicago Manual of Style and other style guides for referencing.
- Marks page proofs with GPO proofreading symbols.
- Use copywriting skills to refine content for study guides and learning materials.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in English or Journalism is preferred.
- At least one year of copy-editing or copywriting experience.
- Knowledge of association style manuals.
- Proficient in Adobe Acrobat, WordPress, and Microsoft Office Suite.
- Strong leadership skills.
Here’s an example of a resume section that aligns with the job description.
Copywriter Proofreader
Focus Forward, October 2019-present
- Provides copywriting and proofreading services for an online content company about educational products, toys, and applications .
- Utilized knowledge of journalism and GPO proofreading symbols to help writers fine-tune their writing for content creation.
- Proofread 10+ articles per week, used the Chicago Manual of Style for academic documents, identified spelling and grammar errors, and published blog posts on WordPress.
Key Skills:
- Copywriting,
- Proofreading.
- WordPress.
- Chicago Manual of Style.
What Does a Resume Need?
Once you know how to customize your resume for a job, it’s time to build it. Here’s everything you should include in your resume.
Contact Information
The most important part of your resume is your name. Make sure it’s the most prominent text on the first page of your document. It would help if you also placed it on the topmost part to bring attention to customers or employers.
You don’t have to write your complete address on the document since the company couldn’t care less about it. But it has to include your city, state, and zip code. ‘
Ensure to include your professional email address, but not the work email you used for your previous job. Don’t use your personal email address or the ones you use for social networking sites.
Your LinkedIn page, Instagram business account, and other professional social media links can also be on your resume. Make sure these websites showcase your relevant experiences and skill set.
Example:
STEVE CHARD
[email protected] | 9999-11111-45454
www.linkedin.com/in/stevechard
Relevant Education
The education part of your resume should include your school name, the date you graduated, and your degree name. Resume builders automatically ask for these pieces of information from you. A good proofreader resume template also includes these details.
Optional parts of this section include your academic awards and GPA. You may also put academic projects you worked on and if you wrote or proofread for the student newspaper.
Example:
Master’s Degree in English 2013-2016
New York University | New York, NY
Proofreader Skills
Your resume should always include 6-12 skills in bullet points to attract an employer. You may include soft skills, but there should be more hard skills. These technical know-hows should also show alignment with project requirements.
Some proofreader skills you can include in your resume are:
- Legal documents skills.
- Microsoft Office Suite skills.
- Powerpoint skills.
- Style guide skills.
- Adobe Acrobat skills.
- Ensure accuracy skills.
Proofreader Experience
Some hiring managers skip the above sections and focus more on your work experience. List all your tasks in every job you had, including your achievements and measurable results. Numbers can help you contextualize these attainments.
Example:
Student Textbooks Proofreader
- Worked with different article templates for educational content to fix spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style mistakes.
- Managed four proofreaders in the company to publish more digital and print textbooks.
- Revolutionized the layout of a Science textbook through concept maps and organizational charts.
- Ensured accurate reports and factual information in Science textbooks.
Summary
The last part of your resume is a summary similar to shorter versions of bibliographical profiles you see in online databases. This section includes a 1-3 spiel on top of the resume that introduces who you are and what you can contribute.
Proofreader Resume Samples
Here are three proofreader resume samples you can take inspiration from or use as templates.
This second sample is ideal for aspiring proofreaders who do not have proofreading experience but possess relevant skills.
May Your Job Search Be Shorter Than Your Resume
Your resume is the key to your entire application process. Make sure your proofreading skills and background align with the clients’ needs. Keep it tailored, clear, and concise.
I hope this guide on proofreader resume tips and samples helps you craft the perfect resume. Start using our template to increase your chances of getting an interview.
Sources:
https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/proofreader-salary