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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Proofreading Tip: Proofreading Your Online Image

Have you checked your LinkedIn profile lately? Do you have the proper keywords to build your brand and visibility? When others are checking your profile, are they interested in doing business with you, in connecting with you, or in asking to meet you for an interview? Don't let a typo stand between you and opportunities. Potential clients, possible connections, and recruiters may reject you because your profile has an error.

Do you think a spelling error won't matter? Many recruiters will not consider candidates whose resumes have a mistake, and now most companies are using social media to recruit new hires.

Unfortunately, you can't rely on a spell check button in LinkedIn because there isn't one. So, what do you do? Here are some tips that may help:

Read the copy aloud. Doing this will help you find words that are missing or see the wrong word being used such as you vs. your.


Have someone review your copy. Generally, we read our documents the way we intend it to be. It's much easier for someone else to discover our errors.

Copy and paste your profile into a Word document so you can use spell check. Highlight the copy; press CTRL+C to copy. Open a new Word document, and press CTRL+V to paste. Press F7 to check for errors.

What other online errors are preventing you from connecting with others? Online dating? Facebook? Comments posted on articles and blogs? Proofread those profiles and posts, too. Be sure to project a professional image.

What suggestions do you have to help enhance your online image?

Judy Beaver, The Office Pro
Founder of National Proofreading Day
Judy@TheOfficePro.net