Great, Grand, Glorious, Grammar (Job–Hunting Document) (2nd part of 2)
(The following is about grammar and writing; this is the second part of two articles; the 1st article appeared the week before).
The first article talked about two steps you can take to find grammar errors in your writing.
They were
- 1st Step: Find errors yourself as the author.
- 2nd Step: Use Internet tools to help find grammar errors
Now let’s move onto the 3rd step.
3rd step: Another human look at your writing to help find errors
People can find errors in their writing, but people have limits. The human mind works against writers who attempt to find mistakes in their writing. In my experience, a person can become too close to their writing. For example, a person editing their writing may interpret the writing to say one thing when it means something else. Moreover, an author can be so close to the writing they miss errors. The following online article provides more information about why authors have difficulty finding their errors.
Article Title: What’s Up With That: Why It’s So Hard to Catch Your Own Typos
The reason typos get through isn’t because we’re stupid or careless, it’s because what we’re doing is actually very smart.
Article Published: December 8, 2014
Author of Article: Nick Stockton
Article Address: https://www.wired.com/2014/08/wuwt-typos/
The report gives reasons why self-editing a piece of writing is so difficult to do
Ideally, an author can benefit from having another human being look at their writing. Another person may find errors that the author overlooked.
Human beings may also find errors that grammar software programs cannot see.
Here are some suggestions to find editing help:
Friends/Family
You may find a friend/family member who can help you; they may be able to give you advice on your writing.
Career experts
You may find a career expert who can help you with your job hunting documents. A career expert can look at your writing documents to find possible errors. Here are ideas to find career experts:
- Workforce Development Offices
State governments organize Workforce Development Offices in the United States. A person can check with their local Workforce Development Office to see what services may be available.
The location of your nearest Workforce Development Office can be found using a website called Careeronestop.org
Type in https://www.careeronestop.org/
Then move the mouse over Job Search
A menu will open
Then move the mouse over the link State Job Banks
(link under the “Find Jobs” column)
You then have a screen filled with links to different states.
Click on a state to find information on Workforce Development Offices in that state.
- Colleges/universities
You can utilize the expertise from colleges/universities. Colleges/Universities may help students, alumni, and the public. Check with your local college/university for specific details.
Areas a college/university may be able to help in:
- Career experts at a career office.
Career experts in career offices can help people with the recruitment process by checking your job documents for potential errors.
- Professors
Professors can also assist by looking at job-hunting documents. They can be helpful as a professor can tailor their advice towards their particular profession.
- Non-profits
A non-profit may have career experts who can help people with their career documents. One non-profit called Goodwill can help, for example. Goodwill can be found online at:
Can type in https://www.goodwill.org/You can then find career information.
Different local Goodwill offices will offer different services
You can find the services for your local Goodwill office.
You can move your mouse over the link “Jobs & Training.”
A new menu box of options will appear.
You can then select the choice “Locate a Career Center.”
(Will be the first choice on the menu)
Then you can locate a career center in your local area.
- 211 Telephone Number
Career help can be found by accessing the 211-telephone number.
You can dial “2-1-1” on your phone. Doing this will allow you to access local career resources in your local area.
211 is a service that connects the social services need of a person with local community services in the person’s area. In addition, you may find career experts who can help you.
Details can find details on https://www.211.org/.
The United Way operates a 211 telephone system. (https://www.unitedway.org/)
- Hire Your Career Expert
You can hire a career expert to look at your job hunting documents. A career expert may also have the title “career coach.”
The career field can be unregulated; people can call themselves career experts without specific credentials or experience. So, you may have to do some research into a career expert before spending your money. Here are some ways to assess career experts:
- Career Expert website– Read the website of the career expert you are considering
- Internet reviews– The Internet can list online reviews of career experts
- The experience itself– Before taking on the job, career experts sometimes meet with a customer free of cost for the first meeting (not always, please check with each career expert on their pricing policies). The experience itself will allow you to evaluate a career expert in person.
I suggest people choose career experts who have a pay-as-you-go arrangement. Otherwise, you risk paying for services you are not happy with if you pay for services ahead of time. A career expert can be a top professional; however, they still may not work for you. A career expert and customer have to evaluate each other to see if they ‘fit’ and will work well together. The career expert may have different working styles that may not work for you. Again, this can run the risk of you paying for future services that do not work for you.
-
Editorial help
You may hire an editor to help edit your work. Editors can help with longer pieces of writing, like a portfolio. Here are some places on the Internet to find an editor.
Fiverr (https://www.fiverr.com/)
Fiverr.com is a place for freelance experts to offer their services. This is a great place to find a freelance editor who can help you.
Here is how to find freelance editing help on Fiverr:
Type in the web address www.fiverr.com/
Scroll down the website.
You will see different freelance categories.
Click the category that says “Writing & Translation”.
Click the category that says Writing & Translation area:
- Resume Writing
- Cover Letters
- Proofreading & Editing
You can click a category to get more details about the freelancer. The descriptions offer different levels of service, called bronze, silver, and gold.
Some freelance editors correct grammar errors in job-hunting documents. Using these freelancers would be beneficial as you might find better opportunities for ensuring your job-hunting documents are free of grammar errors.
These tools help a person find errors in job hunting writing documents; you may reduce mistakes that can increase the quality of the job-hunting documents you may show to potential employers.