You’re doing everything right - searching for open positions online, maintaining contacts with professionals in your network, and hitting the pavement hard. Done correctly, a job hunt will consume a tremendous amount of time and energy. When you finally find what appears to be the perfect open position for you, it can be easy to get excited and quickly zip off a resume and cover letter.

Excitement and haste are a recipe for disaster when it comes to applying for jobs, so before you click “send,” stop and take time to make sure you’re presenting yourself in the best light possible.

Here are some common pitfalls that hiring managers and search committees use to screen out candidates, even before looking at their credentials:

Spelling Errors
Many hiring managers adopt a zero-tolerance policy for spelling and grammatical errors on job applications. When you submit a resume with a spelling mistake, you come across as careless. More importantly, you demonstrate an inability to use your resources (i.e., the spell check function on your word processor) effectively. Even computers make mistakes, so make sure your final spell check is done by a proof-reader of the human variety.

Ignoring Directions
Employers use a variety of methods for receiving applications. Read the position announcement carefully and submit your documents exactly as they ask for them. This often means that you will be filling in fields of online forms with the same information, over and over again. Do it anyway. Whenever possible, convert your word processing documents to the universal .pdf file format before sending them electronically. If the job posting asks for names or letters of reference, provide them. If they don’t ask for them, don’t send them.

Evidence of Mass Distribution
Countless cover letters are tossed to the side without review because they are addressed to the wrong company. You may spend hours customizing a beautifully-worded cover letter, only to forget to change the company name from the last time you sent it out. Don’t send a letter to IBM telling them how Xerox is a great fit for your skills.

More is Not Better
Your entire application package should be reasonable in length. Unless you are asked for more, keep your attachments to two or less if you want someone to actually read them. Think of your resume as the calling card of your skills, not the owner’s manual. Unless you are an executive or CEO, your resume should be no more than two pages in length. Highlight your best strengths on your resume, and leave the rest for the interview.

Sadly, many highly qualified candidates don’t make it past the first round of cuts due to poor presentation at the application stage.

Hiring managers and search committees are overloaded with candidate resumes, and now more than ever they are looking for ways to easily narrow down the stack. If you care about the position you are applying for, take time to do it right. If not, move on and wait for something to come along that is worth your best effort.

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