Why a Professional CV Matters and How Academic Proofreading can Help

Photo: Olu Eletu (@flenjoore)

Imagine receiving a CV or a published academic article and it’s riddled with grammatical errors. What would your impression of the student or job applicant be? Most likely negative.

It’s difficult to see mistakes when you’ve been reading the same text over and over. You might’ve become blind to errors, or you might feel a little biased toward a particular sentence that you’ve lovingly crafted and don’t want to delete. We’ve all fallen victim to these writing mistakes, which is why we need academic proofreaders.

Academic proofreading is all about catching small technical faults, fixing issues with grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Proofreaders ensure your content is error free and that you come across as professional.

The difference between copy editing and proofreading

Copy editing is a much more involved process and looks at the bigger picture of your writing. Proofreading focuses more on the words, grammatical errors and spelling, while copy-editing focuses on how you phrased something, your sentence structure and paragraph flow.

Copy editing goes beyond punctuation and focuses on the organisation of ideas. A copy editor checks for mistakes and inconsistencies, and will flag repetitions. An academic proofreader on the other hand, is someone that examines the final copy of a document, known as the ‘proof’.

121 Captions offers both proofreading and copy editing services, while also improving the flow and structure of your writing. We want to you to have the best written work possible.

Recruiters want a creative, well written CV/Resume

A clearly organised, well written CV will give you an advantage over other candidates. Remember, you can’t charm a recruiter with your personality and skills when your CV didn’t get you the interview. You need a resume that shows you are the perfect fit for the job. Here are some tips:

• It should be clear from your CV what job you’re applying for.
• Don’t send out identical resumes to several different recruiters, this never works.
• Tweak and customise your achievements for each particular job and company.
• Your cover letter is very important. Use it to tell the recruiter (1) why you are applying for the job (2) why you want to work for their company and (3) why they should hire you.
• Most recruiters will not read a CV without a cover letter.

How important is it to proof read academic submissions?

Proofreading academic work should, in my opinion, be mandatory. One small blemish on a document can distract from all the weeks of hard work you’ve put into it. Mistakes and errors of any kind conveys carelessness, and no one wants to hire a lazy or incompetent job applicant.

Messy writing reduces the quality of your work, whilst proofreading shows you take pride in your work, creating a good first impression.

At 121 Captions we specialise in helping ESL students with their academic writing, checking that their sources are legitimate and information is carefully organised and well represented. We also offer typing of written work and notes and provide transcriptions of audio recordings.

Benefits of using academic proofreading services

• A fresh pair of eyes to identify and amend any errors.
• Adding value to your writing by smoothing out differences in style and removing inconsistencies.
• Fast delivery times when you’re in a rush. 121 Captions offers a 4 day turnaround time.
• Access to many talented editors and proofreaders.
• Pinpointing formatting issues and improving the flow of your document.
• Assurance that your resume or academic writing is written to the best possible standard.
• Peace of mind that your document is clear and will be understood by the reader.
• Prompt and friendly feedback.

Poor proofreading makes you look unprofessional and lazy. Two characteristics you don’t want to be associated with, especially when applying for a job.

How do you know when an editor is truly professional? – Use a reputable service that employ pre-screened and qualified editors, to ensure you receive professional proofreading and good quality feedback. At 121 Captions we make sure each draft you send us is thoroughly checked, making sure it’s the best work it can be.

Conclusion

It has become more and more important to have an outside expert go over your work. Academic proofreading helps you avoid failure and improves your chances of landing that coveted career opportunity.

If you want to make the best first impression with your CV or academic writing then let us help you. To find out more about our CV checking and academic proofreading services, contact us.

Your academic proofreading questions answered

Why do people want proofreading services from 121 Captions? What do you offer?

We care about your future and the quality of your CV or academic writing can have a significant impact on your prospective career opportunities. Our academic proofreaders are based in the UK and have advanced degrees from leading academic institutions, with years of experience editing and proofreading academic work.

I am a certified careers consultant (CEIGHE) which means I’m a CV expert. My colleagues and I have worked with many students, graduates and post doctorates. We’re approved by AGCAS (The Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services), the professional body for careers and employability professionals working with higher education students and graduates and prospective entrants to higher education.

Our qualifications provide evidence in support of the National Occupational Standards for Career Development and we’re also approved by the Career Development Institute (CDI) as meeting the qualification requirement for the UK Register of Career Development Professionals.

What’s your typical rate charge for proofreading an academic article & checking a resume/CV?

Rates vary depending on what services you require and how fast you require it to be delivered. Contact us for further information.

Do you offer any special rates or discounts?

Special rates can be negotiated if the document is over 30,000 words or if you require bulk proofreading to be done on a regular basis.

Do you perform fact checking services?

We do not check facts, however, we have an additional reference checking service where we check the sources you’ve referenced against the authors, years, titles and publication information to ensure it’s all correct.

What process do you use when proofreading?

We’ll comprehensively check your document in British or American Standard English for spelling, grammar sentence contextualisation (syntax) and repetitive words. Such an inclusive check includes:

• Changing incorrect spelling and grammar.
• Checking for inconsistencies and repetitions.
• Ensuring the correct usage of English language idioms.

When choosing 121 Captions for your academic proofreading, you’ll receive suggestions on improvements, and a highlighted copy of your work showing the changes we’ve made.

Our academic proofreaders will find errors that cannot be picked up by automatic checkers. We’ll also check the formatting of your references to ensure consistency.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss your CV or writing needs, contact us.