06 · Profile, letters, network · Chapter 19 of 35

The pre-submit quality check

Five minutes that prevent a strong candidate from looking careless. Save the job description; postings disappear before interviews.

6 min read

  • Accuracy — company name spelled right, role title matches, dates, phone, email, attachments. If you recycled a letter, search for the previous company name.
  • Relevance — top 5 posting priorities are visible where truthfully supported.
  • Readability — conventional headings; no essential info trapped in decorative elements.
  • Consistency — application form, resume, profile, and letter do not contradict titles, dates, or education.
  • Instructions — PDF vs. Word, extra questions, work sample, salary field (use a researched range, not $0 or $1,000,000).
  • Archive — save the posting as a PDF/HTML and log the tracker row before you click submit.

Do this now

  • Add this checklist to the last 5 minutes of every application. The Workbook tracker has a notes field for ‘posted salary’ and ‘resume version.’

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