Proofreading for a Professional Image

Why Proofreading Matters

In January of 2019, my mom was discharged from the hospital after treatment for a brain aneurysm. During her short stay in the hospital, she had had a scary and complicated recovery process, most likely due to a small stroke either during or soon after the aneurysm procedure. One of the sheets of her discharge papers had a blurb entitled “Important Information for Stroke.” I assume it was a “stock” statement that got sent home with any patients at risk for stroke. In the middle of this information sheet was this sentence: “There are personal risk that are associated with Stoke.” The proofreader in me cringed. First, “are” requires a plural noun to follow it (“risks”). Second–and perhaps most appalling–is that “stroke” was spelled wrong (additionally, it should not have been capitalized in this context). Proofreading matters. How many patients has this information gone home with?

You might be thinking that those are just minor errors and that anyone can still figure out the intended meaning without a problem. But think about this: If these fairly obvious errors weren’t caught, what other errors weren’t caught? If medications were prescribed, could there be dosage errors? What about if there was an incorrect medication listed, possibly due to a misspelling?

A lot of uncertainty can surround errors, even small ones.

Present Your Best Self

Errors can affect the professional image and credibility of an individual, institution, or business. I expect medical professionals to be detail-oriented, to put care into their work. The same might be said for mechanics or lawyers or administrative assistants. For anybody in any service industry.

Have you ever ordered one thing at a restaurant and received something different? Most of us have. We’re all human; we all make mistakes. However, if you go to that same restaurant several more times and receive the wrong order each time, you will probably stop going there. In this scenario, the server is essentially the image of the restaurant. What that server does or does not do reflects poorly on the restaurant. At that point, then, it doesn’t much matter if the food is any good or not. Proofreading errors detract from one’s professional image in much the same way that a careless server can hurt a restaurant’s reputation.

Proofreading matters.

Ask for Help

Typos and spelling mistakes can taint a client’s view of a business or other institution and may not accurately reflect what kind of establishment it is. Social media, emails, websites, blogs, business cards: all of these things present an image to the public; all of these things require proofreading. It’s important to present your best self not just to your clients, patients, or customers but also to your prospective clients, patients, or customers.

But it’s not just what a person thinks of a certain institution or business. Proofreading is also essential at the individual level, e.g., in the job hunting process.

As a store manager many years ago, I was going through resumes for an open assistant manager position. In the address on their cover letter, one candidate had misspelled the city they lived in (the city I also lived in). I’m sure that person knew how to spell the city correctly, but not taking the time to get a second pair of eyes showed haste and carelessness–not the kind of person who seemed serious about the job. Not the kind of person I wanted as my assistant.

I wasn’t necessarily expecting to hire someone with astute proofreading skills; I was, however, looking for someone with effective communication skills and who paid attention to detail. Not everyone can easily pick out their own writing errors. In fact, most people can’t. It’s often easier to edit and proofread someone else’s writing. The bottom line is that you don’t have to be a perfect writer or proofreader; you just need to know when to ask for help. If the person with the misspelled city had had someone look over their cover letter before submitting it, it’s probable that the error would have been caught, and it’s possible that I may have taken them more seriously as a candidate.

Think about your professional image. What do you want to present to the public? Do you need a professional proofreader or editor to help you (or your business) present your best self?

For information regarding my consulting, editing, or proofreading services, please contact me.

[Post updated on 5-8-20 by the author.]