THE competition for a paycheque has probably never been fiercer than it is now and so one mistake can easily put your résumé at the bottom of the application pile. In order to ensure that you are seen as a viable candidate for a career post, it is important to do your checks and balances, be professional and be assertive — in a good way of course. The fact is that there is not much room for error when the job market is this competitive.

“We are facing a global recession, so there are fewer jobs available, both in third world countries such as Jamaica, as well as in wealthier countries such as the United States of America,” said certified professional life and corporate coach Cheryll Messam from youinmindJamaica.com.

Some of the things that can easily cause you to miss out on a good opportunity include:

1. Not proofing your résumé . Although this is the age of brevity, résumé s should still be structured professionally with the use of proper grammar. You can leave the cyber slangs for when you are messaging your friends or talking to them online. When it comes to landing a job, you don’t often get a second chance to make a first impression. Therefore you have to check your résumé before closing the envelop or clicking the send button. Ask others to read if over for you as well to make sure there are no grammatical errors or typos.

1. Not proofing your résumé . Although this is the age of brevity, résumé s should still be structured professionally with the use of proper grammar. You can leave the cyber slangs for when you are messaging your friends or talking to them online. When it comes to landing a job, you don’t often get a second chance to make a first impression. Therefore you have to check your résumé before closing the envelop or clicking the send button. Ask others to read if over for you as well to make sure there are no grammatical errors or typos.

2. Not doing background checks on the company or position being applied for. “It would be in the best interest of anybody who is serious about getting employed, and getting employed as quickly as possible, to do the kind of research to find out what skills are needed by the various industries, so that their preparations can match the organisation’s needs,” Messam advised. It’s highly likely that you will be asked how you can contribute to the company during your job interview and so it is important to do your research to see what exactly the company does.

3. Waiting too long to return calls or emails. Forget trying to be modest by waiting three days before you respond to a voicemail or an e-mail left by a prospective employer. A job search is not a dating game where you wait three days to call back because you don’t want to seem desperate. You probably need that job more than that company needs you, so if you so happen to miss the call, don’t take it for granted that they will call you back.

4. Wearing the wrong thing. How you dress will have an effect on how people see you, so if you want to be seriously considered for a job, you should dress professionally. No matter how impressive your résumé is, wearing tight fitting clothing, casual attire or an outrageous outfit for a formal interview could make them easily pass your over.

5. Portraying the wrong image online. You might have heard it before, but recruiters are increasingly logging into the Facebook pages of prospective job candidates to see what sort of image they portray. No one wants to hire someone who is loud and cantankerous. Yes, your page is your personal space, but then companies have to do their background checks and this is one of the places they go to do so.

6. Asking about salary during the first interview. Asking about salary the first time you go for an interview is likely to affect your chances of getting that job. Naturally, this is a topic which will come up at a later date when the company has done its shortlisting. It’s best to spend more time asking about the opportunities for growth, if the hiring manager asks about any questions you might have.

7. Sending a long résumé . Nobody wants to read through a thesis to get information about you that could have been summarised in a few words. Your résumé is a sales pitch so you want to make sure it is easy to read and very concise. Leave out those things that people generally use to pad their résumé s such as hobbies and volunteer activities, unless they are directly related to the position you are applying for.