As a VA or an administrative assistant, your job is in the details. And, as we all know, the devil is there as well. It is very difficult to spot every single grammatical error, spelling mistake or factual inconsistency. However, in many administrative jobs, failure to do so not only makes you look bad, but it reflects on your employer and your company as well. As a result, you must learn to check and double-check not only religiously, but also effectively to make sure that your details are all flawless.

Here are some ways to make sure that you have not missed anything in written correspondence:

•    Make a list of common errors
Use MS excel to make a checklist. It might include things like spelling, comma splices, titles and basic grammar errors. Then, use that list to check these items one at a time in your document, checking off each item as you determine that you have spotted all errors of that type. This will help you focus on problem areas and insure that you do not forget something that you know is a weakness for you.     

•    Fact check
Use the MS word highlight function or actually print out a hard copy of the document and highlight all the information that needs to be fact-checked. This includes numbers and similar data, people’s titles and dates. Once you have checked them, either initial them on the hard copy or remove the highlighting in the document.

•    Leave the “TO:” field blank in emails
If you already have all the recipients in place in an email, it can be tempting to just hit “Send” when you have finished typing. This can also happen accidentally, leading to partial emails or the necessity of multiple correction emails later. Leaving the address box blank until you have finished checking over your work insures that you will not accidentally send something out before it is ready for reading.

•    Get a second opinion
If possible; have someone else read over documents once you are done writing them. Since you write the document, it is likely that you will not see some errors because you know what you meant to say.  A fresh set of eyes can help you avoid this.