Details, details, details.

There’s such a thing as drowning in the details — by which point you can’t see the forest for the trees, to throw in another idiom — but the attitude that dismisses mere details as unworthy of attention needs to be reexamined.

Case 1: Higher Hiring
While hiring, I’m looking very closely at details. If you’ve spelled my name incorrectly, dropped all capitalization and punctuation while answering screening questions, or included an extra fully blank page along with your resume, I’ve noticed. This is your chance to make an impression! Don’t drop the details.

Case 2: Notice Notices
Especially when communicating with a large group of people, review before publishing. If you’re in need of an editor, there are plenty of enthusiastic candidates around — and probably closer than you think. Don’t let this happen to you:

Case 3: Deserving Surveys
Of course there’s a survey connection here, too. From editing language to choosing the right question type, surveys offer plenty of opportunities to win and plenty of pitfalls. Make sure your single-select questions aren’t asked with multi-select formats, be sure that your ranges don’t overlap (Which answer range should a 20-year-old participant choose, 10-20 or 20-30?), and confirm that logic and piping options that depend on answers are supported by correctly applied mandatory settings.

I could go on and on, rolling out cliches and idioms right and left (The devil is in the details!) but the point is clear: Pay attention — your audience is, too.

(Plus, be sure to test before you launch — you’ll be glad you did!)