Typewriters before this time did possess a backspace key, but it simply moved the carriage back one character space so the typist could use whiteout to remove a mistake. When struck, the correction key of IBM Selectric II would use internal correction tape to remove the mistake and replace it with a letter key manually chosen by the user
This works fine for informal things, like a correspondence with a friend, inter office communication, or perhaps a rambling Zine. However, for something formal like a resume, this would be bad etiquette.
Just a side note, If your mistake was found after removing your paper from the typewriter, good luck getting the paper re-aligned on any typewriter without decent detents built into the platen.
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Looks like most typewriters before 1973
Read more at the ANSI Blog: Invention of the Backspace Key https://blog.ansi.org/?p=7178
So use whiteout!
This works fine for informal things, like a correspondence with a friend, inter office communication, or perhaps a rambling Zine. However, for something formal like a resume, this would be bad etiquette.
Just a side note, If your mistake was found after removing your paper from the typewriter, good luck getting the paper re-aligned on any typewriter without decent detents built into the platen.