Are Typos Keeping You From Getting A Job?

In the age of instant messaging and text lingo, one can forget the basics and importance of grammar. And even though we have desktop software to correct misspellings and provide grammar guidance, nothing compares to a real set of eyes knowledgeable on basic grammar rules.

Michelle Singletary, Color of Money columnist for the Washington Post, devoted her column this week to discuss typos and errors on the resumes of jobseekers, and how those jobseekers are perceived by prospective employers. Typically, Singletary uses her column to provide finance advice to cash-strapped and credit-extended Washingtonians.  That she would devote an entire column to the subject of resume errors speaks volumes to the current state grammatical affairs.

Typos and errors deserving of Hall of Fame status at Resumania:

• COVER LETTER: Upon your humble request, I will forward to your personal attention my letters of reference to be attached hereto and made part thereof.
• JOB DUTIES: Tracking competitor activities, scheming.
• EDUCATION: Studied public rations.
• WORK HISTORY: Faxed documents to attorneys over sees.
• OBJECTIVE: To get an opportunity to proof what I know.
• COVER LETTER: Hire me today and take advantage of a diamond in the ruff.

All jokes aside, your resume is your first (and perhaps only) introduction to a potential employer.
How do hiring professionals view resumes with errors? According to Singletary,

…it appears that in this tight job market, those tiny mistakes could keep you jobless, according to a survey by Accountemps, a staffing-services firm specializing in accounting and finance. In interviews with 150 senior executives from the nation’s 1,000 largest companies, 40 percent of the respondents said that just one typo on a résumé would kick a job candidate out of the queue for consideration. Thirty percent said it would take just two mistakes before the résumé was discarded.

“The way we see it, there’s so much competition out there. There’s no room for error,” said Natasha Melgar, branch manager of the Washington office of the staffing firm Robert Half International. “The résumé is the first opportunity to present yourself.”

Is that a bit harsh? Of course it is. But as we’ve all learned, life is not fair. Deal with it.

Singletary provides some helpful tips in making sure your resume doesn’t get tossed in the circular file. Read them here.

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