Spelling, cover letters, and sheer mortification

[smiling bandit]

Well, I foud out after reviewing something I wrote that I mispelled a word on a damn cover letter I sent in... for an editing job.

The irritating thing is that I know how to spell the word. It's that I can't type. Yes, typing is fast, dammit, but I less accurate. I keep putting in mistakes I would never make by hand, simply because my fingers move faster than my eyes - much faster. Of course, I never was able to get into a typing class, and now I'm firmly stuck with a bad typing style, always looking at the keyboard instead of the monitor.

Part of the issue with the annoyingly small window this particular submission allows. You can put in a lot of words, but you can't only see about a line at a time. Makes it easy to miss errors, ad spellcheck isn't perfect.

Anyway, the sheer shame of it. Gah, they're probably having a laugh now, even if I spotted multiple errors in their posting.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by smiling bandit

but I less accurate.

No!

[The Other Waldo Pepper]

Originally Posted by smiling bandit

Makes it easy to miss errors, ad spellcheck isn't perfect.

Ad how!

[svd678]

I only counted 4 errors in the post.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by tdn

No!

Well, he also "foud" out that he made an error...

[jayjay]

And "mispelled" is misspelled.

[svd678]

OK, five

[corkboard]

I had a friend who boasted on his resume of his editing and proofreading skills, only to be called out by an interviewer for misspelling the word "proofreading". He didn't get the job. The rest of us LOL'd.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by The Other Waldo Pepper

Ad how!

Bless you.

[Really Not All That Bright]

It's 2011. If you can't type, you aren't qualified for an editing job. FWIW, I did take a typing class, and learned nothing. I learned how to type by spending too much time on AIM as a teen.

Post more.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by corkboard

I had a friend who boasted on his resume of his editing and proofreading skills, only to be called out by an interviewer for misspelling the word "proofreading". He didn't get the job. The rest of us LOL'd.

I have a friend who dreams of one day bcomig a englis techer.

[smiling bandit]

Originally Posted by Really Not All That Bright

It's 2011. If you can't type, you aren't qualified for an editing job. FWIW, I did take a typing class, and learned nothing. I learned how to type by spending too much time on AIM as a teen.

Editing is not about your skill at punching keys. It's about analyzing the flow of the document, reorganizing, reccomending deletions, or even suggesting additions, and correcting errors that you see. Forums are conversations, and I don't usually edit posts.

[you with the face]

That sucks, OP. I'm sure most of us have done something like this before. Don't kick yourself too hard.

You can always take a typing course. There all kind of tutorials out there. But that doesn't really sound like the problem. It doesn't matter how many mistakes you make when typing, practically speaking. As long as you catch and correct all of them before sending it off, then you're good to go. That's what editing is. So I don't really think your issue is typing per se.

[davidm]

Part of the issue with the annoyingly small window this particular submission allows.

Part of the issue with this particular sentence.

[smiling bandit]

Originally Posted by you with the face

That sucks, OP. I'm sure most of us have done something like this before. Don't kick yourself too hard.

It's the difference between something I care about looking professional, and forum posts, which are just tossed off instantly with no correction. Thanks, though.

As long as you catch and correct all of them before sending it off, then you're good to go. That's what editing is. So I don't really think your issue is typing per se.

I don't make them by hand, though. But I make far more errors typing, and if you make enough errors, they'll sometimes slip through.

[you with the face]

Originally Posted by smiling bandit

I don't make them by hand, though. But I make far more errors typing, and if you make enough errors, they'll sometimes slip through.

With an editing job, wouldn't you be expected to proofread and correct other people's work? That means you need to have a good eye for spotting mistakes, not necessarily typing so skillfully that you're not making them in the first place.

But I'm not a professional editor (even though I'm editing some work right this minute), so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

[Dogzilla]

Take this as a lesson: you are not qualified to be an editor. A good editor will proofread and find all errors in a cover letter/resume/document before distributing. That you still missed some on a crucial document (your freaking resume) says to me "Not ready to be an editor."

When I hire/interview potential editors, any cover letter or resume with even one tiny mistake on it gets tossed. I'm looking for editors who can find mistakes! If you can't find them in your own resume, what assurance do I have that you can actually do the job?

Brush up on your skills, take a class or four, and then try again.

Note: If this was for any other type of job besides editing, I would recommend that you resubmit the resume and cover letter with a note that you've found errors and made corrections. This is good business, proves you show attention to detail, and proves you are willing to take responsibility for and correct your own errors. However, for an editorial position, it's already too late: you've demonstrated yourself to be incapable of, well, editing.

ETA: BTW, I am a professional editor. I wouldn't want to work with you because I assume I'd have to be constantly doing your work again, behind you, to catch all the mistakes you missed. There is no "some mistakes get through" in my world. Not if you're a decent editor, they don't.

[smiling bandit]

Originally Posted by Dogzilla

Take this as a lesson: you are not qualified to be an editor. A good editor will proofread and find all errors in a cover letter/resume/document before distributing. That you still missed some on a crucial document (your freaking resume) says to me "Not ready to be an editor."

No editor can always find all mistakes. Even well-edited published works routinely include speling errors, and more rarely outright grammar fails. Aside from which, you don't know how *many* applications I've put in over the years. Statistics gets everyone from time to time.

[smiling bandit]

And, speaking of which, it is vastly harder for some people (*cough* myself *cough*) to edit material they wrote. You don't see what you did write, but what you intended to write. This can be overcome much of the time by waiting until the direct memory fades, but it's always a problem.

[Eve]

Originally Posted by tdn

I have a friend who dreams of one day bcomig a englis techer.

I saw a help-wanted ad once for an "English tudor." I wanted to dress up like Anne Boleyn and apply for the job.

[Elysium]

That sucks man! I'm a professional editor, and I have to agree that even the best editors sometimes let mistakes through.

That's why we have bulletin boards, for our own personal Wall of Shame. We're constantly sharing stories of obvious errors we should have caught, or weird errors that can sometimes happen and one has to be careful to watch for.

I think it's a different beast, too, if you are submitting something on an internet-based form versus submitted a printed or PDF-ed resume and cover letter. Proofing something in a form field isn't my ideal way to do it.

And my favorite error that ever got printed was at a friends workplace (a local bank). They mailed out lovely postcards thanking everyone on their mailing list for being "such good cuntomers."

That one went on the fridge.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Eve

I saw a help-wanted ad once for an "English tudor." I wanted to dress up like Anne Boleyn and apply for the job.

Have you lost your head?!?

[Darth Panda]

Just as a piece of random advice, if you need to submit something into a form field that's important - like a resume - type it in MS Word and edit it there. Use spell check, print it and read it out loud (my personal favorite), give it to someone else, whatever. When you're done, just copy and paste it into the field from the Word doc.

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by smiling bandit

It's the difference between something I care about looking professional, and forum posts, which are just tossed off instantly with no correction. Thanks, though.



I don't make them by hand, though. But I make far more errors typing, and if you make enough errors, they'll sometimes slip through.

An editor edits, always.

[mhendo]

Originally Posted by Dogzilla

Take this as a lesson: you are not qualified to be an editor.

This is simply crap. Even the best editors sometimes miss stuff. I've got hundreds of books on my shelf, and i rarely get through a book without finding at least one of two spelling mistakes, typos, or even more egregious problems. I've found problems in books from big commercial publishers, from small specialist concerns, and from prestigious university presses.

OP, if you have to put stuff into an online application, and the text window is not big enough to allow for comfortable editing, type your cover letter (or whatever it is) into a word processor or a notepad-type application first, proofread it in the program, and then copy and paste it into the online application.

[Crotalus]

Originally Posted by Darth Panda

Just as a piece of random advice, if you need to submit something into a form field that's important - like a resume - type it in MS Word and edit it there. Use spell check, print it and read it out loud (my personal favorite), give it to someone else, whatever. When you're done, just copy and paste it into the field from the Word doc.

This is great advice.

[smiling bandit]

Originally Posted by Darth Panda

Just as a piece of random advice, if you need to submit something into a form field that's important - like a resume - type it in MS Word and edit it there. Use spell check, print it and read it out loud (my personal favorite), give it to someone else, whatever. When you're done, just copy and paste it into the field from the Word doc.

Aye, I usually make that a rule. Every now and then, however, I get excited... Ah well, chalk that one up to expereince. (No, reversing the I and E in Experience couldn't possibly have anything to do with the mistake I made... )

For a hilarious example, take a look at the following link. The picture says it all. I actually see problems like that constantly in technical writing.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...ManualMisprint

[Duke]

Originally Posted by Eve

I saw a help-wanted ad once for an "English tudor." I wanted to dress up like Anne Boleyn and apply for the job.

Originally Posted by tdn

Have you lost your head?!?

See, you really wanted to dress up like Catherine Parr, to demonstrate you could keep your head while everyone else was losing theirs.

[Hello Again]

Originally Posted by Dogzilla

Take this as a lesson: you are not qualified to be an editor. A good editor will proofread and find all errors in a cover letter/resume/document before distributing. That you still missed some on a crucial document (your freaking resume) says to me "Not ready to be an editor."
.

This is bullshit, phrased so absolutely like that. It is possible for a qualified and skilled professional editor to review a document, and for it go out with an error no one catches. I have been witness to a scenario where no less than NINE professional editors reviewed a (finalized) document that was ultimately published containing a basic typo.

I have seen articles in "The Economist" with typos, I have seen books by major publishers with typos, I have seen Federal court opinions with typos. They happen, even with multiple redundant levels of proofreading. To say that a single person must never, ever fail to catch an error is just ridiculous.

[Enderw24]

Originally Posted by mhendo

and i rarely get through a book without finding at least one of two spelling mistakes.

Well that's half the battle, but if it were me, I'd try looking for both of them.

[congodwarf]

Count me as another who agrees that even the best editors make mistakes.


I had 7 textbooks over the summer. I found typos in every one of them. Two of them were technical writing textbooks.


I once read a book in which the name of a character changed halfway through the book and became the name of a character who had already died.

[Dogzilla]

Okay, editors miss stuff.

But there is no excuse whatsoever for leaving errors in your resume. It's one document. You're not on deadline. You have all the time in the world to proof, proof again, and then ask someone else to proof for you.

I'll concede that my earlier post was bullshit as stated. Y'all are right that no editor catches 100% of all errors all the time. But if you can't produce a single one-page document that is designed to highlight your careful attention to detail and showcase your editing skills... then you have no business applying for an editorial job.

Am I the only one who sees the irony in giving editors a pass on typos in their resumes?

[Snow Pea]

Originally Posted by smiling bandit

Of course, I never was able to get into a typing class,

"Of course"??

Anyone who wants to take a typing class can find one. And what is this, the 70's? There's been typing tutor software out there for decades now. Much of it free for download.

You sure are full of excuses for why your sloppy writing behavior isn't your fault.

[smiling bandit]

Originally Posted by Snow Pea

"Of course"??

"Of course" is often used as an aside to indicate reasoning.

Anyone who wants to take a typing class can find one. And what is this, the 70's? There's been typing tutor software out there for decades now. Much of it free for download.

The implication, which I thought was quite clear, was that I developed my typing over a very long period, and can perform quite adequately in terms of speed, if not accuracy. By the time I had a chance to learn the proper way (in terms of money and time), I had become very set in my ways, and no longer felt it worthwhile - which it probably isn't.

[Snow Pea]

Originally Posted by smiling bandit

"Of course" is often used as an aside to indicate reasoning.

No, it isn't. It just sloppy use of language.

Based on everything you've written here, I would never hire you for any job that involved working with language. Or actually, any job at all that involved attention to detail and taking personal responsibility for your mistakes.

Sorry to be so blunt, but you simply come across as sloppy in general, and prone to shifting blame for that away from yourself.

[Morgyn]

Another trick for catching errors, especially in your own work, is to read it backwards.

My first "real" job was as "quality control" at an S&L. Essentially, this meant I proofread output from the production word processors for typos or missed information. Lot of boilerplate in this job, and it had been used for years by the time I was hired.

So imagine my surprise the day I discovered an error in the boilerplate for a loan modification agreement, where the customer was instructed, "Sign below if you accept this officer."

That had been going out for years, and I was obviously the first person to catch it. Yes, it got changed.

[constanze]

Originally Posted by smiling bandit

Of course, I never was able to get into a typing class, and now I'm firmly stuck with a bad typing style, always looking at the keyboard instead of the monitor.

This is to me an incredibly lame excuse. I didn't go to a typing class either, my mother made me do a 2-week-course (lent from the local library) when I was a teen (damned good idea). (One of those spiral things where each day is one sheet and on day 14 you're finished).

But as has been said, you can download software cheaply or for free.

Heck you don't even need software: you have Word, right? Or Open office or wordpad or whatever. Turn off all the autocorrect features (or use the simple editor version), take a book or any internet text and type it, and go back and correct things.

You only need half an hour to an hour training each day consistently. Each word that you got wrong, you repeat four times. Or you type faster and go back and correct everything (didn't count with the old typing machines, but with computers, things are easier).

[constanze]

Originally Posted by smiling bandit

" By the time I had a chance to learn the proper way (in terms of money and time), I had become very set in my ways, and no longer felt it worthwhile - which it probably isn't.

If you are looking for a job as an editor, or anything connected with it, it's absolutely imperial and most certainly worthwhile that your typing is accurate (or that you take the damn time to look things over). I've gotten into sloppy habits too (and firefox makes me lazier by underlining wrong spellings and offering correct ones), but if it's an important email for work or a document for work, I take the extra 5 minutes to look it over.

Get into good habits now, or stop applying for jobs you aren't suited for.

[Kevbo]

I had typing class in high school, and it stuck. The problem now is that I have trouble NOT touch typing...like on my iPhone. My darned eyes have to stop and think where to look for each letter, while my ten fingers just know from muscle memory where they are, and the whole word for that matter in the case of common ones.

[mhendo]

Originally Posted by constanze

If you are looking for a job as an editor, or anything connected with it, it's absolutely imperial and most certainly worthwhile that your typing is accurate ....

And also, perhaps, your word choices.

[Fish Cheer]

To be fair, English is not her first language.

[Hello Again]

Originally Posted by Morgyn

So imagine my surprise the day I discovered an error in the boilerplate for a loan modification agreement, where the customer was instructed, "Sign below if you accept this officer."
.

I found an error in the Blue Book - the style and citation manual used in legal writing, published by the Harvard Law Review, and compiled by the editors of the Harvard, Columbia, U Penn and Yale law reviews, and used by all legal journals everywhere as well as in everyday legal life. When you're on law review, you receive a serious upbraiding for trivial editing errors, such as if you italicize the second comma in "see, e.g.," yet the Blue Book itself contains an error.

If any legal nerds want to check it out, its on page 408 of the 18th Edition. In the index.

[Polycarp]

Originally Posted by you with the face

With an editing job, wouldn't you be expected to proofread and correct other people's work? That means you need to have a good eye for spotting mistakes, not necessarily typing so skillfully that you're not making them in the first place.

But I'm not a professional editor (even though I'm editing some work right this minute), so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

The lawyer who defends himself has a fool for a client, and a fool for an attorney. Likewise, with vanishingly rare exceptions, an editor should not edit himself. It's a fairly well known fact, at least within the relevant community, that one does not "see" the majority of the mistakes in body text one writes -- you know what you intended to write, and did write, and read it as such. The glaringly obvious in retrospect barf on the page that you keyed in instead of what you intended -- you just plain do not perceive it, but what you thought you keyed in instead. It's always been a bugaboo for me, even though I have some facility at self-edit, and as my vision has deteriorated, it's been more and more a problem. (Maggie the Ocelot, you know that thing Queen Charles won't be needing any more after his SRS, in the Kings of Norway GQ thread? Guess what I want you to go do with it! )

AnywaY, while ol' Smiley can occasionally be a bit of a dick on matters political, I think he deserves a break here, and all the folks having fun at the expense of his typoes are invited to contact Maggie and follow her example after she's done.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by Fish Cheer

To be fair, English is not her first language.

Yes. I think she was going for "imperative".

[Enginerd]

Originally Posted by Snow Pea

Sorry to be so blunt, but you simply come across as sloppy in general, and prone to shifting blame for that away from yourself.

(bolding mine)

This is a much bigger issue than a typo or misspelled word. When I hire people, it's because I want somebody else to be responsible for a particular task or project. Shit happens in every job - errors get missed, things get forgotten, and jobs get done wrong. When that happens, I want somebody whose first thought is "let's fix it," not "it's not my fault!"

[friedo]

Originally Posted by Dogzilla

When I hire/interview potential editors, any cover letter or resume with even one tiny mistake on it gets tossed. I'm looking for editors who can find mistakes! If you can't find them in your own resume, what assurance do I have that you can actually do the job?

What if you hire somebody so bad that they got everything on their resume correct by accident?

[mhendo]

Originally Posted by Polycarp

It's a fairly well known fact, at least within the relevant community, that one does not "see" the majority of the mistakes in body text one writes -- you know what you intended to write, and did write, and read it as such.

Exactly. I can read through a page of my own writing half a dozen times and still sometimes miss an error.

I tell my students that, if they keep making typos and spelling errors and grammatical errors, they should have someone else look over their work, because a new pair of eyes will often immediately catch something that the author has missed.

Of course, with my students, one of the problems is not simply that they fail to spot errors during proofreading; it's that they don't bother proofreading at all. As far as they're concerned, if the spell check function on their word processor didn't catch anything, the paper must be fine.

[MeanOldLady]

Originally Posted by friedo

What if you hire somebody so bad that they got everything on their resume correct by accident?

So I was reading that as I was on hold, and someone picked up right as I was done. I chuckled in her ear.

[Dogzilla]

Originally Posted by friedo

What if you hire somebody so bad that they got everything on their resume correct by accident?

How the hell would I know it was accidental until after I hired them?

[kenetic]

Originally Posted by smiling bandit

Part of the issue with the annoyingly small window this particular submission allows. You can put in a lot of words, but you can't only see about a line at a time. Makes it easy to miss errors, ad spellcheck isn't perfect.

The discussion here seems to have moved on, but I'll point out a method that helps in these situations. When filling out a webform that includes essays or other blocks of texts (I've had to do a few of these for fellowship applications), write the text in a word processor first and cut and paste it in when it's ready. That way you have plenty of time to revise and do all the needed spelling and grammar checks.