# How Big of a Resume Mistake was This? (Wrong Date) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 11, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249 "2005-01-11T18:55:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/1 "2005-01-11T18:55:52Z")
Well, I just submitted what I consider to be a fairly impressive resume, except for one problem. Upon review, after I submitted the damn thing, I realized that I had place the wrong date at the top of the resume! I put “January 17” as opposed to what should be the “11th”. Unless he’s impressed by receiving a resume me from a future, how big of a mistake is this? Argh, I knew I should have double checked that darn date. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/2 "2005-01-11T18:58:41Z")
Upon review, I really should have re-read that post as well. Also, instead of “Resume”, I meant “Cover Letter.” Despite this, I can assure you that the date was the only error in the Cover Letter/Resume 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Izzybella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e56c9b/32.png) [@Izzybella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Izzybella)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/3 "2005-01-11T19:17:40Z")
Back when I was doing HR, I wouldn’t have made an issue about it. It totally depends on what you’re applying for. I hope it’s not proofreading. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/4 "2005-01-11T19:45:43Z")
I wouldn’t even notice. And if I did, I wouldn’t think it was any deal at all. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/5 "2005-01-11T19:56:39Z")
Doubt very much that the mistake would be noticed. Even if noticed it wouldn’t be in any way a primary reason for the trip to the round filing cabinet. Though if there were several other typos it might add up to a reason. The worst effect would be from a very anal boss or a nerdy one. The nerd might just make a joke about time travelling in the first interview, the anal boss you don’t really want to work for any way. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/6 "2005-01-11T19:59:59Z")
Phew, thanks guys. Even though the odds of me getting the position is a long shot, it’s reassuring to know that I likely won’t be doomed from the outset. ---
**Author:** ![josejones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5fc32e/32.png) [@josejones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/josejones)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/7 "2005-01-11T20:01:28Z")
i would consider you a culturally insensitive person for working/writing your cover letter on mlk day. then i would hire you, because if that’s the worst thing you did, and you owned up to it, you’re ok. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/8 "2005-01-11T20:55:13Z")
I sent a resume that had the wrong phone number on it - I’d transposed two of the numbers and didn’t double check. They wanted me badly enough that my boss sent me an e-mail. At the interview, I profusely apologied and pointed out my error, and made sure he had the correct phone number. Felt like a major grade idiot, but I got the job anyway. I’d say that your error was more minor than that, so I’d say no harm no foul. Likely they won’t even see the date anyway. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/9 "2005-01-11T21:14:22Z")
> [@Duderdude2](#): > > Unless he’s impressed by receiving a resume me from a future, how big of a mistake is this? So minor that it’s not worth worrying about. I catch mistakes like this in CVs all the time and it only bothers me if a spell checker should catch it. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/10 "2005-01-11T22:03:07Z")
Ugh, turns out it’s just [hopefully] slightly worse than I thought. While writing an essay for school, I noticed I had written down the year as “2004”, which is a mistake I make every damn year for about three months. So sure enough, I looked at my Cover Letter and realized I had made the same mistake as well. So the date reads “January 17, 2004.” Now my cover letter is from the past! I should have been a writer for Back to the Future 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/11 "2005-01-11T22:14:19Z")
Here, I’ll make you feel better. When I was first trying to get freelance copyediting work, I did a mailing of about 40 cover letters and resumes to targeted potential clients. I made up a form letter with merge fields, which I merged with my (I thought) carefully vetted data file of names and addresses to create the mailing. After they had been sent, I found that in one of the letters I had spelled the receipient’s name differently in the address block and in the salutation! Worse, it was the dreaded ie/ei transposition, which I am forever correcting other people for making IN MY OWN NAME!! I was mortified. Needless to say, I never heard from that person. * * * Here’s another one. Mr. S almost, ALMOST sent a cover letter with a job application telling the recipient how much he enjoyed sampling microbrew beers. The intended recipient was a machine shop. The PREVIOUS recipient, whose stored letter on his computer he had used as a template, was (you guessed it) a microbrewery. Luckily he caught it before he sent it out (although he didn’t get either job). But we laughed at what the machine shop supervisor’s reaction might have been. ---
**Author:** ![andymurph64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@andymurph64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andymurph64)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/12 "2005-01-11T22:29:16Z")
Nearly all resume mistakes are death. This, however, is an exception. Don’t worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/13 "2005-01-11T22:56:23Z")
It’s not nearly as egregious as the error I made recently in a cover letter, where I was applying for a project management position. I meant to say “provided operational oversight for…” and instead said “provided operational for…” Yeah, hire _this_ guy to run things; he can’t even provide oversight for his cover letter… ---
**Author:** ![Spudo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Spudo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spudo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/14 "2005-01-11T22:57:20Z")
If anyone asks just tell them time travel is one of your many incredible skills, that would be an spectacular asset to their company. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/15 "2005-01-11T23:22:21Z")
If it makes you feel any better I sent out resumes with my name spelt wrong :smack: Didn’t hurt my job search, I brought it up myself in subsequent interviews. ---
**Author:** ![Gassy\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Gassy\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gassy_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/16 "2005-01-12T03:34:08Z")
In general, most readers won’t notice, at least not on first glance. If the competition for an interview is fierce, however, such a mistake could cost you the opportunity. I worked at a company where 300 of 400 resumes were tossed because of typos or other such errors. I also co-wrote a business communication text, so I can tell you that little details often end up being a deciding factor, especially in a poor economy. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/17 "2005-01-12T04:20:17Z")
I used to work for a headhunter and it was part of my job to screen applicants before my boss even looked at them based on resumes. I barely looked at cover letters, honestly. I’d read them over for egregious errors, interesting bits, etc., but the resume is what I really scrutinized. As for that date, this is exactly what I’d think: that you had a form letter that you used for the cover letter, and you forgot to change the date or something. No big deal, though I bet it would make me chuckle for a second. It would NOT stop me from putting you in the good pile if everything else was OK. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/18 "2005-01-12T14:16:46Z")
I don’t imagine it will hurt too much, unless you have made a big deal about your attention to detail. I would probably not have noticed it. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/20 "2014-03-08T08:21:58Z")
> [@caitlee](#): > > snip reported ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249/21 "2014-03-08T08:36:25Z")
Wish I’d seen this first time round. I could have mentioned the guy that, in talking about accuracy, rendered “attention to detail” as “attantion of details.” Three words, three errors. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-of-a-resume-mistake-was-this-wrong-date/284249.md?page=2)