# Spelling, cover letters, and sheer mortification **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 19, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142 "2011-10-19T14:29:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/1 "2011-10-19T14:29:15Z")
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. :smack: 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. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/2 "2011-10-19T14:39:25Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > but I less _accurate_. No! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/3 "2011-10-19T14:44:14Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Makes it easy to miss errors, ad spellcheck isn’t perfect. Ad how! ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/4 "2011-10-19T14:44:31Z")
I only counted 4 errors in the post. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/5 "2011-10-19T14:44:49Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > No! :eek: Well, he also “foud” out that he made an error… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/6 "2011-10-19T14:45:49Z")
And “mispelled” is misspelled. ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/7 "2011-10-19T14:46:12Z")
OK, five ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/8 "2011-10-19T14:46:56Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/9 "2011-10-19T14:47:25Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Ad how! Bless you. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/10 "2011-10-19T14:48:12Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/11 "2011-10-19T14:48:40Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/12 "2011-10-19T15:08:28Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/13 "2011-10-19T15:09:17Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/14 "2011-10-19T15:14:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Part of the issue with the annoyingly small window this particular submission allows. Part of the issue with this particular sentence. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/15 "2011-10-19T15:19:07Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/16 "2011-10-19T15:27:16Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/17 "2011-10-19T15:32:28Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/18 "2011-10-19T15:35:06Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/19 "2011-10-19T15:45:25Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/20 "2011-10-19T15:53:10Z")
> [@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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142.md?page=2)