# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/61 "2011-10-19T22:15:44Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > You have never once made a mistake in some “important,” hmm? In some important _what_? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/62 "2011-10-19T22:20:11Z")
> [@Elysium](#): > > That sucks man! Oh, is _that_ what it sucks? ---
**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, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/63 "2011-10-19T22:21:44Z")
There. I made you smile, which means my work is done. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/64 "2011-10-19T22:27:37Z")
> [@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. If you actually got a job dressing up that way, would you be Boleyn for Dollars? ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/65 "2011-10-19T22:45:16Z")
My favorite [cover letter](http://www.flickr.com/photos/34943992@N00/4463352882/) of all time. (Extra awesomeness: note the total number of faxed pages in the lower left corner). ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/66 "2011-10-19T23:36:48Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > If you actually got a job dressing up that way, would you be Boleyn for Dollars? Not if the job was at Columbine. Now all I can think of is tutors running for school president… yeah, I went there. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/67 "2011-10-19T23:48:00Z")
> [@Snow\_Pea](#): > > You sure are full of excuses for why your sloppy writing behavior isn’t your fault. :rolleyes: I have to agree. My first experience with **Smiling Bandit** was his complaints about his miserable gaming experiences–and when folks suggested maybe he should change behavior, all he wanted to do was to explain why that was impossible. Earlier this week he posted about how terrible his writing is–and when people posted about how he could change that, all he wanted to do was to explain why that was impossible. Now he’s posting about sloppy editing of a resume–and when people suggest how he can not be sloppy, all he’s doing is explaining how his typing is set in its ways etc. and how he can’t change it. It’s weird, **Smiling Bandit** : it’s like you glory in the self-flagellation, like you don’t necessarily want to do better, like your image of yourself is as an incompetent who deserves misery. Maybe I’m totally offbase, but that’s how it comes across to me. As for myself, I once applied for an administrative position in college, and I discovered after submitting my cover letter that I’d misspelled the word “secreterial” [sic]. Of course I didn’t get the job. Difference is, I decided then and there to change my behavior when submitting applications, and I’m pretty sure that ever since, every application I’ve ever submitted has been flawless. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/68 "2011-10-19T23:49:28Z")
What the fuck does **Starving Artist** have to do with any of this? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/69 "2011-10-19T23:52:10Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It’s weird, **Starving Artist** : it’s like you glory in the self-flagellation, like you don’t necessarily want to do better, like your image of yourself is as an incompetent who deserves misery. Maybe I’m totally offbase, but that’s how it comes across to me. 😕😕😕😕 Teh mind boogles. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/70 "2011-10-19T23:53:32Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > What the fuck does **Starving Artist** have to do with any of this? :smack: Flawless, I tell you, Flawless! Jesus. When **Polycarp** mentioned smiley’s political weirdness, I almost made a crack about how I perpetually confuse SA and SB. But then I got distracted by trying to proof my post oh-so-carefully to avoid mistakes. Gaudere, you win again! ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/71 "2011-10-20T00:20:02Z")
Lately I’ve been making a lot of typos. And speak-os. I’m not an editor and language isn’t my biz, but I’m always cringing over how badly I communicate. So I sympathize. (Triple checking to see if I made any mistakes). The suggestions in this thread have been helpful. I have also found that printing what I’m about to send and reading it out loud is another way to spot errors. I have a bad habit of confusing words that sound alike. Like “our” for “are”. Strangely, if I read my words out loud, I can catch these kinds of mistakes. It seems like you’ve identified the problem, but it’s not typing. It’s a timing mismatch between your brain and fingers. A typing class will not fix this, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/72 "2011-10-20T01:32:41Z")
I once gave my resume a last once-over before mailing it off. I noticed that I said I had written new stories instead of news stories. I was applying for a job as a managing editor, so I fixed it. Oh yes, the people who offered the job and the people who got the job will laugh. But yours will probably not be the only cover letter with typos. I can practically guarantee that. ---
**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 20, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/73 "2011-10-20T01:52:21Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It’s weird, **Smiling Bandit** : it’s like you glory in the self-flagellation, like you don’t necessarily want to do better, like your image of yourself is as an incompetent who deserves misery. Maybe I’m totally offbase, but that’s how it comes across to me. Public humiliation is how I learn. I just don’t enjoy it. But you can be damn sure I’ll never make that mistake again. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/74 "2011-10-20T02:06:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > :smack: Flawless, I tell you, Flawless! > > Jesus. When **Polycarp** mentioned smiley’s political weirdness, I almost made a crack about how I perpetually confuse SA and SB. But then I got distracted by trying to proof my post oh-so-carefully to avoid mistakes. Gaudere, you win again! And several years ago, I made the same mistake – which thoroughly peeved at least one of them. All I can figure is “S-gerund-ing Occupation” names in double trochee meter, both men often participating in political threads from variants on right-wing views… there’s some nexus that transforms one into the other in our minds. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/75 "2011-10-20T02:17:46Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > The suggestions in this thread have been helpful. I have also found that printing what I’m about to send and reading it out loud is another way to spot errors. I have a bad habit of confusing words that sound alike. Like “our” for “are”. Strangely, if I read my words out loud, I can catch these kinds of mistakes. Another good trick, if you’re not able to “rest” the document by not looking at it for a couple of days, is to read it upside down. It’s difficult, so you go slowly, and makes the text look unfamiliar. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/76 "2011-10-20T02:38:47Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > And several years ago, I made the same mistake – which thoroughly peeved at least one of them. All I can figure is “S-gerund-ing Occupation” names in double trochee meter, both men often participating in political threads from variants on right-wing views… there’s some nexus that transforms one into the other in our minds. 🙂 Given that **Smiling Bandit** has posted more than once about his inability to make a living at his art, I don’t find the confusion all that odd :). ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/77 "2011-10-20T05:46:25Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Well, I foud\*\*[sic]\*\* out after reviewing something I wrote that I mispelled\*\*[sic]\*\* 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\*\*[sic]\*\* 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.**[sic][sic][sic][sic][sic]\*\*\*\*[sic]** You can put in a lot of words, but you can’t\*\*[sic]\*\* only see about a line at a time. Makes it easy to miss errors, ad\*\*[sic]\*\* 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. You can’t type up what you want to say in MS Word, spellcheck it, have a friend review it, select all, copy, and paste the text into their online application? You have a \*devastatingly \*high error rate. In a single post you’ve written a sentence fragment, confused “can” for “can’t” which has a severe impact on your message, and \*you misspelled “misspelled”! \*:smack: What you know is literally meaningless to your potential employer unless you can communicate it very-near-perfectly. Your speed is also meaningless with an error rate as high as yours. Work on your error rate, and take a computer class or something. That it didn’t occur to you to boot up word processing software (or copy and paste your existing resume/cover sheet–you DO already have one, right?) is indicative of a lack of either tech savvy or common sense. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/78 "2011-10-20T06:39:55Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Yes. I think she was going for “imperative”. Thank you, yes, that was obviously what I meant. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/79 "2011-10-20T07:34:57Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Amazing. I point out a rare mistake of my own because it was an embarassing rarity, post my best-guess as to why it occurred, and am immediately attacked on a personal level by a poster who never met me, and who begins making judgements about my personality and work habits. I don’t see any personal attack in her/his comment, only how other people, esp. during the hiring process, will judge you based on this. (And they will). And it’s not a rare mistake, because your very own OP contained several spelling errors, too. Yes, it’s different on a messageboard compared to a cover letter. And yes, people do make mistakes. Nevertheless, employers expect people who apply to take this seriously. Hence even the common advice in career guides to always let a friend/ second person read the application letters and files before sending them off… to spot those mistakes you’re blind to. (If you don’t have a friend available on short notice, other tips in this thread, reading backwards or upside down, will also help). For an editor position, where proper language is paramount as one of the main job skills, taking the extra time is doubly crucial. Moreover, your OP spent a lot of time excusing yourself, instead of admitting the mistake and what you’re learning from it/ steps you’re taking to avoid it next time. This even more than the original typo does enable people to draw assumptions about your character. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2011, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142/80 "2011-10-20T08:09:59Z")
The concept of “perfectionism” as a qualifying trait in editors, writers, professors of English, etc. often draws raised eyebrows, and “what a dork!” looks, when I try to explain it to fledgeling or would-be editors, writers, and professors of English because they assume I am demanding perfection in them (and they usually have a boatload of excuses explaining why they can’t be expected to be perfect: “You gave us only three days to submit five paragraphs,” “I have a full-time job,” “I have a sick child to take of,” and so on.) But it is not the perfectionism I’m exhorting them to embrace, it’s the pursuit of perfectionism: if your goal is perfectionism, then you won’t quit until you think you’ve got it (and sometimes you’ll be wrong–hence all the errors in printed material) but if perfectionism is NOT your goal, if “close enough for jazz” is your desired aim, then you’re guaranteed to have errors in virtually every sentence you write, and that means that I don’t want to hire you as an editor, a writer, a professor of English, a dogcatcher, nor to swab out toilets with your tongue. I don’t want to hire you, period, for anything. (This paragraph was proofread according to a non-perfectionist standard, suitable for messageboard posting, which is not even close to the standard I use in copy intended for print or business letters.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-cover-letters-and-sheer-mortification/600142.md?page=5)