# Typos on Resumes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 17, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157 "2007-07-17T17:52:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_British_Shop_Owner)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/61 "2007-07-19T21:59:32Z")
[QUOTE=alice\_in\_wonderland] A resume and a curriculum vitae are totally different documents. Submitting a CV for anything other than an academic position or one that involves research related activities would be absurd. [/QUOTE] Not in this country dear 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/62 "2007-07-20T02:59:29Z")
[QUOTE=labtrash] I’ve actually received resumes that were: -Written in pencil on yellow legal paper. -From the “manger” of McDonalds. -That listed graduating 6th grade as an acheivement. [/QUOTE] Perhaps it was a major acheivement for him! Did he also mention that he was able to color within the lines? Back to my original post, I have received less than 20 resumes which isn’t a lot to choose from. I arranged an interview with Mr Typo to see if he is as disorganized and careless in person as he appears to be on paper. I like the highlighting idea posted above. May give that a try 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/63 "2007-07-20T04:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=Small British Shop Owner] Not in this country dear 🆒 [/QUOTE] Well the UK profs that I work with disagree with you, but OK. ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/64 "2007-07-20T14:58:33Z")
I can overlook one or two typos (in my engineering field). One resume that included “_ **inventor** _” (emphasis his) got tossed as soon as we stopped laughing. Had he actually listed an invention or two, our reaction might have been different. ---
**Author:** ![winewhore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c6cbf5/32.png) [@winewhore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/winewhore)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/65 "2007-07-21T00:42:27Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] One of my friends got her job with our organization when our boss was intrigued by her interests, which read “reading, writing, recycling”. Or maybe even “readin’, writin’, recyclin’.” [/QUOTE] Likewise, one of the reasons I hold my current (non-electronic-related) position is because my resume included the following as a previous job duty: “Repaired and maintained electronic equipment such as radios, receivers, computers, and the occasional coffeepot” ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/66 "2007-07-21T01:08:42Z")
[QUOTE=NardoPolo] Getting back to the second question from the original post: During the interview, I hand the cover letter and resume back to the applicant with the errors highlighted. I review each one. Then I ask the obvious question: Why should we be interested in hiring someone that presents this as some of their finest work? :eek: [/QUOTE] Why would you waste your own time and theirs by conducting an interview when you have no intention of hiring them? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/67 "2007-07-21T08:15:12Z")
[QUOTE=storyteller0910] . So, all told, every document we produce is reviewed by more than ten people, including people with PhDs and 20 years copyediting experience. And every once in a blue moon, we will _still_ finalize a document with a minor typo in it. If an error can once in a while slip past not only me, but nine other reviewers, than I can hardly hold the job applicant to a different standard. Unless you, yourself, have literally never made a single error in a professional environment, and feel comfortable expecting that sort of perfection from every other employee, summarily dismissing a candidate for a single typo on his or her resume is lazy and ultimately foolish. [/QUOTE] QFT. Really, one tiny typo? You know if there is such a thing as karma, all those here who claim they’d reject a resume with any typo at all will have \*their \*resumes rejected for such a tiny typo. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/68 "2007-07-21T13:57:14Z")
I’ve heard stories of employers rejecting candidates because the watermark on the resume paper was upside-down, i.e. not facing the same way as the printing. I guess that’s one way to randomly winnow 1,000 applicants down, but it seems like an incredibly stupid way to judge whether or not someone would be a desirable employee. Thank goodness it’s all becoming electronic. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/69 "2007-07-21T14:17:40Z")
[QUOTE=Phlosphr] Simplest answer to the OP: If person A and person B are the only applicants for a really cool job and they have the exact same qualifications and experience but person A had a spelling error. Person B get’s the job. [/QUOTE] How about if person A had a spelling error and person B had a dangling dependent clause and misused an apostrophe? :dubious: And **storyteller,** people who are into that level of pettiness will _never_ think they’re being lazy. They feel pretty damn righteous about it, if they feel anything at all. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/70 "2007-07-24T14:31:28Z")
[QUOTE=NardoPolo] Getting back to the second question from the original post: During the interview, I hand the cover letter and resume back to the applicant with the errors highlighted. I review each one. Then I ask the obvious question: Why should we be interested in hiring someone that presents this as some of their finest work? :eek: Cruel, perhaps. But sincere. [/QUOTE] Plus it lets the interviewee know that you’re not someone they would want to work for. ---
**Author:** ![initech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/439d5e/32.png) [@initech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/initech)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/71 "2007-07-24T14:50:22Z")
Taking a new job is a transaction, not a gift from the employer. Some people add a minor typo or two (“Experiience”) to filter out the control freaks. That said, I toss most typos and spelling errors. Getting your resume right is an exceedingly low standard to meet, and I think it’s reasonable to eliminate candidates who can’t handle it. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157/72 "2007-07-25T01:46:08Z")
originally posted by **panache45** : > [@](#): > > Back when I was hiring, I was amazed at how many applicants for proofreader had typos in their resumes. Yeah, I was ruthless. Tee-hee. I used to run the copyediting department for a magazine publisher. Oh, how we would HOWL over the resumes people sent with statements like “I am a native-speaker English.” Oh, really? On the other hand, I would be much less ruthless for a job where letting small typos slip by would not be the end of the world; if the applicant was young (and presumably applying for an entry-level position); or if the typo was a minor defect in an otherwise well-presented set of promising credentials. Typos are simply IMPOSSIBLE to weed out entirely. Heck, I’ve even seen typos in The New Yorker and The Economist – two publications with impeccable attention to accuracy. In the old days, where you had one resume that you sent out to be professionally printed, a typo would have been a very bad sign. But now? Everyone is supposed to use modern word-processing technology to tailor and individualize their resume for each job. That being the case, it is a lot more understandable if a typo slips in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-on-resumes/412157.md?page=3)