Comments on: Should HR care about spelling mistakes?

By: Ross

Ross — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:43:25 +0000

Leigh, it’s amazing the amount of spelling errors in the responses alone! They happen.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:49:57 +0000

BAD SPELLERS OF THE WORLD, UNTIE!!
Join Here.

By: cori

cori — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:20:43 +0000

I have come across so many unbelievable cover letters and resumes…some that have made me laugh for 15 minutes and some that have left me thinking “huh”
You’ll have the too wordy ones where the person tries to sound all smart, or my all time favorite is when they say they pay close attention to detail and yet the details were obviously not tended to.
Here is a brief example: You will fine in me a hard woker and dependible. I folow instrucion of my supevisor. I am detailed oriented.

By: HR in IL

HR in IL — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:55:27 +0000

I try not to be so uptight on screening resumes that I pitch those with grammar or spelling errors in them. However, if it came down to deciding who would make it to the ‘To-Interview’ list, the resumes with errors would no doubt be ranked lower than the error-free resumes. If an employee truly wants to make a good impression they would take the time and effort to catch the errors no matter what is required for the position.

By: Mel Kleiman

Mel Kleiman — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:50:21 +0000

Well it looks like even if I will have mistakes in my comments. But still want to add a couple of additional comments.
1. Most of you out there are doing a great job of hiring great applicants. I wonder what you success rate is in hiring great employees?
2. The things that make a great applicant in most cases are different than what makes a great employee.
3. Most of you are hiring people who want the job. I want to hire people who can do the job. (If spelling and grammar are a key competency than go for it.
4. Resumes and cover letter are just marketing pieces.
5. One last piece of advice for those of you who like resumes. Never interview with the resume in front of you. If you do you allow the applicant to control the interview.

By: Ross

Ross — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:28:25 +0000

Well, every mistake raises some doubt, but isn’t necessarily indicative of how the employee will perform. Typos and grammatical errors are just small first presentation flaws that can set you back. They can be overcome, although it can get harder and harder the bigger and the more mistakes. Does anyone remember the scene in “A Pursuit of Happyness” where he shows up to the interview without a shirt on (just white tank-top) after just getting out of jail? He managed to overcome it and land the internship position, but that was only because he had the incredible wit and the charm to do it. It would be too much for us to overcome and more often than not would land us in a “bad interview” comedy or horror story in newsletters like this.

Still, though, you have all the time in the world to write and perfect your resume. There are millions of resources out there and billions of good spellers out there willing to help, and you’re telling me you couldn’t take the time? It’s like the take home exam Seriously, it’s not like you’re given a one-hour time frame to write it. I can sympathize with small grammatical errors, we all make those and no one notices them. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the death of a candidacy, it just means they’ll have a lot more to show to make up for it. Two candidates, both with similar experience and achievements, both with similar interview impressions and scores, but one has a flawless resume and one with a mistake(otherwise almost the same), that one error may be the deciding factor. Or it may even be just two similar resumes, one with mistake(s) and one with out, and you have to pick one to interview. What’s on that resume with mistakes has to manage to stand out above other resumes for the candidate to even get the interview, and those mistakes just make it harder for it to do so. Not that it can’t be done though.

By: Janet

Janet — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:54:27 +0000

Ross, thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt, but I am not confused about anything. I don’t feel the need to throw people under the bus….but since it sounds like you believe I am not clear as to my logic, to answer your question, yes, my great HR administrator had a typo on her cover letter. Yet, this morning, she put together an unbelievable analysis of wages, OT and bonus for 50+ employees with varying compensation components that will allow me to provide the Pres and CFO a compelling argument about an HR strategy. I’m glad I’m lackadaisical enough to have wasted my time to interview her anyway. I just know where the energy for my company will provide the best ROI.

Jim (Mel & Lance) I’m with you. HR Director, SPHR

By: Patricia

Patricia — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:09:40 +0000

If I am hiring for myself, I cannot accept anyone with spelling errors. I can tolerate a spelling error for other types of positions but they would most likely not be the first person I called or interviewed.

Jim said above: “I can’t believe that a hiring manager or recruiter can be that anal about spelling and punctuation. I will be more critical of an applicant who will be producing material for public consumption, but for most other positions I will overlook a few mistakes.”

I am a benefits director. My assistant has to be as accurate as possible with spelling in order for someone to be able to use their benefits. The insurance company can refuse coverage or the pharmacy will not run a prescription if something doesn’t match. How would you feel if you had to go to the emergency room on a weekend or pick up a prescription on Friday night and were told you were not covered because your birth date or the spelling of your name in their system is different than what you told them? Employees can and frequently will be denied coverage if there is a mistake. Some doctors and pharmacies are more willing to work with you than others. I have seen people actually turned away at the pharmacy or not able to have tests performed at the hospital, etc… because something didn’t exactly match.

An accurately spelled resume and cover letter doesn’t guarantee someone won’t make data input mistakes but I owe it to our employees to weed out anyone who will make a careless mistake on something so important as a resume that they had time to prepare and review. If I was hiring for a recruiter or sales person, I might be more forgiving.

By: Jenna R.

Jenna R. — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:59:33 +0000

I recently saw a large amount of spelling errors when I was going through resumes for a position that dealt with customers and emails. One caught my eye. The applicant meant to say Possess, but instead said Posse’s. Needless to say, Posse didn’t re-read her resume. Re-read AND spellcheck is a must!

By: Leigh

Leigh — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:52:39 +0000

Depends on the position and type of error. I place more weight on errors that would have been picked up by spellcheck. It does annoy me when people misuse their, there, and they’re as well as your and you’re, but I’m willing to overlook that. If someone is applying for a clerical/secretarial/AA position, I may forgive one error, but that’s it. You wouldn’t believe some resumes I’ve seen for these types of positions that come in with 7 or 8 errors one a one-page document.