Question:
Is it bad to have a typo in a "thank you" email sent after a job interview? Could I still get the job?
2008-02-28 09:29:39 UTC
I had an interview and wanted to follow up with a nice thank you letter to the interviewers. I wanted to make sure that each one (there were 3) got letters that were not the same. And I accidentally made a typo on the second letter of one of the emails!!!! This is for an administrative position...should I consider myself as not be hired?

The typo was not that critical...instead of saying "I just..." I put "I jusr..." What bothers me is the fact that it was the 2ndword in the letter...I read over that thing so many times, and missed it (some times spell check can be wrong)...I am really hoping to get this position. On a positive note, one of the interviewers emailed me back thanking me for the letter...but no mention of when I would hear back (it's a school position...so I believe they have to be candid) What are your thoughts?
Six answers:
Mr G
2008-02-28 12:07:28 UTC
It's sure not going to help. If it was sent to me, it would hurt your chances as it indicates sloppiness on your part.

BTW -- an old fashioned, snail mail card goes even further.
Noel H
2008-02-28 17:49:00 UTC
Good for you for sending thank you notes and for wanting them to be targeted to each interviewer rather than formulaic.



As you point out, typos are easy to make and hard to detect. However, most administrative positions require attention to detail, and that includes proofreading carefully everything you create. (Consider, by the way, that the last sentence clause in your first paragraph is grammatically flawed.) As a result, I disagree with your comment that the "typo was not that critical". When you're trying to put your best foot forward, every mistake gets magnified.



Whether you'll get the position depends on several factors, including whether the person who received the second email noticed the misspelling, how much "pull" that person has among the three interviewer team, and whether you have other strong qualifications for the job that other interviewees don't have.



In the future, you may want to try increasing the detection rate of your proofreading with these suggestions:



- Read the letter backwards, one word at a time. When you're focusing on just one word, you're more likely to detect misspellings

- Read the letter out loud, slowly. This will help you find awkward sentence construction, bad grammar, and typos.

- Print out critical writing and read it from the paper copy (with apologies to the environment). Words on the screen just don't look the same as words on paper. You'll be amazed at the mistakes you find.

- Ask someone else to read over what you've written -- before you send it.



These aren't tools just for good administrative staff members. The best executives use these, too, so consider making them a life-long habit.



Best of luck!
Ad van der Rest
2008-02-28 17:42:27 UTC
I have made typos in similar situations. Although they are really irritating, I don't think there is anything to be gained by worrying about it further.



OK - if the typo does leave a minor negative impression, it will be more than compensated for by taking the trouble to write a nice note.



I recommend you let this pain go now - go do something you like to do to cheer yourself up.



I have never seen a hiring decision swing over a typo.

Good luck.
Monique
2008-02-28 17:39:16 UTC
Well hopefully they won't consider that in their basis for hiring you, but I know for a fact the firm I work for does. Any typos whatsoever in a letter or resume is an immediate "no-hire"... but good luck and hopefully next time try and get someone else to be your third eye in catching any errors.
Sarah.. (=
2008-02-28 17:34:24 UTC
Don't worry, we all make mistakes sometimes. I'm sure they will understand.
popeyethesadist
2008-02-28 17:37:13 UTC
don't worry about it.


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