<p>So, my son got called for an interview for an internship that he really wants. He sends back an email with 3 grammatical errors, not misspelled words, but, and instead of an and apart instead of a part. Did he just blow this internship? Ugh. I warn him all the time about proofreading, why, why did he send this without reading it?</p>
<p>It depends on what the internship is for (proofreader at a publishing company??) and the person reading the email. Frankly, grammatical skills are so lacking anymore the person reading it might not notice it.</p>
<p>If I was reading it I’d definitely notice and it might or might not affect whether I’d hire him for the internship depending on other interactions with him and what the position is.</p>
<p>Relying on spell checkers is the downfall of many in this day and age where they think they don’t need to proofread or just do a very poor job of it but of course, the spell checker won’t usually flag ‘a part’ since those are valid words.</p>
<p>What’s done is done though - he should just go to the interview and do his best - and proof read any further correspondence in detail - 3 times.</p>
<p>OP: How frustrating! This generation grew up with spell check and gives it to much trust. Having said that…I to have been known to just let spell check do the job.</p>
<p>On a more humorous note…an admin gave a presentation at one of the kiddles schools and mentioned that spell check is a great tool, however…it will allow both ‘as’ and ‘ass’ as acceptable words. However, the reading admin will know the difference. :D)</p>
<p>I am one of those people who’s brain processes words that are spelled wrong as the word they are supposed to be. And I am a nurse. We are taught to write in short, gramatically incorrect sentences. </p>
<p>I am with those who say “it depends”.</p>
<p>I teach college English, often Composition. Believe me, Spellcheck is not the culprit. At the very least, it asks them to pay attention to spelling and grammatical issues they wouldn’t consider at all without it.</p>
<p>If I were reading it, it would certainly influence my decision. It would indicate sloppy work and/or laziness. The spelling isn’t really the issue but rather the implications of a sloppy email.</p>
<p>I tend to agree with EPTR. I’m just sooo upset. If you waited and waited for this opportunity, as a production assistant on a TV show, why wouldn’t you double and triple check everything you send? Arggh. I hate that he likely blew a great opportunity. His response when I gently told him about his mistakes, they won’t care. Um, really? because I review resumes and I would care.</p>
<p>Sometimes the young have to learn the hard way that language and commmunication skills matter. I’m still preaching to my recent grad: proofread twice and send once.</p>
<p>Really, it’s not that serious, though it was a huge mistake.</p>
<p>Maybe this story will make you feel better: </p>
<p>A friend of mine who got, as a favor (from one of his dad’s friends), a huge tour of this company and the opportunity to apply for an unlisted internship.</p>
<p>*He didn’t write a thank you letter. *</p>
<p>His mom had to tell him to write a letter two and a half weeks later. And he had forgotten everyone’s name. Because* he hadn’t taken a single business card. *</p>
<p>Somehow, I don’t think he’s getting the internship. </p>
<p>A letter full of typos would have been preferable, eh?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>too *</p>
<p>HAHAHAHAHAHAHA…</p>
<p>Good catch.</p>
<p>:p</p>
<p>In all seriousness, it shouldn’t be a huge deal. I’ve had professors and major advisors email me with minor typos or grammatical errors. Tell him to be very careful in the future, but I highly doubt some typos in an email would be the deciding factor.</p>
<p>JeSuis, I noticed the same thing, as well as:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>whose*</p>
<p>I would probably treat it more harshly than others, only because I am so careful about proofreading everything multiple times. Grammar/spelling errors are one of my pet peeves. It makes me cringe when I miss one on my own work before I turn it in.</p>
<p>Could part of the problem be people not reading as much as they have in the past? I’ve noticed that my siblings and I, as well as my friends who are bookworms, make fewer mistakes in general than my fiends who don’t like to read for fun. I’ve also noticed my vocabulary and writing skills seem to get better in correlation to how much I read…ie, if I stop reading for fun during the school year, I notice myself making more mistakes.</p>
<p>Or maybe it’s just that my parents were spelling/grammar freaks too.</p>
<p>hisgracefillsme…I am NOT being critical of the kids writing though…so I call foul (or would that be fowl- LOL) on calling me out. </p>
<p>I already admitted I do not write/wright/right worth a dam/damn.</p>
<p>LOL vlines. Fair point, I retract. :)</p>
<p>At my son’s school, students have to get their resumes approved. Students upload their resume to a site and it gets put in an approval queue and it either gets approved or the student gets an email with comments and questions. The student then has to fix the problems and re-submit. The student can go into the career center to get in-person help if desired.</p>
<p>The student has to have an approved resume uploaded to apply for jobs on the career center website.</p>
<p>The career center will also review cover letters for individual job applications.</p>
<p>We will hire those with less than perfect writing skills if they have the skills and education that we are looking for. I’ve never seen a resume with problems though given that candidates typically have access to their career centers for polishing their resumes. We have many, many hires where English isn’t their primary language and it really shows in their written communications. That’s okay - but the candidate has 100% control over their resume - that should be bulletproof.</p>
<p>Honestly, I am terrible at proofreading… I read for content, and read VERY quickly. My mind really does not process gramatical and spelling errors as errors. It is something I have to concentrate on word by word to pick up on. But I don’t need to use proper grammar or spelling in my job. So it is not something I have to practice regularly. </p>
<p>Of course I can process all of the odd medical symbols and terms and have never run into a physician note that was written in English that I could not decipher. Now that is something…LOL</p>
<p>Well, I have admitted that the spelling would make a difference for me but I will also admit to this mistake when I was young.
I had just graduated college and had put together my first resume (this was back in the days of typewriters). I labored over it but never had anyone proofread it for me. I sent it out to every school system in my area and even got a few interviews.
It wasn’t until months later that I noticed that I had written the word excellence as excellance. Ironically, I was referring to an award of excellence that I had received. Clearly the award was not for spelling or for my attention to detail. When I realized the mistake, I was mortified!
Anyway, I did learn my lesson, never failed to proofread the heck out of everything I wrote after that. I might add that I did get a job and have remained gainfully employed since.</p>
<p>OP, it’s not the end of the world. If they do notice his errors and don’t hire him, he will have learned a great lesson from it.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Other situation crucial professionals, E.G., air-traffic-controllers, are trained likewise.</p>
<p>
I wouldn’t assume it’s ‘likely’. It’ll really just depend on who’s reading it. Hopefully he’ll still get the internship.</p>