Typos in Application Letters and Resumes
Nothing is more nerve-wracking (causing you to be nervous or under stress) than applying for a job. It’s even worse when you realize you’ve made a mistake or typo (typing mistake) on your cover letter (letter to apply for a job) or resume (document showing your education, work experience, etc.)
Here are a few mistakes that people have made in the past. An applicant is someone applying for a job and oops is what we say when we’ve made a mistake. See if you can spot (find) the mistake before you read the explanation.
• “I worked for six years as an uninformed security guard.”
[Oops: There is an extra letter "n." It should be "uniformed" meaning wearing a uniform or special clothes for a job, NOT "uniNformed," which means someone who is not knowledgeable.]
• “My last job was as a plumbing and hating specialists.”
[Oops: This time, this person is missing the letter "e." It should be "heating," which refers to a machine or system in a building that makes the temperature warmer, NOT "hating," which is to dislike something very much.]
• “The academic scholarship I earned came with a plague.”
[Oops: This applicant spelled this word with a "g" instead of a "q." A "plague" is a disease that affects a lot of people, and a "plaque" is a flat thing made of wood, metal, or something else that is displayed to remember an event or person.]
• “My career goal is to shave my talents with a growing company.”
[Oops: This applicant used the wrong word. It should be "show" and not "shave," which is what many men do every morning to remove the hair on their faces.]
• “After graduating from college, I worked in a clothing store for seven moths.”
[Oops: I believe this applicant worked at the store for seven "months" and not for seven "moths," which are small, brown flying insects.]
• “My volunteer experience includes delivering hot males to senior citizens.”
[Oops: I think this applicant means "meals" (food) and not "males" (men), though senior citizens (older adults, usually over 65) may also appreciate getting some males, too.]
~ Lucy
May 13th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Very useful.
I think that tips about resume could be more often.
Thks Lucy.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Very funny , useful too.
T h a n k y o u v e r y m u c h
May 13th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
To me this is just an example of how difficult English lenguage is. It is difficult to us, but also to english native speakers who may Know how to say
a word but not how it is spelling.
We, spaniards do not spell a word so often, only if we have to writte a difficult one, an address or something similar. But not just a simpple one
because our lenguage has the same way speaking and writting, as many others I think.
It is just funny how easy is to confuse a word, consequently all meaning, by a single letter, but it is not so funny to the people who write the note
and says silly things. What a pity.
Good, very good teaching. Thanks Lucy.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I worked for seven ears as a lost man in a post office.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
In my Country, this kind of mistake is called “pearl”.
Thx a lot
Florence from beauuuuutiful Bordeaux, France
May 13th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
ha ha, funny mistakes
but they often happen though
May 14th, 2008 at 1:23 am
I sent an email to my my friend wrote: thank you for her CONSERT (consern). She sent me back that she wasn’t perform on the stage. Oops: That was funny to hell…..
I will learn my lesson that I must check any world before I send.
Best ever regards!
Henry Luong
Edgewater, NJ
May 14th, 2008 at 3:09 am
There are a bunch of words that sound the same and the spelling is different. I’m confused by them, sometimes.
P.S. I like reading your blogs.
Thanks Lucy and Jeff!
May 14th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Henry Luong Says: “I must check any world before I send.”
that’s funny
And about “shave my talents” I’d rather say that originally was share, but it’s just a wild guess.
That last one is the best, volunteer pimp
[Hi Grzegorz,
I think you're right. It's probably "share," not "show." It's clear you have better guessing skills than I do!
Lucy]
May 14th, 2008 at 11:35 am
“hating specialists” *g*
May 17th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I had a lot of bad experiences with spelling and pronuntiation. When I started living here in California I was very shy to speak, but as soon I started working, it was a little easier. Still I have problems and when I have to write something, I am scare to make a mistake of spelling. One day at the store I said to a customer “It is better to brush the hair of your cat if you don’t want to get nude, insted of knotted” and that little girl was looking to her mum, probably saying herserlf, “I didn’t know that cats can get nude!”. I was so embarrassing that still I am laughing about it.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:36 am
“My career goal is to shave my talents with a growing company.”
[Oops: This applicant used the wrong word. It should be “show” and not “shave,” which is what many men do every morning to remove the hair on their faces.]
==>Can it be “My career goal is to SHARE my talents with a growing company”?