In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:
How much do small grammatical mistakes cost you in your job application materials? I ask because when I tweak my materials for particular jobs, I'm prone to making small mistakes. Are these forgivable in the eyes of a committee, or do they provide reason for tossing an app? I want to know how much attention I need to give to proofing and re-proofing each and every document prior to sending them off!
I'm not the best proof-reader myself, and I suspect if there's just a stray error or two, it won't be too big of a deal. But if your application materials are rife with editing errors, I suspect that probably will count against you. One reader submitted a response that basically agrees with this:
Grammatical mistakes and small typos aren't great, but now that we require applicants to produce so many documents, every application has them. Don't get sloppy and unprofessional, but as long as you're within a normal range, no one will toss your application for this reason.
But another reader noted that some people might be sticklers on this kind of stuff:
First, some people do care about small grammatical mistakes – I had a colleague who would really hold it against applicants. And given the great number of applicants, it was difficult to want to fight with her over an applicant who had a sloppy letter. Further, a central part of our trade is publishing, and if you are not catching errors in application letters, you are probably not going to catch them in your proofs for publications. "Big deal" … perhaps. But it does make you look careless. I would recommend applying for fewer positions, and taking more time with each application.
Anyway, it would be good to hear from other search committee members. How big of a deal is this to you?
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