The other day I received an e-mail from a client thanking me for the “expectional” cover letter and resume that I had prepared for them.

Because I am a positive person, I like to think he meant to say “exceptional”. However, when I get e-mails like this, I don’t laugh, I don’t even cringe … I just worry!

I worry that he is going to take a fantastic resume and cover letter and blow any chance that he may have had, by messing up his application the second he writes the accompanying email.

Other clients that have me worried are ones that send emails through saying “Thx for ur email but I dekided to write it myself”

(And no, I’m not exaggerating. Both of these are genuine ‘cut and paste’ quotes from client emails.)

Even if she had written ‘decided’ correctly, the whole Text message spelling of ‘Thx’ and ‘ur’ will pretty much guarantee that your resume will not even be opened.

And don’t even get me started on how many emails I receive that start “Dear Kristy”!

Personally, I’m not that uptight about it but some people take great offense when you spell their name wrong.

The thing is though, that I truly believe that all of these clients know that they have problems with spelling and grammar. But that doesn’t excuse laziness.

Any of the following options would have worked for them:

1. Use an Internet browser like Mozilla Firefox that has spell check

2. Dictionary.com for any words they had even the slightest doubt about

3. Copy and Paste the recruiter’s name if it is particularly long or unusual (and don’t forget a quick phone call is always needed for a gender neutral name like Jo or Chris.)

4. Ask me to write a simple email that you can cut and paste to go with future applications.

When you are attaching a resume and cover letter, there is no need to write a lengthy email to accompany it. Something as simple as this will work well:

“Dear Mr/Ms XXX

Please find my cover letter and resume in application for the position of XXX attached.

Kind Regards,
Your Name”