You're Lucky You Have a Job

We all make mistakes, some more grave than others. Which is perhaps the reason you’re currently unemployed. Today I received the following drivel from a prospect who claims we initially spoke a year ago:

“I beleive you remember me we were at some point of time was working on some position at ____ but because of some time factor at that time I already Joined ____ and I missed that opportunity to join with you I am still at ____ these days .”

From what I’ve gleaned, this Paradigm of Syntax is interested in a position with my firm, though it sounds like he’s still gainfully employed (which saddens me given the unemployment rate, I must admit). Did I respond to this message? Fuck no, because in order to decipher it I’d have to ask AltaVista for an English to English translation. Not everyone was beaten by nuns if they didn’t remember the 77 prepositions, but a simple proofreading would’ve worked wonders for this e-mail. I’ll give him a pass if he doesn’t grasp the concept of run-on sentences, though I’m fairly certain he didn’t mean to say that “we were at some point of time was working” since we don’t actually work for the same company. And let’s not even address the improper capitalization of “Joined.” I really can’t today.

I know that no one is impervious to making a blunder here and there (even if I have mistakenly written “manger” instead of “manager” on a resume), yet if you’re exerting yourself enough to apply for a new job, at least take the time to do it right. Spelling and grammar checks can go a long way, particularly when you’re relying on e-mail to make a first impression. You may be scratching your head and saying to yourself, “Yeah, that’s pretty obvious,” but if that were the case, then I wouldn’t have to assault my eyes with the aforementioned bullshit on a daily basis.