Typos on Resumes: Should You Hire a Job Applicant Anyway?

Most hiring managers say they’d rule out a candidate for resume typos, but is that a good practice for your business? There are a few reasons it might not be.

Job applicants are urged to review their resumes more than a few times to ensure there are no misspellings or grammatical errors. To be safe, they should even have a friend or associate review it. But as hiring managers know all too well, even the most diligent candidates can occasionally let a typo or two slip by.

For hiring managers who review resumes, one typo can be a huge disappointment. When a candidate is otherwise perfect on paper, it can be difficult to give them a chance. However, there are a few good reasons to rethink that policy.

You’ll Have an Advantage

That candidate with the resume error? Chances are, nobody else is offering an interview. One survey found that 76 percent of executives would rule out an applicant over just one typo in a resume. With so many businesses finding competition fierce for talented professionals, forgiving a mistake or two could mean landing a great specialist ahead of competitors.

Some Candidates Hire Professionals

Some typos are simple grammatical errors that may slip by unnoticed. Some could simply be a sign that the candidate isn’t a professional resume writer. All of the other applicants may have paid a professional to create or review their resume, making them not necessarily the best candidate on their own. The best applicant may be the person who painstakingly put together a resume and reviewed it multiple times, hoping to make the best impression, yet somehow missed an error somewhere on the page.

Typos Are Relative

A typo can signal a lack of attention to detail, which may be important if you’re hiring a data analyst or CFO. However, there are many professionals who can do a great job while making an occasional mistake. Consider the type of position and whether a missing letter here or there would affect that person’s work output before sending the resume to the recycle bin.

Typos Are Human Nature

In the end, it’s more about the reason for the typo than the fact that it’s there. Psychologist Tom Stafford told Wired that when we write, we’re usually more focused on the concepts we’re conveying than the words on the page. This can lead to typos, especially when those words must serve an important purpose, such as landing a dream job. When proofing our own work, we often pay more attention to the concepts we’re communicating than the words themselves, making it easy to skim over mistakes without seeing them. This actually makes it highly likely that a document like a resume could contain an error for years without the candidate noticing. In fact, hirers could have errors on their own resumes that they’re unaware of.

Focus on the Bigger Picture

A typo may be the least of your worries. A perfectly-formatted resume may not actually be perfect once you look “under the hood.” More than half of HR professionals surveyed say they’ve caught a candidate lying on a resume, with some of those lies being complete fabrications. What’s more important—a grammar mistake, or someone embellishing a past career role? You’re probably more likely to see a candidate lying on their resume than leaving out a letter or misspelling a word. Instead of concerning yourself with resume perfection, it might be more important to focus on checking resumes and researching potential hires online.

While job applicants are encouraged to do everything they can to avoid mistakes on their resumes, it’s also important for hiring managers to know when they should completely rule an applicant out for a mistake. In some cases, they may be the ones making the mistake by missing out on a talented worker.

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A journalist and digital consultant, John Boitnott has worked at TV, print, radio and Internet companies for 20 years. He’s an advisor at StartupGrind and has written for BusinessInsider, Fortune, NBC, Fast Company, Inc., Entrepreneur and Venturebeat. You can find him on Twitter here.

Sometime, Sometimes, and Some Time

• Sometime means “at some point.”
• As an adjective, sometime also means “former.”
• Some time means “a period of time”—usually a long period of time.
• Sometimes means “occasionally.”

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What is the difference between sometime and some time? And where does sometimes fit into the equation? Don’t worry, the answer is simpler than you might think.

Sometime: One Word

There are two ways to use sometime as one word. Let’s tackle the harder one first.

Sometime: Adverb

When you use sometime as an adverb, it refers to an unspecified point in time. It doesn’t refer to a span of time—that’s what some time is for.

Here’s an example of sometime used in a sentence.

I’ll get around to finishing that book sometime.

In the sentence above, we’re not talking about how long it will take to finish the book (span of time); we’re talking about when the book will be finished (point in time). You can usually replace sometime with someday or at some point when it’s used this way.

I’ll get around to finishing that book someday.

I’ll get around to finishing that book at some point.

Sometime, Some Time, Sometimes Video Summary

Here are a few more examples:

Give me a call sometime, and we’ll have coffee.

We’ll announce a release date sometime soon.

Tony needs to stop by the bank sometime today.

Sometime: Adjective

OK, now let’s talk about the other way to use sometime. When you use sometime as an adjective, it just means “former.” Sometime should always be one word when you’re using it as an adjective.

Albert, a sometime cab driver, now flies airplanes for a living.

In the sentence above, sometime cab driver means “former cab driver.” Some writers use sometime to mean “occasional,” but that usage isn’t accepted by everybody. If you’re not sure whether your audience will interpret sometime as “former” or “occasional,” it may be a good idea to avoid the ambiguity and use more specific terms.

And, remember, when you use sometime as an adjective, don’t put an s at the end of it.

Albert, a sometimes cab driver, now flies airplanes for a living.

Some Time: Two Words

When some time is two words, it refers to a span of time. In fact, it often means “a long time.”

For some time, humans have known that the world is round.

In the sentence above, we’re talking about a long span of time—several centuries, in fact. That’s definitely a long time.

For a long time, humans have known that the world is round.

Let’s look at another example:

It will take some time to finish the project today.

Again, we’re talking about a span of time, so some time should be two words.

It will take a long time to finish the project today.

Sometimes: One Word

Sometimes is a one-word adverb that means “occasionally” or “now and then.”

Sometimes I just don’t understand what that man is saying.

English grammar sometimes follows its own rules, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Everybody hurts sometimes.

Plenty of writers have trouble remembering how to use some time, sometime and sometimes. The good news is that once you understand the difference between some time vs. sometime, it gets easier to understand other tricky pairs like any time vs. anytime and any more vs. anymore.

Farther vs. Further

People use both further and farther to mean “more distant.” However, American English speakers favor farther for physical distances and further for figurative distances.

Ray LeBlond once said “You learn something every day if you pay attention.” Today is the day to learn the difference between further and farther.

Farther

Unsurprisingly, farther means “at or to a greater distance.” In Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys uses this adverb to describe the activity of some sea vessels: Some boats eventually floated ashore. And some boats, like me, seemed to float farther and farther from land.

Besides physical distance, farther can also refer to “a more advanced point” or “to a greater extent.” In the following quote from The Great Gatsby, for example, farther describes how arms are stretched to a greater extent.

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther . . . —F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

The farther you go . . . the harder it is to return. The world has many edges and it’s easy to fall off. —Anderson Cooper, Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival

Further

What’s the difference between further and farther? The definition of further does overlap with farther, but first let’s look at the meanings that are unique to this term. Further, unlike farther, can be a verb: He’d do anything to further his own interests at the company. It means “to aid in the progress of, to promote, or to move forward.” As an adverb, further means “in addition to.” As an adjective, it means “more, extended, or additional.” For instance, you might ask for further information or pursue further education. Consider this quote from The Life of Pi by Yann Martel:

You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don’t, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you.

The Common Meaning of Farther and Further

How do the definitions of farther and further overlap? Can you use further or farther away in the same way? Some usage guides disagree, but both terms have been used interchangeably to describe physical distance. Here is a quote in which further fulfills that role:

The further from one another, the nearer one can be. —August Strindberg, The Road to Damascus

In response to a question from a writer, The Chicago Manual of Style deferred to Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary, which states: “Farther and further have been used more or less interchangeably throughout most of their history, but currently they are showing signs of diverging. As adverbs they continue to be used interchangeably whenever spatial, temporal, or metaphorical distance is involved. But where there is no notion of distance, further is used.” Notice how further is used in this quote from The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis:

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now . . . Come further up, come further in!”

Farther or Further From the Truth

How do you express the idea that something is completely untrue? Is the correct expression farther from the truth or further from the truth? A quote from Popularity Explained by Alex L. Freeman reveals the answer: The dictionary definition of popularity is “to be liked by many.” Based on this definition, you might predict that popular students are the cheeriest and most agreeable people in a school: kind to everyone and always willing to lend a helping hand. Such a conclusion couldn’t be further from the truth!

Are further and farther impossible to tell apart from one another? No! Nothing could be further from the truth! If you remember that only further can mean “moreover,” you shouldn’t have much difficulty. That’s one thing learned for today, but what will you investigate tomorrow?

Toward or Towards

• Toward and towards are two acceptable ways of spelling the same preposition.
• Toward is the preferred spelling in the United States and Canada.
• Towards is the preferred spelling in the United Kingdom and Australia.

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Some words have multiple correct spellings. You probably already know this is true for certain verbs (e.g., spell vs. spelt) and several nouns (e.g., color, favor, neighbor); prepositions aren’t immune to it either. That’s why we have both toward and towards.

Toward vs. Towards

The only difference between toward and towards is the s. Both spellings are correct, and they mean the same thing: in the direction of.

Toward is the preferred spelling in the United States and Canada. In other English-speaking countries, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, towards is the more common spelling. The Chicago Manual of Style notices this difference; The AP Stylebook recommends using the shorter spelling.

Both spellings of the word can be traced all the way back to Old English. Toward, as we know it now, evolved from toweard, which meant “in the direction of.” Toweards was the Old English adverb derived from toweard by adding the adverbial genitive s.

Examples of Toward and Towards

I believe it is our generational responsibility to take action, and Canada will continue working toward an ambitious agreement in Kigali.

The Huffington Post Canada

BlackRock Inc., the world’s biggest money manager, said investors should be wary of Treasuries as the Federal Reserve moves toward raising interest rates.

Bloomberg

The divide still exists; some remain bitter towards Cruyff and towards Guardiola, his most determined disciple.

The Guardian

Business Advice from CEOs You Should Consider

Do you like avocado enough to trade your house for it?

Some people face this choice every day, according to one prosperous CEO, Tim Gurner. In an interview with an Australian news show, the thirty-something millionaire blamed avocado toast and fancy coffee for this generation’s lack of funds.

“When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each,” Gurner said.

The Internet responded with a roar of protests, from passionate defenses of the health benefits of avocados to calculations—forfeiting twice-weekly avocado toasts every month for five years will earn you an $11,000 dream palace.

To those millennials, here’s a promise: No avocados, or other superfoods, will be maligned in this article. If you are unwilling to give up your favorite snacks, let’s look at some of the best business advice that we found from other successful CEOs.

“When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for everyone telling you you’re nuts.”

This suggestion comes from billionaire Larry Ellison, the co-founder and former CEO of Oracle, a multinational computer technology company that is responsible for many platform services and cloud applications.

While working for IBM, computer scientist Edgar F. Codd invented relational database systems, but he concluded that the premise would see “no commercial potential.”

Ellison, on the other hand, saw the potential and ran with the idea all the way to the bank. He didn’t worry about the people who didn’t share his vision and neither should you.

Don’t be discouraged if you catch flak from doubters; you’re in good company. And what a story you’ll have to tell when you achieve your goals!

“Don’t be fungible.”

Is a definition in order? Probably so . . . Something fungible is replaceable or interchangeable with an identical item. You can thank Larry Summers, former U.S. Secretary of Treasury, for this wisdom.

Working in the treasury must have made Summers an expert in fungibility. Money, you see, is fungible. If you loaned twenty dollars to someone, you wouldn’t expect the debtor to return the exact bill you lent. Any twenty dollar bill will do, right? To advance in your career, however, you want to stand out from other employees.

Summers doesn’t leave you in the dark about how to differentiate yourself from a crowd of coworkers: “Have a distinctive expertise or perspective,” he said.

What’s your strength? Identify it as Summers noted, and let it shine!

“I don’t think it matters how small or how big the task is, if you can do it just a little bit better than what is expected, you will be noticed and rewarded.”

You don’t feel uniquely talented? Then, work harder than everyone else like Jeffrey Katzenberg, the co-founder of DreamWorks. Katzenberg’s production company is responsible for wildly popular films, including The Boss Baby, Shrek, and Kung Fu Panda.

According to Katzenberg, the mission of every DreamWorks film is to exceed the audience’s expectations. On your next project, ask yourself, “What you can do to take it to the next level?”

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t wow your colleagues every time. Even Katzenberg admits that not every movie is as successful as they’d like them to be. However, building a reputation for going the extra mile will ensure that people will want you on their team for the long run.

“Remember that you can do anything you want to do. Don’t let anyone say, ‘You’re not smart enough . . . it’s too hard . . . it’s a dumb idea . . . no one has done that before . . . girls don’t do that.’ My mom gave me that advice in 1973. And it allowed me to never worry about what others were saying about my career direction.”

Meg Whitman of Hewlett Packard offers sage advice for anyone who feels inadequate or ill-prepared for a job because of gender or any other reason. Rather than avoiding challenging tasks, you should seek them. By doing so, you give yourself an opportunity to learn new skills, and you also learn more about yourself. Perhaps you are underestimating yourself! Of course, some abilities may lie beyond your scope. But you won’t know what your boundaries are until you push them. What goal can you stretch toward next? A good rule of thumb is to reach out just a little beyond what you’ve already accomplished for each objective.

By the way . . .

Medical News Today says that eating nutrient-rich avocados can “help to decrease the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and overall mortality while promoting a healthy complexion and hair, increased energy and overall lower weight.”

The money you probably save on doctor’s visits and medicine alone makes it worth the effort.

To be fair, Gurner admits it wasn’t only evading the temptation of smashed avocado toast with feta crumble that paved his way to property ownership. His boss invested in his first place, and he combined the profits from that place with a loan from his grandfather to fund his next venture.

What he really means to say is that you have to work hard and avoid unnecessary excesses if you want to save for a home or business. Let’s cut the guy a break and take inspiration from his counsel.

Smash your (preferably home-grown) avocados yourself and limit your discretionary spending. Soon after, you’ll be the one offering sage business advice as a CEO of a high-profile company.

What is the Most Maddening Writing Error? Misused Apostrophes

Grammarly’s cut-throat competition to determine the most “maddening” writing error concluded on April 6, 2014 with MISUSED APOSTROPHES crowned as the undisputed Grammar Madness bracket champion.

Tens of thousands of grammarians voted in 16 separate match-ups representing the most annoying errors in English writing.

According to one voter in the final match-up between YOUR/YOU’RE and MISUSED APOSTROPHES: “[I]t seems like there is a whole new wave of people who believe that you NEED an apostrophe and an ‘s’ to make a word plural.”

There’s no doubt that misused apostrophes are maddening to word enthusiasts across the globe. Institutions that have taken a stand on apostrophes continue to stoke the fire:

• The Domestic Names Committee of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names doesn’t like apostrophes, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• The Cambridge City Council proposed to abolish the use of apostrophes on street signs (The Telegraph).
• The Internet doesn’t include apostrophes as part of Web addresses (for example: McDonald’s is mcdonalds.com).

Generally, an apostrophe is used to indicate possession – not plural – and to mark missing letters in contractions (for example: you are = you’re).

The Oatmeal has an amazing visual primer on how to use an apostrophe.

When in doubt, conventional wisdom tells us not to use an apostrophe in our writing. This may save us from any one of the following embarrassing – and very public – writing mistakes:

What’s the worst misuse of an apostrophe that you’ve seen in your daily life? We’ll post the best examples on our Facebook page for the consideration of more than one million actively engaged grammarians!

Disinterested vs. Uninterested—Are They the Same?

• Disinterested means “without a vested interest.”
• Uninterested means “not showing interest.”

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The words disinterested and uninterested are sometimes used as if they have the same meaning. But there is a difference, and to avoid confusion, you should be aware of what that difference is.

What Does Disinterested Mean?

When someone doesn’t have a vested interest in a matter, or doesn’t have a horse in that race, we can say that this person is disinterested. To be disinterested means to be impartial, which explains why this word, in its traditional sense, is often used in legal or business contexts:

Is the judge disinterested regarding this case or does she need to recuse herself?

However, writers sometimes use disinterested when uninterested would be more accurate:

He seemed disinterested in what was going on around him.

But, to avoid confusion, it’s best to preserve the distinction between these two words.

What Does Uninterested Mean?

If someone is bored, doesn’t care about something, or isn’t showing an interest in something, we can use the word uninterested to describe them:

He seemed uninterested in what was going on around him.

Sheila was uninterested in learning math; she preferred social studies.

Examples

The directors who consider the bid must be disinterested and not receive a benefit from the transaction, and they must be governed by an overarching duty of care owed to the association.

The Los Angeles Times

Criticism, in this light, is neither a mode of revelation nor of disinterested judgment.

The Brooklyn Rail

Unfortunately for City Hall’s exterminators, they also seemed totally uninterested in recently laid traps baited with poison.

New Zealand Herald

But we’re comparatively uninterested in buying health and beauty products online, despite spending 18 percent more this November.

Chicago Tribune