Comments on: Am I Screwed Because of My Typo?

By: m

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:05:47 +0000

As someone who actually reads these things in a big lawfirm, I can say I spend about 60 seconds looking at resume and maybe 5 seconds skimming a cover letter before you come into my office. From there it is all based on the person, not the resume. So relax. No one cares about your cover letter.

By: Kris

Kris — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:14:17 +0000

“Besides no one wants to read that shit anyway”

God bless you, Southern Lawyer.

I think I would forgive a single wp mistake if someone sent a letter containing one to me – not that my stuff’s littered with typos – but I do crucify myself if I send something out with a missing word, parens or comma.

But I damn sure wouldn’t be pointing it out to anyone. If you’re in a hole, stop digging.

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:04:48 +0000

I am in legal recruiting at a medium-large firm and generally find that the typo acceptability is directly inverse to the impressiveness of the resume. ie, a good fraction of the partner resumes I see are replete with crappy formatting and have a typo or two, but no one cares. When it comes to law students and young associates, the bar is set much higher of course and these documents are something of a branding of their work product. That said, we will overlook a typo in a student’s resume if they are very impressive.

(Note to all students and associates: Don’t make your cover letter a three-page regurgitation of your resume. Tell me something about yourself (in a professional manner) that might not be apparent on your resume. On the other hand, don’t get all poetic. I don’t know you that well, and don’t want to hear romantic generalities about how you have overcome unnamed obstacles, etc, etc.)

By: Joe Dick

Joe Dick — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:54:47 +0000

Yea, right. Why would you want to beat yourself with a wet noodle. Why?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:13:57 +0000

I’d actually bring the new cover letter, and hand it over to them at the start of the interview, acknowleding the typo when I did so. I say that from the perspective of a partner who got stuck recruiting on campus several times over the past few years. We weren’t BigLaw, we were a Seattle firm that recruited at top schools. I read the damn letters, and cared about what they said and how they looked. I dinged peopled who had typos. I know it’s fashionable to be cynical and all that, but this year, especially, when hardly anyone’s going toget hired anyway, I think a little earnestness is going to go a long way.

By: Alex Hump

Alex Hump — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:08:20 +0000

Let us get some new material, ladies. Also, let’s also get some pretty lawyer broads on the sight. So far, all I can see are females in the physical sense only. If this sight is run by skirts, we ought to get a lighter touch.

By: Xuan Lin

Xuan Lin — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:34:55 +0000

Interesting to see that some people can still maintain their sense of humor in the face of an economic downturn. I believe that the economy will have an upturn by the 4th quarter, and that the President will be able to achieve some pretty good results, with the possible exception of health care. I do not want to have nationalized health care.

By: Typo Freak

Typo Freak — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:10:40 +0000

Be gentle on their genetels, please.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:41:34 +0000

I find it ironic that the first comment (and several after) have typos.

By: Eileen DeBonis

Eileen DeBonis — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:30:48 +0000

I agree.