Make Emails Error Free ...

I run a retained executive search firm. I thought I'd pass on an example of what I see from my side of the desk.

I received a resume today from a candidate who made no mention at all of his education in his resume. I emailed him to ask about his education. He emailed back and said that he had earned a 2-year technical degree and had worked for 15 years as an electronics technician before moving into sales & marketing. He went on to explain that he had left off his education and the earlier part of his career from his resume because neither was relevant to his marketing background or the requirements of the position (Director of Sales & Marketing of a small company).

In his email response, he made half a dozen punctuation errors while explaining that his experience in marketing more than made up for his lack of a degree.

This may upset some of you, but this candidate disqualified himself, not because he didn’t have a degree (my client will accept a solid candidate without a bachelor’s degree if everything else is right), but because of the numerous punctuation errors. I now question this candidate’s literacy and attention to detail, both of which are needed in this job.

Emails are easy to write and send, but need to be as perfect as a business letter if they’re going to an employer (and recruiters, especially retained recruiters, need to be treated as employers). Write your email, proofread it, make sure that the attachment that you’ve promised is actually attached (more than a few emails arrive without the resume attachment that the email body says is attached), and then save it.

Then read it again an hour later. If it’s perfect, send it. If it’s crucial, wait overnight before proofreading it the final time.