First, Be Flawless
As you might imagine, we get a lot of resumes here at SHIFT. Lots of really cool people want to work here; we work hard but it’s usually pretty fun.
Y’know what’s been interesting? With the rise of Social Media, I’ve noticed subtle changes to the tone and quality of the cover letters that come over the transom.
We still get plenty of highly formal letters on heavy stock paper. But we also get informal cover letters that seek to echo the tenor and tone of a casual blog post.
Here’s my message to those folksy writers: that’s probably not gonna work out so well.
First of all, those clever notes seem to contain more than their fair share of typos. If I see a typo on a resume or cover letter, I immediately discard it. I don’t care about your qualifications if you send me a letter with typos in it. This is your introductory communication to the company you really want to work for — and you can’t take an extra 5 minutes to perform a thorough proof? Sorry, you’re not workin’ here.
Secondly, just because my “tone” on the blog is relatively casual, and just because I wear jeans to work, doesn’t mean that I don’t take the quality of SHIFT’s work deadly seriously. If we have a good reputation, it’s because we are professionals first, fun-loving geeks second. Impress us with your highest quality, “formal” writing so we know we can put you in front of a client. Save the casual stuff for your own blog and internal emails (after you’re hired).
I am sure I come across as a stuffed shirt. I hope I haven’t put off any future rockstar employees. But the whizkids onboard at the Agency today are people who have devoted themselves to the rigors of professional service. As they master the tough stuff, they are empowered to loosen up because they know when to loosen up.
First, be flawless.
Posted on: June 9, 2009 at 4:01 pm By Todd Defren
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Remember to 1) Proofread 2) Proofread and 3) Proofread your — before sending it out. If possible get an outside set of eyes to read through it.
Many students think that just because they do something different it gives them more room for mistakes. Clearly, this is a myth! Great advice- I’d love to see a follow up of some “flawless” resumes.
Great post, Todd!
That’s a great observation, Todd. We’re still waiting for our first applicant cover letter written in 140 characters or less. I know it’s coming soon!
~ @PR_Results
Great post. As a current PR student, and as a devote stickler for proper grammar and English anyways, I agree that tone and proof reading are very important in resumes. While I may be a Gen-X-er, I don’t feel the impact of blogging on professionalism, but maybe more so the lax state of many businesses and lifestyles. Dressing up to go to the theatre or to go on an airplane never happens anymore. Being too casual is a norm now, but I definitely agree there is a time and place for it, not on a resume or coverletter.
Thanks for this great post…as I’ve been applying for jobs recently I have come across this problem, especially when applying to companies who are known for their Web 2.0 savy-ness. But I’ve learned that it’s better to be safe than sorry and stick with being professional. I’m glad to see this sentiment be echoed by someone such as yourself- it means that I’m doing something right!
Jess Greco
Couldn’t have put it better!
Thank you, Todd, for saying so concisely what I preach constantly to my PR students: “Quality counts, and always will.”
Great post!!
I agree you need to demonstrate your value and how you can bring your skills to a company. You do so by proofreading everything and making a great impression. Too many people are looking for work these days.
Great post. I think that professional and stuffy are two different things. I think that it is important to convey individuality in a cover letter, but that can definitely be done within professional constraints.
Great post, and very good comments so far. Professional and error free, that’s the ticket. As PR professionals or aspiring PR types, one of the cardinal rules is to “know your audience.” Whether it’s pitching the correct media to reach the target audience, preparing a presentation for a potential client or writing the cover letter for that great PR job, there needs to be a sense of time, place and appropriateness when tailoring our message.
I’m convinced that HR is a load of garbage. This post just reiterates what I’ve been thinking all along. Hoop+Jump=Job? Seems incredibly old-school, especially for a company like SHIFT.
A conversational letter that demonstrates presence, commitment and passion is worth five times that of a stale, template form letter. Should the grammar, spelling and appropriate content be up to code? Absolutely. But don’t discount people who don’t want to write something that makes them sound like mindless drones.
Stuart, you must have missed my follow-up tweet, in which I said we VALUE a personable, creative approach, but it must still be PROFESSIONAL and ERROR FREE.
There is a middle ground between “Dear Sir or Madam” and, “Heya.”
I’m curious: do you think the effectiveness of the ‘rockstar’ cover letter has been diminished by the rise of the social web? Was there a point in time when you would have been at least mildly intrigued by one?
I am currently on a job hunt right now and have written my fair share of cover letters recently. So, this post really hits home with me.
Personally, I have been writing ‘formal’ letters and proofin at least 5-6 times. But there was a cover letter that I noticed had a small error after I already submitted it … I couldn’t believe it slipped through the cracks.
So, I have been extra causious since!
Anyway, thanks for reminding us young, aspiring PR pros that we must stay on top of our game — especially in this current economic climate.
-JGrass
It’s surprising to see people take risks with the writing on their cover letter while applying for a public relations position. Social media is definitely on a rise. But I think individuals trying to enter this industry should know when and how to use ‘folksy’ type of writing.
As a current Humber Public Relations student I’m learning the value and importance of resumes and cover letters being error-free. This blog entry reinforces what my professors teach in every class.
-”First of all, those clever notes seem to contain more than their fair share of typos.” – One of my greatest pet peeves. If someone is not going to take care enough to spell/grammar check a cover letter/resume or have someone else proofread it, obviously their level of care is not good enough to be associated with a professional business.
-”Secondly, just because my “tone” on the blog is relatively casual, and just because I wear jeans to work, doesn’t mean that I don’t take the quality of SHIFT’s work deadly seriously.” – There is a difference between approachable and casual. When writing for personal reasons, casual is acceptable, even encouraged. However, when someone is looking for a professional opportunity, said person should take every chance to come across as professional.
Definitely agree on this. I also feel the same way about professional blogs. If you’re putting your brand out there, you want to represent yourself and the company or organization you work for the best you can. This includes spelling/grammar/word choice/formatting – anything you would think about when releasing information to the public on your professional website (especially if your blog and website are in any way linked – say, via your Twitter account, even). Take the time and care to get your point across in a professional manner.
I think maybe people are starting to confuse professional and formal (read: stuffy). They are two completely different things. Coming across as a caring, understanding, intelligent, hard-working, and interested individual (or company) is not the same as sounding ‘corporate’, but there is a standard that should be maintained when communicating as part of a business, before OR after hire.
Excellent advice. Reminds me of journalism class – spell someone’s name wrong and an otherwise perfect submission gets an “F.”
Hi Todd-
As a recent graduate making my way through the job market, you bring sound advice for my class and generation. I’d also like to add that a candidate’s social media outlets used in the hiring process (e.g. LinkedIn) should be “flawless” as well. It’s about exhibiting personality in a professional manner.
Man oh man you are a stuffed shirt, dude.
Examples (anonymous with all identifying info removed, of course!) of these too casual cover letters would be extremely helpful… because of the nature of communications in this day and age, I think a lot of younger people honestly have no idea what a “professional” tone should read like and think they are, in fact, being professional.
Although, I agree with you on the typos; there’s absolutely no excuse for that, even if you are purposefully going for a casual blog-type feel. Blogs should not have typos either!
Successful PR pros have always been about attention to detail. Even in the age of social media, it’s still a prerequisite to doing business.
Todd’s post should be a required reading for all communications majors.
Todd, you can always request flawlessness, but you can’t always have it. In this downturn, you can have it. But during the last two economic upturns, I think you and I both made hiring exceptions we never thought we’d make, and realized that typos were not always harbingers for horrible behavior.
Excellent post. Indeed, be flawless.
Great post! I couldn’t agree more. There’s a time and a place for casual and there’s a time and a place for more formal interactions – and a first impression or request for time on a busy calendar is not the time for typos.
You need to get your foot in the door, impress us, and then relax a bit and have some fun, after you get your work done.
IMO, being well-rounded means you can wear both hats – be serious and professional when needed, but also be able to communicate in multiple styles, casual or otherwise.
Wanting to put the best of the best in front of your customers doesn’t make you a stuffed shirt – it makes you excellent at customer service.
Congrats for that!
As a recent college graduate who is on the job hunt, I was unsure where to place my nuggets of hilarity and creative prowess in regard to the cover letter. Thanks for the heads up! I will be keeping it strictly business until I get the job.
I agree! I’d rather hire someone with impeccable writing skills than other criteria, such as an APR. As the Phoenix PRSA master practitioners’ group, however, we’ve noticed that the 20-somethings have spelling skills that leave a lot to be desired. Perhaps it’s becoming a lost art.
This post is dead on, Todd. Some people can write informal, smart blog posts … others write compelling e-newsletters … others write great bylined articles for trade pubs. Valuable writers are the ones who can nail the tone in various mediums. Different types of communication require a different “voice.” As PR people, we need to hone our writing skills so we write well in any medium. Perhaps the first step is to understand that not all written communication reads like a blog post.
Heather
@prtini
@Todd – Perhaps a little stuffy but nonetheless I think you’re 100% correct (well of course you are – it’s your company.) I liken it to school. If you bust your ass and work hard and make a 97 on that first test, that typically earns you the right to crack a joke periodically in class, to loosen up a bit. Now your professor knows that you take the class seriously, and that it’s just you personality as opposed to thinking the class is the joke.
After you send 3 reports and 2 proposals before noon, mid-afternoon is a great time to have an inter-office Sporcle competition.