Should one typo on an application really be the basis for elimination?

Even though I have been (somewhat ;-)) of a professional in the recruitment sector, sometimes I find myself wondering about what advice I should be giving to people when I hear about what goes on behind the scenes when people recruit.

I think people think there’s more science to the recruitment process than is actually true.

Take this little example I heard that got me thinking about the way we make hiring decisions, especially when there are huge volumes of applicants to churn through.

On a bush walk recently I got talking to a fellow walker who told me she had been recruiting for an administration role and had to read 180 applications.

Now I’ve been a member of a hiring panel and I know what it’s like when your internal policies say you need to read all the applications.

After a while they all blend into one big mass of blah blah.

No matter how hard you try, it’s hard to be consistent, and often fair in your basis for shortlisting and elimination.

My fellow walker’s method of applicant elimination was this.

One typo and you’re out.

Now on the surface of this – it seems a perfectly reasonable rationale to apply.

After all, an administration role needs someone with good spelling and grammar, so I nodded and agreed.

But then I got to thinking.

Perhaps the opposite could be true.

What if one or two typos mean that you’re in?

The reason I say this is that when you really care about an application, what do you do?

You read it, and re-read it, and read it again.

My scientific explanation for what generally happens at this point is your brain starts to go to mush if you do this too often, and so you start to read the same mistake as correct.

So it’s pretty feasible that an application will have a typo or two – even from the best of applicants.

My question therefore is this?

What are you hiring for?

Someone who is good with spellcheck, or someone who really cares about an application?

I realise the answer is that you’d look for both qualities and a whole lot more. However my fellow bushwalker’s anecdote was a bit of a reminder to me that it’s easy to forget there’s a lot more untested randomness about the whole process of hiring than many experts will talk about.

And if you’ve been rejected for a job that you think you’re perfect for, and the weight of the world is descending down on your shoulders, it’s worthwhile keeping this fact in mind.

No matter what anyone tells you, recruitment is a very human business.

And all humans make mitsakes.

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You consider yourself to be a smart person, right?

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