Resumes.

[dsrtao]

Repeat of basic premise: if your cover letter contains numerous, non-typo grammatical errors, your resume had better be incredibly spectacular. If it has the same flaws -- why do you think we would want to hire you for a detail-oriented position?

Comments

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I would not "refuse to hire" because of ineptitude in language and details. But it is certainly no favor to oneself.

[jducoeur]

I would not "refuse to hire" because of ineptitude in language and details.

Actually, in many cases -- maybe most -- I would. I've found that ability to communicate effectively is just as important as, say, experience in many programming positions. And in general, I've found that inability to clearly organize and communicate one's thoughts correlates pretty strongly with inability to program in an organized and disciplined manner. A few minor typos aren't an issue, but if someone really can't think clearly it is.

If I was just hiring a generic mushroom I might not care so much about communication skills. But at this stage of my career, I doubt I'd be willing to work anywhere that was hiring generic mushrooms...

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Specifically, I was thinking English as a second language.

[jducoeur]

Fair enough, but I consider it a real issue. My company has a *lot* of people for whom English was a second language. That hasn't been a problem, because all of them take it seriously and have gotten decently fluent in it. But I've rejected people at least partly because they haven't gotten good enough at communicating in the language...