please give me your opinion guys

[flutter95 4]

Ok so say you work in HR and have been talking to someone about hiring them for your company and in an email the prospective employee addressed you by the wrong name, how would you react? Would you care or make you decide about the person? Or would you like to see a follow up email "ooopsy"?

[dalegg 143]

Personally, I am the worst person in the world about names. I can be working with someone literally a week and not know their name. But if someone refused to hire me on that basis, they would be doing themselves and their entire organization a disservice as they would have missed the opportunity to hire their best employee- regardless of the job.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Ok so say you work in HR and have been talking to someone about hiring them for your company and in an email the prospective employee addressed you by the wrong name, how would you react? Would you care or make you decide about the person? Or would you like to see a follow up email "ooopsy"?

If it's a position that requires attention to detail, then you should move on to another candidate.

[smoke20 0]

i don't think that should be a deciding factor, unless you're looking for a reason not to hire. its not like they were trying to be disrespectful. probably just thinking about something else while answering your email. give'em a break. they need the job.

[featherB 1]

To be honest, I don't think I'd be that offended, and would be very unlikely to draw any conclusions about the person, or what they'd be like as an employee, from that. Strange, given that typos elsewhere in the email would most likely (I admit) make me think 'tsk, use the spellchecker if you can't spell!' - no idea why getting my own name wrong wouldn't have the same effect!

[flutter95 4]

To be honest, I don't think I'd be that offended, and would be very unlikely to draw any conclusions about the person, or what they'd be like as an employee, from that. Strange, given that typos elsewhere in the email would most likely (I admit) make me think 'tsk, use the spellchecker if you can't spell!' - no idea why getting my own name wrong wouldn't have the same effect!

I hope so.

I am not the employer, or the prospective employee. My husband is the prosective employee and really wants this job. Her name is Shelley and we wrote to Stacey, but thats only because we know two sisters called that and always get confused which one is which!

Thanks for your opinion guys, I hope it won't damage his chances!

[natty bumppo 297]

To be honest, I don't think I'd be that offended, and would be very unlikely to draw any conclusions about the person, or what they'd be like as an employee, from that. Strange, given that typos elsewhere in the email would most likely (I admit) make me think 'tsk, use the spellchecker if you can't spell!' - no idea why getting my own name wrong wouldn't have the same effect!

I hope so.

I am not the employer, or the prospective employee. My husband is the prosective employee and really wants this job. Her name is Shelley and we wrote to Stacey, but thats only because we know two sisters called that and always get confused which one is which!

Thanks for your opinion guys, I hope it won't damage his chances!

hang in there ...

the company may think they better hire him now ... because someone else is also interested

[Mags 112]

I'd personally send a follow up email, apologising for the error, me being me I'd probably also make a joke (not enough coffee/early morning etc). Make it light-hearted and brief; some employers would actually be more likely to remember you for this and appreciate your self deprecating nature and ability to notice/admit your mistake.

Just my 2pence worth!

Edited June 15, 2007 by mags

[doodlebug 3]

Oh most definitely follow up with an apology if you can!!!! They'll appreciate the effort. I think I'd think twice if you didn't apologize and why risk it, you know?

[William33 110]

HR people are facilitators and are typically not hiring officials.

With that said, they are the conduit to the hiring officials.

If you p!ss them off, your resume’ may well wind up in the round file. I would circle back and correct the error, pronto.

On the other hand, they may only look at the qualifications, and ignore the error.

Worth the risk, I say no. A well constructed e-mail will make this go away.

[Nancy2015 2]

If I were in this position, I would definitely send a follow up email with an apology... It's a serious screw up for sure.

[featherB 1]

I agree with what everyone's said about following up with another email. If your husband's that keen to work there, I'm guessing it must be a pretty good work environment with nice people rather than poker-faced humourless gits (okay, I know that's a wild guess, but if it's somewhere he's dead keen to work, hopefully part of that involves thinking his potential future colleagues aren't miserable arses!)... in which case an aplogetic but light-hearted email that's just self-deprecating enough without being too self-deprecating will make them remember him, and (if they're the kind of normal-person, non-robotic people who you'd want to be working with on a daily basis) make them think 'ah, we like this guy, he's one of us!' on some level. I think even HR people can't help judging potential workmates by whether they seem like they'd be good to have around as much as (if not more than) by the qualifications laid out on their CVs... and coming across as human in an 'oopsy!' email could have just that effect! Can't hurt, anyway - you can bet 'Shelley' noticed the mistake anyway, so what harm can a follow-up email do?

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Mistakes happen. Apologize and move on. If they hold that small mistake against you it's probably not a good place to work.

[William33 110]

Mistakes happen. Apologize and move on. If they hold that small mistake against you it's probably not a good place to work.

[Rings 10]

It would be a forgiveable mistake due to that person being on a job hunt and likely talking to many people about positions. That would not seem uncommon. Detail is good, but the real question is if the person has the ability to do the job you want done and if they are your ideal applicant for the position you are seeking.