Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, June 10, 2009

How to recover from painful job-search mistakes

By Eve Nicholas
Herald Columnist

 It happens from time to time. Job-search mistakes that make you lose your breath for a second, wishing you could turn back the clock. You type up a message to a potential employer, click "send," then notice that you wrote the wrong company name. An interviewer asks how you liked your previous job, and you blurt out that you hated your boss. A moment later, you find out that your former boss and current interviewer are engaged to be married.

These are fast-acting mistakes, the kind that escape from your lips (or keyboard) before you have a chance to stop them. The wrong words fall out of your mouth. E-mail messages escape from your out box. In a few moments, after your panic subsides and you vow to never make the same unbearable mistake again, what do you do?

Well, you can choose to do nothing at all, and hope that the employer doesn't notice the cheeseburger stains on your tie, or that you wore tennis shoes to the interview. You can utter a meager joke in an attempt to use humor to alleviate the tension. Or, you can express regret and redirect the conversation to something more positive about your character.

Before taking action, give yourself a moment to catch your breath. Decide if further communication would improve or worsen the situation. Then, bravely make your next move.

If an apology is in order, select your words carefully. Be brief and professional. Don't make excuses. Here is some sample text that can be easily adapted for many humbling situations:

"I realize that I misspelled your name in my previous correspondence, and I wanted to contact you right away to apologize. I am committed to taking responsibility for my mistakes (as well as my successes), an attribute that would likely benefit your team at Company ABC. I hope that you will still consider my qualifications for your management position. If so, please review my resume, which highlights key accomplishments during my 11-year career, including the $150K that I saved for my last employer."

Here are a few tips to keep you from making silly job-search mistakes:

Run the spell check feature on all documents, and then proofread every sentence, word by word.

Write e-mail messages slowly and deliberately. Proofread every line. Resist typing the employer's e-mail address until the text looks flawless, attachments are in place and your message is ready to go.

Find a quiet place where you can talk to employers over the phone. Limit distractions so you can provide thoughtful answers to questions and avoid saying something unfavorable about your life, career or work history.

Schedule plenty of time for job interviews. No rushing. Give yourself time for unhurried eating, driving, changing your clothing or stopping at the store to buy a pair of matching socks, if you need to. Always set aside a few minutes before the meeting (at home or in the parking lot) to gather your thoughts.

If you feel calm and focused, you'll have better results at all stages of your job search. Even so, embarrassing moments happen to everyone. Take a breath. Make a decision. And move on.

Send your job search questions to Eve.GetAJob@gmail.com
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA