typos in resumes

[David Hailey <FAHAILEY -at- WPO -dot- HASS -dot- USU -dot- EDU>]

We might also remember that typos are not always typos.  Many of the
"prescriptions" in style guides are not prescriptions at all.  They are often
merely suggestions or recommendations--often stated as, "Tradition holds that.
. ."  Furthermore, there are rules that we tend to forget as a group.  For
example, "Use a comma when necessary to avoid ambiguity."  I have often
received "gigs" from VPs and technical editors that have forgotten or never
knew that rule.  I once received a scathing review from someone who used an
MLA style guide to attack my APA style.

I have often seen people in this group not know a rule (so they ask the
group).  But I have also seen people in this group reject a rule that is
clearly written but is still nonsense--remember the 12:00M strand?

I would hate to tell an applicant that I rejected him/her because of typos
only to find that I was wrong or that the "typos" represented aesthetic
differences of opinion.

For what it's worth.

Dave Hailey
Assistant Prof etc. . .

Utah State University
fahailey -at- wpo -dot- hass -dot- usu -dot- edu

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