Had resume professionally done... didn't go so well.

[Gibson486]

I say just move on....you live and you learn

That said, you paid for a service, you got it, but it was not A grade material. That is unacceptable. I work in an industry where i write lots of specifications for clients. Spelling errors and typos are NOT acceptable. This is an engineering job too, so there is alot of "I am an engineer not an English major" mentality and typos and spelling errors are still not acceptable. This person makes resumes. It RELIES on her not making those petty mistakes. The OP has every right to bust her for it. The good thing is that these problems usually resolve themselves. The bad news is, the resolution usually has no justice to the client.

 

[JEDI]

karen?

 

[JD50]

Wow, she made a mistake. I can't believe that this "professional resume writer" is not perfect, I'm in shock.

 

[Gibson486]

Power trip much? It seems like it is very important to you to inform her of your displeasure and and the consequences of it (I don't believe for a minute you had three people just waiting for your ok to use her services). If you could have skipped out on paying over something this trivial, I think you would have. Much ado about nothing. In the words of the immortal Jimmy Buffett " Breathe in, breathe out, move on".

Why shouldn't he? He paid for a service that relied on the very mistakes that discredit what he is paying for. It's pretty bad when a client finds mistakes like spelling and typos.

 

[eits]

Am I wrong to be this upset?

Girlfriend was having a hard time finding a job so I had her resume professionally done. They have their final review and my girlfriend shows me the final product. There were two definite typos and one questionable one(at the very least and awkward sounding sentence). There was also one acronym she used that we weren't familiar with. So I email her back and say were aren't pleased and could you fix it. I also have three friends waiting by to use her with my approval, which I let her know. In the email, I list out the mistakes. Here is what I heard from her today-(this is just her response to the two definite typos)

ME: 5th bullet of the Millieu Therapist job it says "an" instead of "and"

HER: This has been corrected... an oversight of the spell check feature and also of the review process, both mine and Patricia's(my GF).

ME: In the first bullet of the research assistant position there is an extra "and" in between tasks and to.
HER: I am always in editing mode and just forgot to clean it up... I was trying to condense words, but forgot to take the 'and' out.

So... she put partial fault on the GF for not catching the typo... and then had the nerve to blame spell check.

What's my play here?

who cares whose fault it is? it's her job to make a professional resume. she failed.

your play:
"i completely understand. sometimes i make mistakes, too. since we paid to have them done by (fill in the date), when can you correct these mistakes and have them back to us?

thanks,
(your name)"

don't give her a chance to back out of her obligation. be a man and take control of the conversation.

 

[Corporate Thug]

If you are happy with the result with the exception of the two errors, I would just let it go.

 

[RbSX]

I've gotta say, if you're girlfriend isn't intelligent enough to type her own resume/cover letter, an employer will pick it up pretty quickly.

CV/Resumes give a snap shot of who the candidate is, and if the person I'm interviewing doesn't match (for example: If the resume seems to be written by a person significantly more intelligent than the candidate in front of me) I automatically can them. It's deceiving.

 

[TheVrolok]

Why would you want your money back over a couple typos?

"Hey, can you fix this?"
"Done."

Problem fucking solved.

I probably wouldn't hire her again, but it's hardly something to bitch about.

This. As long as you get the resume done, and complete by whatever date you need it by I don't see it worth the effort. People make mistakes, these were absurdly minor. Move on.

 

[Tiamat]

Pay for the resume, don't recommend to friends. You mentioned she asked the "right questions" or something... perhaps that is already enough for the amount you paid for. You never know until the resume gets picked up and your gf gets an interview. If her structural changes to the resume gets interviews, i would say that she had done her job.

 

[Number1]

Judging by the way you wrote your OP I find it hard to believe you were able to find any mistakes in other people's written work.

 

[SKORPI0]

Move on, the next hurdle would be your GF finding a good job. Good luck.

 

[brblx]

90% of this country sucks at english. if you want something like a resume done correctly, you're going to have to do it yourself.

highly intelligent people and/or english majors probably don't typically go into the resume-writing business. you had losing odds.

[edited for copious ironic typos]

 

[chusteczka]

If she provided significant content, quality, and style improvement then do not sweat the small stuff.

 

[UnLocke]

The keep working till I fix it really doesn't work with this one does it. I mean you spent more time writing out a description of what was wrong than it would take to just fix it yourself and yet you paid someone to do it right the first time.

Ouch.

 

[eits]

The keep working till I fix it really doesn't work with this one does it. I mean you spent more time writing out a description of what was wrong than it would take to just fix it yourself and yet you paid someone to do it right the first time.

Ouch.

lol locke, where've you been?

 

[SlitheryDee]

Seems to me that something like a resume would necessarily need to be proofread by the buyer for potential factual errors due to misunderstanding or embellishment on the part of the writer. A certain amount of "back and forth" should be expected by both parties in order to achieve a satisfactory product. What I mean to say is that it is not unreasonable for her to have expected your GF to read over the resume to make sure everything is kosher, and it may be unreasonable for you to expect a perfect product on the first try.

Spelling or grammar errors should be subject to harsher criticism in this case though. Any error should be based on incomplete communication of your desires with respect to what you want on the resume; NOT her lack of command of the language. Still, you should give her a second shot at it. I wouldn't even withhold my recommendation if the fix went smoothly and the final product was satisfactory.

 

[SooperDave]

Why shouldn't he? He paid for a service that relied on the very mistakes that discredit what he is paying for. It's pretty bad when a client finds mistakes like spelling and typos.

I would spend the 30 seconds to fix the mistakes and move on. To me this is as important as the guy at Burger Hut getting my order wrong. I pick off the onions and tomatoes and eat up. I wouldn't waste my time going back and complaining and telling the guy I'll never order there again. I just don't go back anymore (maybe). Anything more would be an unnecessary waste of time.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

There were two definite typos and one questionable one(at the very least and awkward sounding sentence).

ME: 5th bullet of the Millieu Therapist job it says "an" instead of "and"

 

[bGIveNs33]

Seems to me that something like a resume would necessarily need to be proofread by the buyer for potential factual errors due to misunderstanding or embellishment on the part of the writer. A certain amount of "back and forth" should be expected by both parties in order to achieve a satisfactory product. What I mean to say is that it is not unreasonable for her to have expected your GF to read over the resume to make sure everything is kosher, and it may be unreasonable for you to expect a perfect product on the first try.

Spelling or grammar errors should be subject to harsher criticism in this case though. Any error should be based on incomplete communication of your desires with respect to what you want on the resume; NOT her lack of command of the language. Still, you should give her a second shot at it. I wouldn't even withhold my recommendation if the fix went smoothly and the final product was satisfactory.

I just figured that is what I was paying for... so I wouldn't have to proofread it. But all I've emailed her back saying something along the lines of what AtomicPlayboy said. I'm not concerned with it anymore. I think where I went wrong was my expectations. I figured the grammar would be a given and that she would proofread it and not rely on "spell check" like she said she did. Oh well, live and learn and I won't be using her again. I never was going to ask for my money back because I knew signing the contract that wasn't going to be a possibility.

Thanks for all the advice ATOT 😉

 

[silverpig]

just get over it

It's a pretty big deal. What would you do if you paid me $160 to assemble your PC and didn't install your video or sound drivers?

YOU: Uh, you didn't install any drivers.

ME: Your fault for not checking.

 

[silverpig]

Wow, she made a mistake. I can't believe that this "professional resume writer" is not perfect, I'm in shock.

Any idiot off the street can write a resume. To write a GOOD resume takes a lot of work and experience with them. If you pay someone for their expertise in giving you a good product and they can't master the simplest task that any novice could do, then you're not really getting any value.

 

[TheVrolok]

Any idiot off the street can write a resume. To write a GOOD resume takes a lot of work and experience with them. If you pay someone for their expertise in giving you a good product and they can't master the simplest task that any novice could do, then you're not really getting any value.

This is why professional authors have editors. Typos, small grammatical mistakes, etc. happen.

It's a pretty big deal. What would you do if you paid me $160 to assemble your PC and didn't install your video or sound drivers?

YOU: Uh, you didn't install any drivers.

ME: Your fault for not checking.

Not the same thing. Changing two small typos to be accurate takes all of 10 seconds. To a novice computer user installing drivers may take awhile, if it ever gets done properly.

 

[silverpig]

I've gotta say, if you're girlfriend isn't intelligent enough to type her own resume/cover letter, an employer will pick it up pretty quickly.

CV/Resumes give a snap shot of who the candidate is, and if the person I'm interviewing doesn't match (for example: If the resume seems to be written by a person significantly more intelligent than the candidate in front of me) I automatically can them. It's deceiving.

A well done, professional resume is not something anyone can whip up in 10 minutes. Formats for different industries vary, the language and focus changes, and different employers want you to highlight different things.

In the MBA we are constantly revising and refining our resumes, and in the summer I'll be putting at least another 20 hours in on it, coming up with several different versions and styles.

Granted, if the person's cover letter is written in perfect english and they come in to an interview with a full-on engrish probrem, then that's an issue, but a separate one.

 

[zinfamous]

post pics of gf

this.


plus, I have no idea what you're complaining about. You clearly don't use spell check or check your own grammar OP, so you of all people should be able to appreciate these issues.

 

[silverpig]

This is why professional authors have editors. Typos, small grammatical mistakes, etc. happen.



Not the same thing. Changing two small typos to be accurate takes all of 10 seconds. To a novice computer user installing drivers may take awhile, if it ever gets done properly.

What would you do if your editor gave you back a document with typos?

Sure it is the same, regardless of time. He paid for a professional service and got a product with novice mistakes.