So, after years and years of being the person on the other side of applying for jobs - ie the person sending out resumes and cover letters and showing up nervous to interviews, I now find myself on the hiring side. I work as a full time permanent admin for a CPA, and we need a full-time temp for assembling tax returns. We do not need an accounting/tax genius, we need fast, smart, and friendly. Team player, who works well under pressure, that kind of thing.

I post an ad on Craigslist. I am using the exadmin's email account so I post this for responders to please send their resume via fax or email. When I respond to the applicant I have a signature block (huge), with my real name Clove and it is right there.

I have a few people responding, and I place them in one of three folders, "yes", maybe" "no". A gentleman who I had placed in the "yes" folder, responded to my queries for a resume. Here is the hilarious transcription of our exchange.

Applicant: "Hi I am interested in Tax Return Assembly for Receptionist position. I have experience in Office Admin, Phones, Data Entry, Customer Support, Appts, Scheduling, Front Desk and MS Office. I am looking for Temporary or Seasonal position. I am available from February 1, 2018 through to April 18, 2018. Is the position still available? Let me know, so I can send my resume."
Thanks,
Applicant

I let him know, that yes, position is still open, please send a resume at his earliest convenience.
***** Ad asks for resume up front. I recommend sending an email with cover text in body and always attaching a PDF. People that send Word make me nervous. Viruses hang out in word documents.

I read his resume and there are several errors. I find myself editing the text instead of reading the content and then stop myself.

Applicant: "Hi Exadmin. How are you? Apologize for the delay. Your email was sent to my spam. I was keeping at my inbox. I have attach my resume. I am available to discuss this Friday at 11:30am or next week Monday at 1pm. Let me know your schedule.

Thanks,
Applicant

I let him know that my name, as per the signature block was actually Clove, and not Exadmin, and I apologized for the confusion. I also let him know that I understood how things were when sending out resumes, and advised him to proofread "There are some large typos. They will generally casue your resume to end up in the out box."

***** I thought I was being helpful. As I mentioned, I have been on that other side, the applicant side, and its HARD. I tried to do it with humor.

His response to me?

Applicant: "Thanks for the update. I checked my resume. It should be ok. I think Exadmin was the person who put the ad. Is she the manager? Pass my resume to her and I be available Fri at 11:30am or next week Monday at 1pm to discuss. Let me know.

CLove:
Great – send me your updated resume minus the typos.
No, I put the ad up, and I am using Exadmin's email
The manager is the CPA that I work for.
I will discuss with the CPA, and go from there.
Regards,
CLove

***** By this time I was LIVID. But laughing my patootie off. He is obviously not reading. He does not have the skill level, nor the sense of humor that we are looking for.

Applicant: "Great. Give me an update after you discuss with the manager."

***** I could not resist sending a response, after discussing this applicant with the CPA. He agreed to move this gentleman to the no pile after I explained how I felt that he did not have the attention to detail or language skills we need, not to mention how dismissive and "block headed" he was being. When youve reviewed your own resume so many times, things look great, and you dont see any typos. Fresh eyes can help. I have always had others review my resume for the fresh eyes.

I cannot discuss anything with the CPA that I work with until I have a resume without typos to present to him. Let me know if you are interested, and send me an updated resume.
Regards,
Clove