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Errors in an email I received from a student who wants a job (1 Viewer)

chet

Footballguy
Below is an email I received today from a student at my alma mater: 

My name is XXXXXXXX I’m an XXXXXXX here at XXXXXXXX. I recently transferred from Emory University in Atlanta where I played NCAA soccer and studied business for the past two years. This past summer I had the opportunity to work in private equity in Toronto and I've decided I would like to transition into investment banking.  I plan on returning south of the border after I graduate so if your available, I was hoping we could chat about the process you went through here at Ivey and any advice you have as I go down a similar path.  Please let me know if your available anytime this week, I look forward to hearing from you!


My response was short and to the point:

I received your email and I must tell you that I was more than a little surprised at the grammatical errors it contained.  I strongly suggest you learn the difference between "your" and "you're" or have someone proofread for you before you contact any other prospective employers.  I also noticed the comma splice in your last sentence.  Attention to detail and the ability to communicate effectively are traits we value highly in our analysts so I am sorry to say we won't be able to pursue your interest further.
I showed both to my kids and emphasized the importance of avoiding these kinds of errors.

 
Eh it's par for the course for investment banking. I mean it's a bunch of pompous big swinging ##### but attention to detail is important. If you are selling your family business or large corporation, do you go with the typos or not?

 
Also, the guy was just looking for some helpful input from you. His email didn't seem like he was pursuing a job in you're company.

So, not only were you a complete ####### to a guy trying to reach out and better himself, but it seems you're reading comprehension was as good as his grammar.

 
I have no issue with Chet's response other than it left out the phrase 'the world needs ditch diggers too'

 
Also, the guy was just looking for some helpful input from you. His email didn't seem like he was pursuing a job in you're company.

So, not only were you a complete ####### to a guy trying to reach out and better himself, but it seems you're reading comprehension was as good as his grammar.
I agree with the sentiment of his response, but the tone was pretty ****.

To your point; it's similar to emails you receive from recruiters all the time - "do you know anyone who would be interested or fits these qualifications?" It's like a soft ask, the email from this kid is similar in concept to that.

 
Perhaps you should ask XXXXXXXX for a refund on your tuition.  If your reading comprehension is so poor, perhaps they did you a disservice in allowing you to graduate.

You boldly stated: "Attention to detail and the ability to communicate effectively are traits we value highly in our analysts so I am sorry to say we won't be able to pursue your interest further."  Yet, if you had read the original email you would have noticed that he/she was not asking about an employment opportunity.  They were simply looking to network with you, and find out how your experiences helped shape your career.

Sadly, it looks like pedantry will not only keep you from mentoring this student, but probably will keep other similar kids from reaching out to an alum, who will undoubtedly become a laughing stock among current and future students.  Your advice was sound - attention to detail is important - albeit you demonstrated that you have been successful without such attention to detail, so I don't know that it will have the desired effect.

 
A motivated college kid is reaching out to you for advice and pointers--and you refused him the opportunity because of a couple of grammatical errors?  I hope that you teach your kids that it is far more important that they be decent human beings than it is that they be grammar nazis.   

 
A motivated college kid is reaching out to you for advice and pointers--and you refused him the opportunity because of a couple of grammatical errors?  I hope that you teach your kids that it is far more important that they be decent human beings than it is that they be grammar nazis.   
Sounds like he is teaching the opposite in the OP

 
I wonder what the actual intent of this thread was?  Were we supposed to pile on about that "unprofessional" email?  A look at me?  Trolling?

Or just a sad cry for likes?   If @ClownCausedChaos2 had started the thread, I'd have my answer. 

 
I was pretty tickled that on the homeless guy's sign to repent he spelled judgment correctly. Probably places him in the top 2% of the country barring auto-correct. If I see him again, I'll grab his resume.

Overall, though, I'm on chet's side. Do you want to be a professional? Be professional.

 
Below is an email I received today from a student at my alma mater: 

My response was short and to the point:

I showed both to my kids and emphasized the importance of avoiding these kinds of errors.
I totally agree with what you did. 

 
Perhaps you should ask XXXXXXXX for a refund on your tuition.  If your reading comprehension is so poor, perhaps they did you a disservice in allowing you to graduate.

You boldly stated: "Attention to detail and the ability to communicate effectively are traits we value highly in our analysts so I am sorry to say we won't be able to pursue your interest further."  Yet, if you had read the original email you would have noticed that he/she was not asking about an employment opportunity.  They were simply looking to network with you, and find out how your experiences helped shape your career.

Sadly, it looks like pedantry will not only keep you from mentoring this student, but probably will keep other similar kids from reaching out to an alum, who will undoubtedly become a laughing stock among current and future students.  Your advice was sound - attention to detail is important - albeit you demonstrated that you have been successful without such attention to detail, so I don't know that it will have the desired effect.
Not sucking chet's **** here but chet is a heavy hitter. If he was a few years out of school it would be douchey. But someone at a senior level doesn't owe lunch to randos.

 
I was pretty tickled that on the homeless guy's sign to repent he spelled judgment correctly. Probably places him in the top 2% of the country barring auto-correct. If I see him again, I'll grab his resume.

Overall, though, I'm on chet's side. Do you want to be a professional? Be professional.
I spell it judgement, just looks better.

 
Dear chet,

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Here are some extra commas, maybe think about using them once in a while.
 

 
A motivated college kid is reaching out to you for advice and pointers--and you refused him the opportunity because of a couple of grammatical errors?  I hope that you teach your kids that it is far more important that they be decent human beings than it is that they be grammar nazis.   
There's no excuse for a college graduate writing that poorly.  I'm not going to help someone that doesn't even put in some basic effort to check their grammar.

 
Did I miss something, or are we just assuming it was a male applicant?

Anyway, I conducted an interview where the person handed me a cover letter when they sat down.  The second sentence was something like "I would love the opportunity to work at XYZ this summer."  The problem was, XYZ was the name of a competitor, and not our company.

Now, at this point, the interview is obviously over in my head, but I decided not to make things awkward.  I just conducted the interview like normal but then just put them in the 'no' pile.  Maybe I should have gone Chet style?

 
There's no excuse for a college graduate writing that poorly.  I'm not going to help someone that doesn't even put in some basic effort to check their grammar.
Like I said, I get where he's coming from, but he can't really say s*** when he has his own grammatical errors.

 
Did I miss something, or are we just assuming it was a male applicant?

Anyway, I conducted an interview where the person handed me a cover letter when they sat down.  The second sentence was something like "I would love the opportunity to work at XYZ this summer."  The problem was, XYZ was the name of a competitor, and not our company.

Now, at this point, the interview is obviously over in my head, but I decided not to make things awkward.  I just conducted the interview like normal but then just put them in the 'no' pile.  Maybe I should have gone Chet style?
You can always chose to point out someone's error without being a dbag

 
There's no excuse for a college graduate writing that poorly.  I'm not going to help someone that doesn't even put in some basic effort to check their grammar.
Smart people make mistakes all of the time.  It's called being human. The OP himself wasn't grammatically perfect in his response.  

However, a person that finds it appropriate to decline the opportunity to positively impact the course of a young college students life SOLELY because of a couple grammatical errors needs to have their moral barometer checked.  He could have easily taken the time to meet with the student--and during that meeting mention the shortcomings of his grammar (and how it needs to be improved). That would have been the proper and gentlemanly way to have handled the situation.   

 
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I didn't get the feeling he was asking for a job but rather a conversation. That was an opportunity to coach him up about being detail oriented. 

 

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