In a twist of irony, Sunrise Systems, Inc. is seeking an employee to handle "Prooof Reading" duties, per the headline of this job posting, which, as you can see from this Google search, is spread about the Internet with startling abundance. Yep, you read that right. Three Os, as you can see highlighted in the screen shot above. Also, in addition to the extraneous O, "proofreading" is one word, not two. Making two stupefying blunders on one word demonstrates unparalleled mistake-making efficiency.
HTF does a mistake like this happen in a job posting for a proofreader? When reached by phone for comment, a recruiter at Sunrise Systems curtly stated he was "not interested" in discussing the error. All we can assume is the reciprocal of what the recruiter would likely assume if he received a cover letter featuring the same mistake: Sunrise Systems is a careless company. Underscoring that assumption is the fact that the mistake, published on or before January 12th, 2009, has still not been corrected, despite their knowledge of its existence.
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When I was interviewing for my current job, I was perusing one of the company's publications in the lobby as I waited to meet my interviewer. I happened to notice that on one page of the publication, somebody had actually misspelled the company's name. I brought the publication with me when I went to meet the interviewer. Kindly pointing out the error to the interviewer was a perfect segue into talking about how detail-oriented I am and how I actually run a grammar humor website in my spare time...
Needless to say, I got the job. ;) And although it's not even a proofreading job, I'm often approached to be a "second set of eyes" by people around my department who want to make sure no egregious grammar snafus get published.
This week, in honor of Inauguration Day, I've seen a lot in the blogosphere and elsewhere about how our country is now untied like its never been before... hope we don't all trip over our laces.
Roxy
Grammarphile: That's an amazing story. I wonder how many people interviewed there before you and unknowingly missed the opportunity you seized.
You have a highly evolved proofreading eye. They're lucky to have you on board.
Roxiticus: or perhaps we should all start wearing loafers...
In this economy, it's important to make your cover letter stand out, so I would point out any errors in a job listing if I were applying for a proofreading job.
Becky: Good point...the job market is tough right now. Anyone applying for this job would be wise to point out the mistake, though that might be lost on the H.R. people. I tried to do that (though I'm not applying for the job) and the recruiter I spoke with there was none too amused.
Has anyone considered that this may be a ploy? Having put that mistake in on purpose, the person responsible can simply throw away all applications that don't mention it and concentrate on the ones that do.
I had a similar experience as the Grammarphile when I attended a meeting for volunteers to help gather newscontent for a fan-based website. My discussion with one of the other attendees, all but literally tearing the organisation's magazine to shreds, landed us jobs as editor and sub-editor a month later when the board, including those responsible for the magazine, quit.
(Forgive my grammar, I'm Dutch! I do enjoy grammar and languages and am often that "second set of eyes".)
SubtleKnife:
I did consider that possibility, which is why I called over there to discuss the mistake (I always try to contact the source of the mistake as a form of due diligence).
If that was the case, a recruiter there had the opportunity to tell me that, but, instead, he abruptly hung up on me and refused to take my follow-up call.
Unless someone at Sunrise Systems advises otherwise, I'll consider that an unintentional mistake.
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