Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Most embarassing job application mistakes

70 replies

personaenongratae · 23/02/2019 22:17

I am MORTIFIED at myself. There was a job I really wanted and I was really busy, and mixed up the deadline so had 3 hours to finish it off. I submitted it 2 minutes before the deadline.

Then I realised in one of my answers, I’d goven the job the wrong title!
ARGH!
Eg “I am applying for the role of stock manager...” but the role I was applying for was staff supervisor let’s say
There is no way I’ll
get it now.

What are your embarassing application mistakes? Please help me feel better from my own self inflicted situation of pity.

OP posts:

crummyusername · 25/02/2019 20:02

I interviewed someone who brought examples of her work along. Great, except they were commercially sensitive documents written for her current employer - our direct competitor. She didn’t get the job!

Megsheeran · 25/02/2019 20:43

When I was young I applied for a "Residential Childrens Worker" position, got an interview despite my lack of experience, slightly spoilt it when they asked me, if I had any questions and I asked to see my bedroom - didn't realise it was just the children who were residential!

AornisHades · 25/02/2019 20:57

crummy I interviewed someone who did the same thing. We weren't in the same line of business but they had CONFIDENTIAL stamped on them. No job offer for them.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Jobs

FrangipaniBlue · 25/02/2019 21:00

I once applied for a job as an Audit Assistant.

Every time I wrote the job title in my covering application I wrote Audit Assisstant.

I got the job and they pointed it out to me after I started

mypieter · 25/02/2019 21:23

I once wrote an application for a charity organisation (minority rights- that's relevant) and wanted to say that I was leader of a queer society at university. I somehow hadn't spotted that I mistyped, "I headed the Queef society for several years"

I didn't even get a rejection email

JasperRising · 25/02/2019 21:44

Once applied for a job which required a cover letter and CV. Never heard back, slightly peeved but shrugged and moved on. A good year later I found the files and opened them - they were both the cover letter (but with different file names)... No idea how I did it but the company had never received my CV and had clearly not felt it was worth contacting me!

I do wonder what would have happened if I hadn't made the mistake but in the whole I suspect it was for the best as I don't think I would have enjoyed the job that much.

Fr3d · 25/02/2019 22:23

Not mine but CV's I've received:

"I am currently studying to be a Bachelor of Business"

And slightly more scary:

"My duties included assassinating customers on a one to one basis"!!

No, neither of them got an interview, we didn't need an assassin or a trainee bachelor

SleightOfMind · 25/02/2019 22:34

We explained to DS1, when he was doing his first ever job application that he needed to read the job spec and make sure he directly addressed their needs.

His personal statement proudly announced that he ‘ regularly and promptly carries loads of up to 10 KGs while maintaining a cheerful and friendly demeanour’.

SarahAndQuack · 25/02/2019 23:20

I applied for a job teaching English Literature and misspelt 'literature'. I still got the job, though.

appointmentsaretheworst · 26/02/2019 00:29

On the other side of this, I once spent ages applying for a role that had an intense application process.

I eventually got an email from them and whoever sent it, rather that copy and paste just the rejection text from their files, attached the file to the email as well that was titled 'REJECTION LETTER'. I thought that was poor. Way to let me down easy!

RagingWhoreBag · 26/02/2019 01:02

I put my phone number down wrong so when they called me for interview they didn’t get me. Luckily they emailed me instead. Was mortified when I realised, especially as the job was for an estate agents and I’d bigged up my ‘attention to detail when writing particulars’ grin]

PissOffPeppa · 26/02/2019 01:13

I’ve had this too!

Splodgetastic · 26/02/2019 08:52

It is a universal law of nature that when you list attention to detail as one of your good qualities your application will be riddled with typos.

gallicgirl · 26/02/2019 10:01

I recall having a conversation once with a manager who revealed far too few people paid attention to their e-mail address when sending in application.

[email protected] might have been funny when you were 18 but it was unlikely to get you a job in later years.

BrinkPink · 26/02/2019 10:30

So true about the emails! I had to sift through applications in one of my jobs. SO many people had horrendous and inappropriate email addresses - I couldn't believe it. When you're writing your covering letter or CV, how can you merrily type out "[email protected]" or whatever without thinking "oh hang on, maybe better change that"???

Also loads of people spelling the name of the company wrong, and quite a few unbelievably wanky CVs with long essays about their unique qualities and hipster experiences that were always things like "helping indigenous shepherds build a waterwheel in the remote Andes" rather than anything relevant.

DuckbilledSplatterPuff · 26/02/2019 11:08

My son applied for a job that had several stages of interview. The first was a telephone interview and he didn't register the deadline for replying to the invitation and when he went to fill in the spreadsheet, all the time slots were gone. He thought that was it but we pushed him to write them an email explaining. They booked him a new time slot and he got the job - two interviews later..

so it is worth re sending your application.. it got sent by a slip of the keyboard. If you can't see who to address it to on the application, try looking on Linked in and send it to the most likely person or just the HR with a cover letter. Ultimately, if you think you stand a chance at the job, they want to hear from you and it might even make them more aware of your application.
Good Luck.

BeefTomato · 26/02/2019 11:36

We were advertising for a Communications Manager and received a very flashy, eye catching CV. It's hard to describe but it was a beautifully designed mind map of his different skills and qualifications. Unfortunately he had misspelled communications twice!

He didn't get the job for other reasons, but I did send him an email advising him to spell-check his snazzy CV!

Buddyelf · 26/02/2019 11:40

GCSE in English Languish mortified - only noticed when the interviewer pointed it out (still got the job so god knows how bad the other applicants where )

WhitePhantom · 26/02/2019 12:01

how bad the other applicants "where"?? GCSE in English language? 😅

icannotremember · 26/02/2019 13:50

I was struck the last time I was involved in recruitment by how many people applied for a post they weren't qualified for. The vacancy heading was "Qualified XX". "Must be a qualified XX, registered with the yyyy" was at the top of the essential criteria. To progress on to the application form you needed to tick a box to confirm you were a)qualified and b)registered. Still got a number of applications from people who were neither. I do not get it at all.

On one application, I wrote that I was known for my attention to derail. I hope it raised a laugh, it certainly didn't get me an interview.

Flip

1 2 3