Spelling mistake on application!

[KellySeveride]

DS has been submitting degree apprenticeship applications left right and centre and noticed last night that 2 have a minor typo hidden deep in the questions on the form (think asess instead of assess). The rest of the applications he feels good about but now he’s massively worried the applications are going to be binned because of this. The applications are for engineering based roles. The applications couldn’t be pulled back to rectify the mistake.

Can anyone reassure me he hasn’t scuppered his chances for what is an accidental minor typo? The boy can spell just fine and he’s predicted 4 A’s at a-level in the perfect subjects for his field. It’s just his keyboard obviously didn’t recognise the double tap of the letter when he was typing the word.

The key is… what is the apprenticeship for?

an English teaching engineering position? Not great

a plumber? Less important

I assess degree work. I'm now quite pleased when I see a typo because it means it's less likely to have been AI generated.

But also they haven’t bothered to utilise the very basic… spell check functionality

Spell check doesn’t pick up every incidence of a typo if the misspelled word is another word so it is possible even with spell check a typo could be missed. Proof-reading isn’t 100% either, especially when proof-reading your own work.

Typos happen, if the rest of the document is written well then it’s unlikely to be an issue. It may be the person reading doesn’t even notice!

Some of my most talented colleagues can’t spell for toffee and anyone worth their salt won’t bat an eyelid at one minor spelling mistake. It doesn’t cancel out a positive attitude or the grades needed to secure an apprenticeship in my humble opinion. I agree about using spellcheck in future and I wish your son the very best with his studies!

Robotics engineering. Definitely not teaching 😆.

I had considered that the typo would prove it wasn’t an AI based application (it definitely wasn’t) but yes I also realise that spell check is something he should have utilised. And to be honest I thought he would have. He’s not a daft boy.

Thank you for the well wishes @wateraddict. He’s still got many to apply for over the coming couple of months and we know how competitive the degree apprenticeships are.

I really can’t see this making a difference on an otherwise decent application. If it was riddled with SPAG errors it might be a problem, but an isolated one will be seen for the typo it is.

i assumed that the DS had made a spelling error as per the OP hence my post

It seems she meant he omitted a double letter, but there are times where omitting a double letter can still leave you with a correctly spelt word, albeit not the desired word. Eg: filled to filed, loose to lose.

Yes

But I assumed the op would have described it as such and given the op did not….

Had it been described as thus, I would have adjusted my post accordingly

For clarification it was a double letter, however the word it produced is an incorrectly spelt word.

Having read countless applications for degree apprenticeships, graduate schemes and post doc schemes over the past few weeks, I can say for certain - it will not make one iota of a difference.
In the last few companies I have worked the following happens (although, this may not happen everywhere, so don’t take this as what will happen).
The first sift is mainly looking at the qualifications and attained/predicted grades before sending them to the right place to be read properly.
The second sift is looking in a bit more depth at the content of the application.
The ones that have landed in front of me to consider for interviews definitely have spelling mistakes in, and some of them obvious. As long as it’s understandable and has a reasonable level of grammar and spelling, it will pass through fine. A spelling mistake here and there is not a major issue. Engineers who write reports all the time make mistakes, that is why we have peer checking and review processes in place before documents are issued.

Please don’t worry. Engineering prefers people who can think for themselves, can think outside of the box and can work with others. Any ability to spell is a bonus. If your DCs application gets to the point where an engineer has it in front of them, they will not care one little bit about the spelling, and that’s assuming they even notice in the first place.

Good luck to your DC 🤞

@Thatmoves Since when is a plumber an Engineer?

@EverythingSortsEventua11yYes some engineeers are poor at grammar and spelling and the amount of time wasted checking reports is an appalling waste of time! Most companies prefer people who can spell. In this case, it probably won’t matter. He’s still at school. DH preferred people that didn’t need constant checking - for engineering or spelling! Consulting engineers. Site engineers won’t care less. So depends on what the work is.

Yes. Good points, well made.
It does certainly does depend on which area of engineering, and spelling is important. The less that needs to be checked and changed, the better. But in the case of the OP, the one spelling mistake the DC made, is not going to greatly disadvantage them or mean their application is binned (IMHO and experience).

Thank you all for your advice. Unfortunately the company he made the spelling mistake in has declined his 2 applications. However on the plus side two others he has applied to have moved him to assessment stage so it’s not all bad.

He’s still got a lot more to apply for too.

These days I am very careful to not dismiss applications because of minor mistakes because of dyslexia, etc - it shouldn’t be an indication of someone’s suitable to do a job, especially if it’s one small typo.

@dancingbymyself Depends on the job. Some firms don’t want to waste time and money on correcting English.

Sorry to hear that, but onwards and upwards.

You win some, you loose some, even as an adult applying for jobs.

Great to hear he’s got to assessment stage on a couple. Good luck to him with those 🤞