job application error - please help!

[kickingmyself321]

Absolutely kicking myself right now. I've been freelance for a while and now desperately looking to get back into full time work. My career background/skills are pretty niche, it's not like I can easily find roles out there.

Anyway, after months of looking, my dream job came up. Without meaning to boast, I have everything they are looking for (I'm hardly ever in this position!). I spent a whole day yesterday delicately crafting what I thought was the perfect application and submitting it onto the company's online career portal.

The ad didn't give the name of who I'd be reporting to, but after some sleuthing around I found the name of the woman who would be my boss, if I got the job. To make my cover letter personal, I addressed it to her, except...

I've just looked at it again, and I wrote the wrong name - think 'Dear Hannah' instead of 'Dear Helen'.

I'm so angry with myself. It's within an industry where a way with words is massively important, so it really doesn't look good.

Thoughts on what I should do? It's on their online careers portal, so I could withdraw the application and resend it - though that would be visible to them I think. I could drop HR a line. Or I could just leave it.

I'd love some advice. I can't believe I made such a silly mistake 😫

This. It wouldn't factor in my shortlisting but I might raise an eyebrow if you were also going on about superb attention to detail or similar.

Just learn from it for next time. It's definitely an odd thing to do in my industry, especially if you had to dig around for the info.

Yes me too!

Oh god, so many opinions!

I don’t think it risks looking like a cut and pasted application. It’s a fairly unusual role and I mention the company twice.

i also didn’t think it was weird addressing it to a person (although it probably seems weird addressing it to someone that doesn’t exist). It’s a big company so I guess possible, from their perspective, that I got the wrong person?!

I'd contact HR and ask how you can go about correcting it. As a hiring manager I'd find it pretty creepy if someone personally addressed an application to me when that information hadn't been on the documentation though.

@GlasgowGal82 - really? I’d prefer someone went to the effort of checking out who they might be working with than addressing me ‘sir/madam’

Oh yeah I'd withdraw and resubmit

In my sector people put "Dear Hiring Manager". I'd leave it now, rather than withdrawing and resubmitting, which will look flaky.

The hiring manager would have no idea if you'd withdrawn and resubmitted - only the HR team would see that. They won't care.

I'd contact them to explain you've noticed an embarrassing typo, and ask to withdraw and resubmit. Then, if there are any tech issues, you're covered.

I absolutely would judge someone for getting the name wrong in a role that prizes good comms, and I would also suspect a copy and paste error, and therefore not a genuine interest in the role. It's not worth losing out on this when you can fix it!

Agree with this. In the roles I recruit to this would be a red flag. But HR will be the only folks to know so I'd contact them to change.

Do not withdraw. You may not be able to resubmit - what would you do then! Speak to the HR Team or Recruiter.

Agree with not withdraw unless you know for absolutely certain it will let you resubmitt, you may not be able to. I'm sure the name will be skimmed over anyway, it's the content they will be focusing on.

Just leave it - possibly email recruitment team explaining and include up to date correct name

It wouldn't matter at all where I work (large public sector employer) applications are assessed only on job relevant criteria. If I read that I would just assume you'd previously spoken to someone else. If it's a large place and common name it's pretty likely there's someone with that name, maybe you chose to address them. I wouldn't think twice about it if I was reviewing the application.

Withdraw, remove the Dear …… I have recruited before and would find the fact someone had went to the trouble of finding out my name a bit creepy. And then resubmit.

Good luck!

Call HR and admit the mistake. Kindly ask them who you should address it to and then resubmit. You might even get extra brownie points for doing your homework on the team.

I'd cancel it and re-submit, wuth no name on! Makes you appear a bit odd tbh.

I’ve slept on this and still can’t decide what to do.

my DH suggests calling the HR dept but I don’t know if that’s even more weird/draws attention to it…

You are overthinking this. Withdraw and resubmit. Chances are they won't even review the applications until the closing date.

Recruiters aren't going to penalise you for this, whereas wrong name on a covering letter isn't a great move.

Phone HR and ask if they can return it to you for amendment and resubmit

another thing - there is a box to provide reasoning for withdrawing application on the portal - I could just write ‘I put an incorrect addressee on my covering letter - I am resubmitting this application - thanks’

should I do that?

I know I am massively over-thinking, but I am VERY keen on the role 😩

Just say need to adjust application, no need to go into details

You could have fixed this by now - just say 'amending application' and get it done.

Submit an updated copy first. Then withdraw the old one. They'll never see it.

Well. This goes from bad to worse.

I should have listened to those on here who said I shouldn't try to withdraw and resubmit - because I went ahead and tried that...and it won't let me resubmit my application! So i called them, and a (very rude) receptionist refused to put me through to human resources. She told me to email the generic email address and she will forward on - I'm not sure I even trust her to do that tbh, given how short she was with me on the phone.

I am so upset. Actually feel like crying. It's the first role in months I was super qualified for, and I've messed it all up.