Does one typo kill a clip?

[Hoos3725]

I've got a clip that I like a decent amount. But the problem is that when it ran in the print edition, it had a typo. The word said "including" when it should've said "include."

Not that it matters, but I'm pretty sure the typo came from the desk, not me.

Should I no longer use the clip?

On the website, however, the typo was fixed. That sort of opens up a whole other can of worms on clips from websites and how they can potentially differ from the original version. Kinda goes against the basic idea of clip.

 

[RickStain]

1) Pet peeve of mine: That's not a typo, just an error.

2) You never know who cares about what, but I don't think most hiring editors have a problem with web clips these days.

 

[Azrael]

Y s.

It can, if the clip's really short.

 

[HejiraHenry]

Yes.

 

[mustangj17]

Dude, use the online clip and change it.

 

[Rhody31]

Or find the paginated page on your paper's server, fix it, print it and work off that as a clip.

 

[BTExpress]

Or do it the old fashioned way.

Just have a little smudge where the typo is --- or a tiny tear in the paper.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

I have this issue with one of my clips that I like. The headline writer (not me) mistakenly put the guy's wrong hometown in the headline and it made it into print. Afterwards, I made a PDF of the page with both the inaccurate headline, and I changed it to the accurate headline.

Would it be wrong for me to use the PDF with the changed headline, especially considering it didn't end up that way in print?

 

[Ace]

Or do it the old fashioned way.

Just have a little smudge where the typo is --- or a tiny tear in the paper.

Sneaky!

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

From Yahoo....

[quote7. Be careless with details
Reckless job hunters rarely make for conscientious workers. As such, even promising resumes must abide by age-old dictums: typo-free, proper organization, and no embellishment. Susan Whitcomb, author of Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer, says that almost 80 percent of HR managers she surveyed said they would dismiss otherwise qualified candidates who break these rules. She tells the story of one would-be employer who, when looking for an assistant, decided not to hire anyone because every resume she received contained typos.][/quote]

 

[mustangj17]

I have this issue with one of my clips that I like. The headline writer (not me) mistakenly put the guy's wrong hometown in the headline and it made it into print. Afterwards, I made a PDF of the page with both the inaccurate headline, and I changed it to the accurate headline.

Would it be wrong for me to use the PDF with the changed headline, especially considering it didn't end up that way in print?

Survival of the fittest. Do what will make you survive in the job hunt. Change it. It's not wrong. What's wrong is thinking a company will hire you when you know about the mistake and don't fix it.

 

[Ace]

I have this issue with one of my clips that I like. The headline writer (not me) mistakenly put the guy's wrong hometown in the headline and it made it into print. Afterwards, I made a PDF of the page with both the inaccurate headline, and I changed it to the accurate headline.

Would it be wrong for me to use the PDF with the changed headline, especially considering it didn't end up that way in print?

Survival of the fittest. Do what will make you survive in the job hunt. Change it. It's not wrong. What's wrong is thinking a company will hire you when you know about the mistake and don't fix it.

That's bad karma. Editors know you don't write the headlines. You change that and you'll probably misspell the city.

 

[JackS]

Not that it matters, but I'm pretty sure the typo came from the desk, not me.

Actually, if you care about integrity, I think it does matter. If you're absolutely sure it was a desk error, you should fix it and not even give it a second thought. If it was (or may have been) your error, then you're being a little more sneaky to fix it. Personally, I wouldn't. But this is really about being able to look yourself in the mirror. No way the reader would be able to determine whose error it was.

 

[bigbadeagle]

Having read clips and then seen the raw copy produced by some writers, I can tell you they had awful good folks massaging that copy.
I don't hold a typo in a clip against a writer. Given how quickly sometimes copy must get churned, I understand things like that will happen — and even get by a good copy desk.

 

[SF_Express]

It shouldn't matter that much, but it does, because I read that clip, and if the error is glaring, I say, "Out of the whole body of work, he/she couldn't come up with clips that didn't have typos in them?"

Unless that clip won a Pulitzer, it's not worth the risk. You never know what the reaction will be.

 

[Bubbler]

The worst is when your story is right, but someone ****ed up on the desk and there's a typo in the headline.

Happened to me several years ago. I had some of the best breaking news I ever did, but there was a ****-up in the headline in each of the two days when the stories ran. Frustrating.

 

[Tucsondriver]

It won't help, but if that's your best work, use it without hesitation. If you have comparable clips with no typos, use those instead. I think most reasonable hiring editors know that some great writers make mistakes, and that a significant percentage (typos or others) are written in by copy editors anyway. Every clip will have some imperfection. Good luck with your job search!

 

[mediaguy]

I think I might have sent a clip or two to BTExpress. "Dangit, there was a tiny slip of paper covering up a word or two when I copied the story."

 

[Crash]

Not that it matters, but I'm pretty sure the typo came from the desk, not me.

Actually, if you care about integrity, I think it does matter. If you're absolutely sure it was a desk error, you should fix it and not even give it a second thought. If it was (or may have been) your error, then you're being a little more sneaky to fix it. Personally, I wouldn't. But this is really about being able to look yourself in the mirror. No way the reader would be able to determine whose error it was.

Looking yourself in the mirror?

To hell with that. He's trying to get a job. Use the online clip and fix it.

 

[crimsonace]

What you're sending is the best of yourself to show yourself off. Hiring managers are often splitting hairs when deciding which person to hire, and the decisions are often pretty subjective.

If it gets noticed, there's a chance you're dead in the water, so don't send it (or find a way to send a corrected one, especially if it's the desk's fault ).

That said, I wrote a story that I thought was pretty good once, submitted it into a statewide competition. I won an award for it, so I pulled it for my resume clip file -- and realized I had used the same quote twice. That's not a desk error, but obviously, the judge must have never noticed it.