Professionals Use Spell-Checker

I grew up with a mom that corrected all of my spelling and grammatical mistakes. It was painfully annoying, but she taught me that sending your draft is not what professionals do. Professionals send the edited and final version of their work. This was taught and backed up in my schooling too. I always checked my work and would be embarrassed if my work that I turned in had spelling mistakes. Enter 2022 and the age of social media, instant feedback, communication through a gazillion devices, and automatic text correctors. Many of these communication formats still rely on the written word and professionals are caring less and less on accuracy. I am totally guilty of this and so are you

​How many times have I wanted to send response to a message or text so quickly that I hit send before I re-read it? It's embarrassing the stuff I've actually sent and then apologized for. We all do this now as I have received messages from just about everyone with mistakes... and yes... even my mom! It's the great irony of the times we're in. First impressions are still as important as ever. Let me share this simple example. I got a resume from a candidate looking for part time cleaning job. I only hire professionals with resumes that want a side-gig cleaning the professional offices we serve. This candidate is very professional, working as a case-manager and touting communication skills on his resume. His initial communication to me was this. "Hood afternoon." This is super silly. I know what he means. Do I give him a pass like I do for my friends and family? Well... let's think about it together. He is applying for a job that requires the small details to be handled with care. There are many opportunities in cleaning a professional office to miss an important detail that could make all the difference. If this candidate is sending his first impression email to me with "Hood Afternoon", how many other details is he not double-checking? Don't let this happen to you. How about the funny papers story I shared in this episode? That young man didn't impress me with professionalism. He was eager and that's a great trait, but he had no questions for me and I want someone who can think, figure stuff out, take ownership. It's a core value. Here's another example. What if I spent hours and hours for the opportunity to do a walk through estimate for cleaning with a top-tier wealth management company and then sent a professional proposal asking them to spend $1,000 per month with C3 and my email started with "Hood Morning." They may overlook it, but they may not and I could end up losing thousands of dollars because I wouldn't double-check my work. This is something that I've been working on more and more in this fast-paced culture. I am a professional and I use spell-checker. I'm like Santa and check my list twice. It takes moments to check yourself, yet the rewards versus consequences for not checking are huge.

This episode was meant to be short and sweet. Slow down in your communication and impress with being different by being accurate. It mattered in 1963, 1993, and it matters in 2023.