Business/Economy

I just sent a resume to potential employers and it had a typo. What do I do now?

Q: About an hour after I sent out a resume that I had sweated over for days, I noticed a typo. I went from thinking I had a solid chance to land one of 12 jobs to realizing I’d destroyed any chance I had with these employers.

My friends tell me not to sweat it, saying that smart employers will overlook a typo given my otherwise strong resume. They also remind me that jobs come along all the time. Are they right? If not, how do I fix this?

A: Job opportunities do come along all the time, but terrific jobs don’t. When you really want a job, you need to do whatever you can to land it. A prominent typo on a resume often acts as a wrecking ball, toppling an applicant’s job chances. While some employers may not see or even overlook a typo or grammatical error, many employers will hit delete on a resume that proves an applicant didn’t bother to proof his work.

You can fix this by quickly sending a follow-up email with the corrected resume. If you do this, you demonstrate that you recognized the typo and can own up to your mistakes. The alternative – cross your fingers and hope one or more of those 12 employers won’t see or will look past your typo.

Q: When one of my employees asked to telecommute, I turned her down flat. Teamwork is important in every job in our company. She then submitted a note from an occupational therapist stating that this employee, due to her disability, needed to work from home.

Since we don’t have an HR person in our company, this note makes me uneasy. I did some research and learned that I don’t have to accept a disabled employee’s preferred accommodation request but can offer a different accommodation, such as a part-time schedule. Am I correct? Do I need to do anything else?

A: You’re partially correct. Teamwork can be essential to many jobs and employers don’t have to OK a disabled employee’s preferred accommodation, particularly if they can accommodate in other ways.

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You may need, however, to prove how essential in-person team presence is for this employee’s particular job, especially if your blanket rule against telecommuting eliminates her job. In a landmark case against the Ford Motor Co., the 6th U.S. Circuit of Appeals (with jurisdiction over Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky), ruled that employers may need to allow disabled employees to telecommute even when teamwork is an important part of the employee’s job.

That situation involved an employee who handled emergency supply situations to ensure that the Ford Motor Co. didn’t experience a gap in steel supply. The employee suffered from irritable bowel syndrome. Ford’s management claimed that the employee’s job made telecommuting problematic because her position required group problem-resolving best done face-to-face. Ford’s management offered to move the employee’s cubicle closer to the restrooms.

The court decreed that Ford needed to conduct a fact-specific investigation to determine if an employee’s physical presence was essential to the job. Although Ford’s management asserted that face-to-face interaction was preferable, the employee was able to show that she conducted most of her team problem solving via conference call. The court also noted that moving Harris’ cubicle wouldn’t actually accommodate her disability because she might not have time to make it to the restroom.

Can you prove that in-person team presence is essential to this employee’s job performance? Could you allow partial telecommuting or otherwise provide a reasonable accommodation for this employee? My suggestion – hold an interactive discussion with your employee and see if you can find a solution that works for your employee and company.

Lynne Curry | Alaska Workplace

Lynne Curry writes a weekly column on workplace issues. She is author of “Navigating Conflict,” “Managing for Accountability,” “Beating the Workplace Bully" and “Solutions,” and workplacecoachblog.com. Submit questions at workplacecoachblog.com/ask-a-coach/ or follow her on workplacecoachblog.com, lynnecurryauthor.com or @lynnecurry10 on X/Twitter.

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