A story about spunk and fight
This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO
This is a story about spunk and fight.
It begins with a job posting last week. We’re currently hiring for a marketing intern position. On Thursday afternoon, our Marketing Manager (Stephanie) posted the position on Craigslist. Later that same evening, I spent some time reviewing the emails from people who were interested in the internship. One particular email caught my eye — it was simple, but the subject line was different than others in my inbox. But as I opened the email, I realized that the same subject line that I liked so much had a glaring typo “Great Canidate for intern postion” Could I look beyond the typo? Did the person have the attention to detail that is critical to an internet startup? I pondered what to do.
I decided to send a quick email back to the candidate, to see how she would respond. Here is my email:
Your email subject caught my eye — but the spelling error causes me not to look at your resume further. Thought you might like to know for the future. All of that stuff matters.
- Matt
I know that I didn’t have to send that email, but this person had a great resume. I know I was being a little harsh, but I wanted to see what would happen. Would she ignore the email? Would she say thank you? Or would she apologize and ask for another chance? I can’t say I expected what happened next. Here’s the email that I received back:
Great Matt! Thank you so much!!! After working an eleven hour double at my waitressing job then coming home only to jump online for two hours to continue the job search, its people like you that make me wonder why I continue! Would it have been all that hard for you to simply hit delete??? Well let me tell you something mister, you lost one of the most dedicated,hard workers your little wanna be company could have had. So I hope you find your little Miss/Mr. Perfect that spelled the subject of their email correctly because Mommy and Daddy supports their butt, and were well rested and enthusiastic, not completely exhausted and burnt out from a day of serving rude people like you! And you know what if you did read the rest of my resume you would have seen that Public Relations was my core concentration. The experience was all I wanted, but nooooo because one little word was wrong, because I was tired as hell, because I busted my butt for four years, because I put my heart and soul into my studies, I’m penalized. Thanks.
Wow. What brutal honesty. What fight. So I immediately wrote her back:
You’re the kind of person I want to hire.
Here’s why: I grew up in a large family that had little money. My first job was at age 12 — working everyday after school doing landscaping. By age 16 I was working most nights (managing a small movie theater). I put myself through college (and still have $50K in loans).I like your spunk, and I like your fight.
Now, that being said…. it’s important for me to know that if you were going to be representing the company (even on Facebook or MySpace) that you would indeed be well rested and not burnt out. As you can imagine, I got lots and lots of resumes for this position. If you were in my shoes, you would need some way of filtering them. Yes, I could have hit delete, but I liked your email. I wanted to see how you responded.
So, now it’s your choice. You can choose to hit the delete button and you can erase the potential opportunity. Or you can choose to face the “rude person” that actually *does* understand what’s it’s like to work in a job where you are under-appreciated and over-worked. I’ll even let you continue your rant (complete with insults) right in my office. And hey, maybe I’ll even buy you lunch and we can decide the right tip amount together.
About an hour after I sent this email, she called my cell phone. We had a great conversation. She was well-spoken and personable and we both had a good laugh over our email exchange.
So she’s coming into the office for an interview this coming Tuesday. I don’t know if this story will have a happy ending, but I do know that a startup is all about kicking and screaming to stay alive. You have to have spunk and you have to have fight. Finding people who have this quality is rare. We’ll see what happens next.
January 31st, 2009 at 4:00 pm
This is one of the first things that has made me really smile all day. Thank you for doing this, and for writing about it. If nothing else, you have a great story, and so does she. It’s a “meet cute” (or not so cute) for an employment scenario.
xo,
Suzi
January 31st, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Very interesting. I think that it is great that you acknowledged her spelling error and did not just delete it. If anything, both of you can learn a lot from this from each other. It is a good thing.
January 31st, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Truth is (much) better than fiction.
Nothing compares to REAL life.
Great post!
Thanks for sharing.
Keep the faith and keep being you!
~Ronald
TrueBeliever & HopeDealer
January 31st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Great post. Most entertaining I’ve read anywhere for a while. Thanks for sharing.
January 31st, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Tom Peters once said that one of his business principles is to “Hire nice people.” I belive that firmly. I’ve seen businesses go out of their way to hire people who had amazing qualifications or experience, but were explosive or just not all that “nice.” To the best of my memory, they regretted doing so every time.
Having a “never say die” attitude is great. But if the candidate had emailed back with enthusiasm and explained the situation without the anger, she could have shown all the same energy.
When the time comes on the job for a performance appraisal, or for a correction from time to time, which we all need, will you get the same, “Oh great, here I am busting my butt for you, and this is what I get in return!”?
I love energy and enthusiasm. I also love people who brighten a room during tough times rather than darkening it. Let us know how things are progressing after 6-12 months on the job. For now, I’m sticking with my “Hire nice people” rule!
January 31st, 2009 at 4:11 pm
And yes, I caught the irony… I spelled “believe” wrong. My mistake… I accept the correction!
January 31st, 2009 at 4:15 pm
OK, I’ll just go ahead and say it: I really hope you hire her!
Was she unprofessional in her response to your email? Of course she was. But, wow, when people are willing to cut someone some slack on a solid gut feeling, some amazing things happen!
If it’s appropriate, please share the outcome of the interview! I’m rooting for her!
January 31st, 2009 at 4:19 pm
After having sent a résumé and cover letter to an agency I was desperate to join, I found three heart-stopping typos in the documents. I was certain I had checked no less than a thousand times. I must have been tired that day. So, what did I do? I immediately swung into triage mode. I resent my package, stating that I had found my mistakes, and expressed hope that the agency would accept the new package. A month later, I sent anther updated version, but this time to someone else in the agency, praying for a fresh start. Throughout, I was polite.
There are any number of reasons I made those typos despite many edits. But none of them really matters because you don’t often get a second chance to make a first impression. If you own up to your mistakes, however, and clean up your messes, then that’s a whole new transaction, another opportunity for a different first impression.
While I think it’s big of you to hire this person, here are my concerns. When she’s upset, she lashes out. That’s not good for your team, nor for client-facing transactions. What she needs to learn is to slow down, to ask questions and to take responsibility. It’s OK that she was tired and we all make mistakes, but it would have been better had she just owned her shit, apologized, and resent her résumé. Instead she was aggressive.
I worry that you responded to her from a position of being cowed. I don’t see her behaviour as feisty. I see it as, surprisingly enough considering her circumstances, coming from an overblown sense of entitlement, one rationalized using her hard-scrabble life. Her e-mail to you was that of a spoiled brat — spoiled by the large chip on her shoulder — and riddled with more typos and grammatical errors, which only adds insult to injury. She’s lucky she got a second chance.
You sound like you might be a good mentor. I’m glad you gave her a second chance only because I do believe everyone deserves that and your decision restores my faith in humanity. But please don’t let this exchange with her go to waste. This person needs a little socialization. And you could be the right person for the job. At the very least, you deserve an award!
January 31st, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Gosh.. this really brought tears to my eyes. No matter what, you did the correct thing sending her the email. You cared is what you did.
I believe more people should hire based on things you can’t teach in school.
I can’t wait until Tuesday to see if you hire her! Great Post.
January 31st, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I popped over here from a tweet posted on Twitter. (Wow, now that is a tongue twister.) I wanted to just share my opinion, which is nothing more than my 0.02 and wirth diddly, but we all have a voice, eh!
Unlike Lorne, I believe this girl might be the one who brightens “the room” the most. Just because she typed off some hot response to you says nothing of her everyday persona or attitude. She just had a shitty day. Don’t we all occasionally?
My assumption is that she portrayed that to you in your conversation. Or why would you have bothered to extend a further invitation to interview?
I think this is an awesome story. The ability to feel out someone and not judge them based on a single event, misstep, or error.
But then again, what the hell do I know. I am just a SAHM keeping it real in my own world, or at least trying.
January 31st, 2009 at 4:29 pm
And please take note of my typo, (wirth=worth) even after I proof-read. Shit happens. What can I say.
January 31st, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Tammy!! You’re “just” a stay-at-home mom??? “Just”? Sorry, but I just never let that get past me. Few people — if any — on this planet deserve more respect than the stay=at-home moms or dads I know.
A career is great for female or male, but wow… when people make the tough choice to stay at home for a while, that deserves a lot of credit too. It’s hard, hard work. So enjoy it (when you can!). Be proud of it. But don’t say you’re “just” a stay-at-home parent. You’re hard at work in the futures market.
January 31st, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I totally agree with Lorne and Liz. And I wonder, seriously, whether you would hire a man who responded to you in the same way?
I agree this is a great post, but not because I think you “did the right thing.” It’s great because it makes people think, and it stimulates intelligent conversation. Well done!
January 31st, 2009 at 5:01 pm
This story is a great reminder that most of the time there is a REAL PERSON behind that email (voicemail, etc.). That people can’t present their best self 24/7/365. That we all deserve a chance. Kudos to both of you for making a real connection, regardless of where it takes you.
PS There have been times I wished I had had her courage to respond the way she did to just such an email I’ve received.
January 31st, 2009 at 5:25 pm
I too respect you for engaging with the candidate, but the response she sent should be a serious red flag. That chip on the shoulder, that sense of entitlement combined with a willingness to cast you as a perpetrator keeping her down — I would not go near that for anything.
I would have liked to see what the subject line was that got you intrigued, and do hope it all works out. And major props for emailing her back — too few people take the time to treat people with curiosity and respect.
Please do post a follow up.
January 31st, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I could not agree more with Lorne and Liz. My first impression when I read your reply to her email was “What!?!, Why would you want to hire someone who is rude and unprofessional?”. There is a difference between “fight” and “effort”. Personally, I would want to hire someone with more tact and more positive energy. She could have easily responded in a different manner and done something more positive to open your eyes. I am all about giving someone a second chance, but in this case I think she has already made two big mistakes.
January 31st, 2009 at 6:38 pm
I have to say, I can’t help but register shock at how this woman’s aggressive behaviour is being called “real”. Of course it’s human to feel angry and defensive. But her less-than-responsible behaviour is not even a professional issue. It would be counter productive and damaging in any context. There is a very big difference between honestly discussing how you feel and acting out.
As real and human as her mistakes make be, her missteps are not the issue here. Her way of handling them is. She handled the transaction badly, blaming the interviewer instead of taking responsibility for her honest mistake. To me, rewarding that kind of behaviour sets a tone and precendent that will not benefit anyone in the organization, not even her, because she will learn that all she has to do is throw a tantrum when things don’t go her way, and I am certain that kind of behaviour won’t fly elsewhere. No one is doing her a service here.
Someone with real fight in them understands themselves better than she understands herself. A fighter understand human nature and respect it, which is why the fighter use it wisely — acting with integrity, diplomacy, maturity and honesty. She did none of these things.
January 31st, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Damn, that last paragraph was supposed to be cut. Filled with mistakes! My bad. Sorry folks.
January 31st, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I noticed that you have a typographical error in your post. You failed to capitalize “I.” Just goes to show you, nobody’s “prefect.”
February 1st, 2009 at 8:51 am
I like her fight. However,she went too far when it comes to a job application.
February 1st, 2009 at 12:31 pm
It was great that you offered her honest feedback on the limitations of her application. That’s good mentoring, and how generous of you to offer that to a stranger with whom you had no relationship.
The anger and attitude expressed in her response took my breath away. I see huge red flags throughout her email in tone and in content, e.g., she was burnt out the day she sent in the application, she was over-stressed the day she sent that nutty response, and she excuses her own mistakes because of this stress level? Doesn’t sound like a great coworker in a communications position.
Which is why I was all the more surprised that you viewed her response favorably. Explains a lot of difficult co-workers I’ve had: our boss must have thought their inattention to detail and failure to take responsibility was spunky.
Back to basics: 1) A candidate with typos in a job application (esp for PR/communications!) should not be taken seriously. Period. And 2) Job candidate or not, we all need to treat each other with more respect than she demonstrated in her aggressive email response. Your heads-up to her was not sufficient provocation for that kind of response.
But I’m intrigued that you see it otherwise. It will be interesting to see what happens!
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:24 pm
That was a great article . I think that girl is lucky to have a boss like you. I have spent half my life searching for a boss who wants a person and not his resume. If ever you were to start a branch in India I would be glad to work for ( and not under) you.
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Hey Matt:
It’s Tuesday evening. Well, at least it is in Newfoundland. Have thought several times about your interview today. Obviously I don’t want to pry into employee-employer confidentiality, but I’m guessing a lot of other people are wondering as well how things are going. Any chance that you’ll be able to supply some kind of update down the road?
Hoping this works out to have a great ending for everyone. Looking forward to hearing anything you’re able to share! All the best…
February 4th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Wow!!
This is great!! Liz Phillips you must have a lot of time on your hands…..
I mean that or you are a woman that just doesn’t like other woman… Whatever the reason might be give the kid a break…
We are all human and all need a break once in a while and like your blog says
“We’ve all been there . . . When you are in a good heart and mind space, life feels like an enternity of making love on a sun-denched window sill beside a life-sized old-fashioned brass key that, um, well, that unlocks all the past pains in your heart, setting you free to love absolutely everyone around you. Like when you’re drunk.”
Testament - Practice What You Preach
February 4th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
“…..serving rude people.”
She’s right. I think I’m one of them. She’s too bright to continue to put up with people like me (and Joe).
Hire her, for pete’s sake!!
February 4th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Wow. I’m a hiring consultant who has recently been on the receiving end of similar emails. It is interesting that a number of them have come from marketing professionals, at both the entry and mid-career levels. I will not move a professional applicant forward if there are typos in the email, cover letter or resume, but have learned to ignore typos in the subject line as it would disqualify too many candidates. By the way, the word candidate is my most common typo.) While I believe that it is a kindness to let otherwise qualified candidates know why they have not met expectations, many of them see it as rude and/or reply in a rude manner so I have largely stopped trying to help them. Candidates who respond in a rude or angry fashion are never moved forward, for the reasons so many others have outlined here. They should be putting their best selves forward, not blowing up or dumping or getting over emotional. How can you have confidence that they would respond correctly to clients and vendors if they respond so poorly to you?
One thing I am doing is offering to speak to local college classes to help educate them about the best way to apply for positions. Either the colleges and universities are not teaching this, or the students don’t “hear” it when they do. If more business owners and managers took the time to talk with the students (or unemployed groups), perhaps more applicants would understand the rules.
February 4th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
This post was an enjoyable read.
However, thinking that this applicant would actually be hired after blowing up - albeit via email - at the ‘boss’ still amazes me. I like Barbara Hart’s discussion from the perspective of a hiring agent. She is almost completely void of emotion regarding the hire, something most employers are not. I do disagree with her use of the term “rules” as it pertains to applying for jobs. There are no set rules, but customs - and these customs change over time and across industries and cultures.
However, no matter the custom - this spunky applicant was out of line and would not have made it passed my door. If hired at this company, I would stay on my toes and wear body armor.
February 4th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
This was indeed a really, really interesting post. I was actually in the midst of crafting an email to respond to your Craig’s List ad, as I am a recent college grad looking to get into the field of online marketing, when I came across this blog post. I was poking around on your site (which I think is awesome, by the way) and was very intrigued to find that the latest blog post was actually about the position I was planning to apply for. As an entry-level recent college grad trying to figure out what the heck employers are looking for, I found the blog post fascinating - and very disappointing.
I would never, in a million years, write an email like that to a potential employer…or anyone, for that matter. Therefore, I am apparently not the right candidate for this position. I am really disappointed because I am extremely interested in entrepreneurship, and specifically online startups, and MyPunchbowl looks like a particularly fun place to work. However, I’ve come to realize that getting a job (or an internship) is a matchmaking process, and apparently we aren’t really a match! I really like that you were willing to give this girl a second chance, though, and that you could appreciate her spunk. I can see how she could turn out to be a fantastic intern, and I wish you the best of luck. Also, thanks for the tip - I’m going to try to spunk up my heading lines from now on!
P.S. If you happen to change your mind and decide to try out an uber-polite perfectionist, please keep me in mind. : )
February 5th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Misspelled word? So what.
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Well, that’s what they say, anyway. In case you can’t read the text above, it’s telling you that researchers at Cambridge University have concluded that it doesn’t matter what order the letters of a word are; as long as the first and last letters are in the proper place, you can scramble the rest of the word however you like, and it’s still readable.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
If you’re kissing ass the whole time, your potential employer isn’t going to know what kind of person you truly are. Don’t get me wrong, portraying yourself well is a very important factor in finding a job, but there’s a difference between being polite and being fake. Like she said, she was overworked and exhausted both when she sent the resume and probably when she replied to the email as well. As long as she apologized for her bluntness, she deserves a second chance. After all, Matt’s not looking for a puppet, he’s looking for a creative and hard worker that is real, above anything else. I think it’s a humorous start to a great employer-employee relationship.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Good Lord! When I say I value someone who’s willing to “fight” for what they believe in, I don’t mean literally pick a fight!
While I might’ve been moved to use the incident as a “teachable moment” for this poor young woman, I wouldn’t hire someone who couldn’t keep her cool under the slightest pressure. (I shudder to think what happens to her diners if they dare point out that she got the order wrong!)
And with all due respect to the crazy-making effects of burnout and exhaustion, I wonder if there isn’t a little more pathology at work here. I’m no clinician, but in my world, it’s not “spunk,” it’s just bad behavior to go on the attack when someone offers legitimate (if critical) feedback. It’s not self-righteousness talking here; my business just doesn’t need the disruptive, counter-productive emotional drama this person would likely bring to the office. Interpersonal dynamics at work are complex enough, thank you.
With some feedback, perspective, maturity and maybe a little more humility in her toolkit, I’m sure she’d get her “second chance” — with the next employer.
February 7th, 2009 at 1:00 am
I am very proud to say that I have worked with this young lady for the past 2+ years serving wonderful (and yes, sometimes very rude) guests. While we are both actively searching for work in our fields, it IS frustrating to send out resume, after resume, and not receive ANY response, and then with the economy and less guests to serve=less tips to make ends meet, you become desperate (been there, still there)…but as a recent graduate ready to get into the work force, how depressing when all you want to do is work in the field that you’ve studied for.
Nevertheless Matt, I have a question for you. Was she blushing when you first met? I can attest that she was beet red when she read to our restaurant manager and me your reply to her e-mail for the intern position. As she continued, our jaws dropped when she read her response to you for the typo. We couldn’t believe it!!! So UNLIKE HER, but we laughed because we know how hard she’s been searching, and how frustrating it is. We weren’t laughing at her, or her response, we were just dumbfounded, and then when she read your response to meet her…OH MY WORD!!! We were beside ourselves.
For those voicing a negative opinion, “to know her is to love her”, and I not ony know her, but I work with her and she has never come across like she did in her response. She serves many guests; the young and old, and in between, like “the movie queen”.
She deserves this opportunity. No, if she was “corrected” in the work place she would not lash out - there are no red flags for this girl - she would take it with a grain of salt and welcome any constructive criticism. She has been an absolute joy to work with and a wonderful hard working young lady (all of our guests love her!).
I’m so very happy that you have given her this opportunity to show what she can do in your assignment. If nothing more, you have given her a challenge and that is what she needed, not to be “deleted”.
Thank you, sincerely!
Oh, and by the way, if you’re looking for an administrative assistant, I would love to send you my resume.
P.S. Mario - maybe you and Joe should raise your tips a little for all the time you sit and tell us your stories; it won’t help make ends meet, but you you wouldn’t be bickerin’ over pennies. :}
February 9th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I stumbled upon this whilst searching for an invite service. Fascinating tale, but oversimplified. Matt has the right to do as he pleases, and while there’s a mention of a phone call and meeting between them, it’s been paraphrased. If the ‘24 test’ is factored in and it’s clear to all that it was a regrettable reply on her part, forgiven in part because he baited her to get a recation.
A year on the internet is akin to 5 years in print or gossip, and it’s cached forever. Think twice before you spew venom. Public affairs, customer service, marketing, stewarding clients and dinner parties are dances of diplomacy. Burn one person and they’ll vent or bad mouth you to everyone and every forum available. She lucked out, and I wish us all more composure when the situation presents itself.
(no spell check)
ATTS