What would you do? Re resume help for an acquaintance

MrsMalex · February 2014

One of my important clients has a son who is applying for a summer internship. I offered to pass along his résumé and cover letter to some folks I know in the field. Upon receiving it, I saw that it was a mess. Content, formatting, grammar, etc. are all disastrous. I gave him some suggestions, but the revised version is just as bad. I don't have the time to coach him through this. What would you do? Send it along as is? If I were the one reviewing applications, I would never hire him or even interview him based on the formatting and mangled grammar in his cover letter. But he does have good experience and coursework. Would it be ok to correct the formatting and typos, but not the content? I would love to help him get an internship since his parents are important clients, but I don't want to cross a line if there is one. TIA.

maple2 · February 2014

Personally, it would feel like crossing a line to make multiple formatting and grammar edits to someone else's cover letter and resume. I would also not be comfortable passing along (and implicitly endorsing) an application to peers that I knew was bad. In your situation I would talk to the son and/or the mother and restate your concerns about the quality of the application and suggest reaching out to a guidance or career counselor for help.

I don't really know what your relationship with your client is, but it might be worth being pretty direct with her about your assessment of his current application and his chances of getting hired while using it and letting her help her son find the appropriate resources to make improvements.

hiketheworld · February 2014

I would not pass it on without it being edited. Talk to your client or her son and tell them that you can't pass along the resume until it is free of errors because you know the people you'd pass it on to won't consider any applicant without an error free résumé. It makes you look bad to recommend a candidate that clearly hasn't put in the effort.

Erikan73 · February 2014

Just be honest that you feel that his resume needs some work to improve his chances. Are there any books that you can recommend? Or does the local library or community college have any classes on resume writing?

You are only doing what you can to help improve his chances and I'm sure your client will appreciate that you are helping their son to put his best foot forward.

nodito · February 2014

I wouldn't edit the resume or cover letter. It's misleading and unfair to potential employers who will be expecting an employee who can edit his own work or at least have the sense to proofread and recognize when he needs outside assistance. If it were just one typo, maybe. But to rework the whole thing seems like crossing the line, so to speak. Ask him to have a teacher or guidance counselor look it over (or his parents??) and if it doesn't improve then decide who you'd rather offend, your client or the people you know in his field.

What would you do? Re resume help for an acquaintance

Re: What would you do? Re resume help for an acquaintance

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