This is a harsh post. So why am I writing it? Because I've seen way too many people make this mistake recently.
When you're corresponding with the person who could be your future boss, make sure you don't have any typos in your email to her or him! This is especially true if you're interviewing for a role that is front-facing. In other words, a role that requires you to correspond with people on behalf of the company.
Some people have told me I'm too strict when it comes to typos. These same people really like to dig into me when I make my own typos (I do, I do... I'm human). We're all prone to typos. Even the woman who wrote Eats, Shoots & Leaves and the author of Strunk and White have typos in their past. Knowing that we are all prone to commit typos should make you a million times more vigilant when you're writing to a potential employer.
My response to a typo-laden email from someone who wants to work with us is this: "If you can't take the time to make sure you're spelling correctly when it really matters, how can I trust you to run other parts of our company?" Actually, I'm a little kinder in my responses, but the aforementioned quote is what's happening in my head.
I had an exchange with someone around this today. She was interested in an open position at PowerToFly, but made typos in two separate emails. I explained to her that this was one of the main reasons I couldn't proceed with her candidacy for a role that requires frequent email correspondence with clients.
She was gracious when I gave her the feedback and committed to working on her writing skills. As a result, I'm talking to her next week about a backend role that doesn't require writing emails to clients.
My next suggestion to her will be to download Grammarly and ask a friend to read over any important emails (I do that everyday).
Oh and let me know if I made any typos in the comments section below :)
