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Q. I need to know how to recover from a bad blow. I spent countless hours putting together cover letters and resumes for two jobs I badly wanted. After proofreading the cover letter for the first job dozens of times, I realized, just after I sent it of course, that it contained a typo. Here's the typo: "In this environment, accurately predicting an audience's interests and effectively addressing its concerns are essential [to] building a loyal readership." I omitted the "to."

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The mistake wasn't made for lack of care, but rather, far too much care, as I edited that cover letter more times than I can count and could have recited it in my sleep. In retrospect, I needed a fresh pair of eyes to look at the letter. But retrospect doesn't do me much good now. My question is, since I really do want the job badly, should I address the issue in my follow-up call? Also, do you recommend a follow-up call at all (if the job posting does not say "no phone calls," that is)? Or, do you recommend a follow-up e-mail instead?

This morning, I sat down to send my second cover letter. And as luck would have it, the format of the e-mail looked different in my sent box than it did when the e-mail was in draft status. There was an extra space between two of the paragraphs in the sent e-mail that wasn't there in the draft, and the color of half the text changed.

I sent the editor an e-mail immediately afterward, as a preemptive strike on the issue. Was that the right move? I'm really tearing my hair out over all this right now, and would very much appreciate any advice you can give on either issue.

Thank you for keeping this excellent resource. I can't tell you how useful it's been!

Best,

Damage Control

A. I sympathize. Sometimes, in my haste, I make mistakes, too. We have all been victims of glitches and gremlins. The precursor of the computer bug was the type louse.

Joe Grimm

You have two different situations here. The first is more damaging. Omitting a word in a sentence about accuracy -- even though it is not about accurate copy -- is embarrassing. It seems unlikely that the error will be unnoticed and that you can just slide by. I would call the editor you wrote to, admit your error and say that you are mortified because this is not your usual style and you really want to interview for this job. Use a sense of humor and ask for a chance to show the paper what you're really all about.

I prefer the call to an e-mail or note because the conversation might move you one step closer to interviewing. It shows some moxie -- and it won't leave a permanent record.

The second issue is less problematic. It's not great, but we've all been victims of flub-ups like this one. You handled the situation pretty well -- and showed the sense of humor that will help with the first situation.

My advice about your letter is to ask someone to edit the important stuff.

The recruiter asks back: Does anyone know of others who have recovered from mistakes like these? What works?

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Coming Friday: This college senior has been working hard with the intention of becoming a national political reporter, but a D.C. internship has showed him the downside of that. If he can get his start in Washington, will he be stuck there?

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