Ask the Recruiter

I read your column regularly and find it very helpful.

ASK JOE A QUESTION

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If you have a great clip that you want to send to a potential employer, but a copy editor made a mistake in the headline or your editor shifted some things around in the story and as a result made an error, how should you handle it? Would it be appropriate to make a note and attach it to the clip explaining the mistake?

Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Rob

I'm sorry your clip was spoiled. That can be very disappointing.

Joe Grimm

There is no good way to recover from this. You can explain the error, but then you waste precious time on the error -- and blaming someone else. Neither can be very good for you.

Even if you convince prospective employers that the mistake was someone else's, you'll have done little more than show them that you wrote for a weak publication.

Keep working for more clips.

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Coming Wednesday: This managing editor of weeklies feels burned out and would like a break from newspapering -- but wants to keep the door open for returning.

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