I placed an ad on Craig’s List looking for an additional marketing and sales representative. But in the ad, I asked applicants to leave a voicemail message for me BEFORE sending a resume. Below is a transcript of an actual voicemail message I received:

“Hi my name is (name deleted). I’m calling about your sales and marketing position. I’ve checked out your website and am very impressed with your videos and training tools. I think I would be a great asset to your company and I think I would really enjoy helping people speak more better. Please call me back at ###.”

“More Better!!!!!!!”

Ugh!!!!

Needless to say, this applicant did not get a call from me to come in for a job interview. Of course everyone makes grammar and spelling mistakes occasionally (I know I do). But “more better?” That’s going too far!

If you ever find yourself having to leave a voicemail for a prospective employer, make sure you use good grammar. If you aren’t sure of your grammar, then write out a script and have a friend proofread it. When you are leaving the voicemail, try to listen to your message before sending it or hanging up (most voicemail systems have an option for a caller to listen to a message and to re-record a message if you don’t like the first one). You need to be aware that your voice, your grammar, and your message are being scrutinized—so make it great.

If you are in charge of hiring an employee who must communicate by talking to people, then I urge you to ask applicants to leave a voice mail message. It will save you a lot of time and energy by allowing you to weed out the “more better” applicants in less than 30 seconds.