Ok, talked to my buddy today and he talked to his people and the skinny on the "Fix It" letter is this.
If you get a "fix it" letter and are given specifics, make sure you correct your application. It DOES NOT mean that it's going to be another 12 months before they look at it again, that rumor is absolute crap, but it will basically get another look after the corrections are made.
Time frame? Can't tell you because it's proprietary.
HOWEVER, here's the trick. Do not haphazardly shoot out an application with the expectation that they're going to redline your errors, you fix them and then magic is going to immediately happen. They really don't want applicants wasting the reviewers time by, essentially, proofreading poorly completed applications, sending fix it letters and the extra manpower to re-review it. It will be reviewed again, but poorly executed applications are a time suck.
Please do not expect the reviewers to hold your hand and serve as a "teachers aid". Humans read them and you really don't want to trigger their wrath!
Complete your application and before you submit it, have another friend look it over. Just because someone got hired isn't indicative that he "broke the code" or has any more knowledge about the application than the guy sitting next to you at a bar. Have a friend review it for you taking special attention to if you're "taking the most literal interpretation of the question" and if your answer pays respect to that and is honest as possible.
This, for many, is your first impression. Now if your second impression is missing information and then your third is as well, well, I think you know where this may be going!
Here's a basic example with a non-application hypothetical question.
"Have you ever gotten a ticket?"
If you've ever gotten a ticket, the answer is yes. Even though it doesn't show up on your record when you look for it, the answer is still "yes" if you've, in fact, gotten a ticket before, no matter what the resolution. You can explain that it was expunged, paid for with a fine, erased by traffic school, yadda yadda yadda.
When you ask for a complete ten year address history, if you're missing a week here or there and lived in a basement of a bus station, that's part of your address history.
Remember, the most literal interpretation of the question you're being asked.
Complete it, have a couple friends who are completely nuts about being detail-oriented, read it again, correct it, have them read it again, correct it and submit it.
Repeat after me, "take the most literal interpretation of the question" and "answer the question fully and honestly."
If you get a "fix it" letter and are given specifics, make sure you correct your application. It DOES NOT mean that it's going to be another 12 months before they look at it again, that rumor is absolute crap, but it will basically get another look after the corrections are made.
Time frame? Can't tell you because it's proprietary.
HOWEVER, here's the trick. Do not haphazardly shoot out an application with the expectation that they're going to redline your errors, you fix them and then magic is going to immediately happen. They really don't want applicants wasting the reviewers time by, essentially, proofreading poorly completed applications, sending fix it letters and the extra manpower to re-review it. It will be reviewed again, but poorly executed applications are a time suck.
Please do not expect the reviewers to hold your hand and serve as a "teachers aid". Humans read them and you really don't want to trigger their wrath!
Complete your application and before you submit it, have another friend look it over. Just because someone got hired isn't indicative that he "broke the code" or has any more knowledge about the application than the guy sitting next to you at a bar. Have a friend review it for you taking special attention to if you're "taking the most literal interpretation of the question" and if your answer pays respect to that and is honest as possible.
This, for many, is your first impression. Now if your second impression is missing information and then your third is as well, well, I think you know where this may be going!
Here's a basic example with a non-application hypothetical question.
"Have you ever gotten a ticket?"
If you've ever gotten a ticket, the answer is yes. Even though it doesn't show up on your record when you look for it, the answer is still "yes" if you've, in fact, gotten a ticket before, no matter what the resolution. You can explain that it was expunged, paid for with a fine, erased by traffic school, yadda yadda yadda.
When you ask for a complete ten year address history, if you're missing a week here or there and lived in a basement of a bus station, that's part of your address history.
Remember, the most literal interpretation of the question you're being asked.
Complete it, have a couple friends who are completely nuts about being detail-oriented, read it again, correct it, have them read it again, correct it and submit it.
Repeat after me, "take the most literal interpretation of the question" and "answer the question fully and honestly."
