It's Not You, It's Your Written Communication

Let me begin by admitting I am a grammar freak. Spelling errors make me nuts. Misplaced apostrophes, typos . . . don’t get me started. But I’m in good company.

The fine folks at Workopolis recently published a report stating that

the ability to write is one of the ten most in-demand skills that we have found employers searching for in resumes. The beginnings of a successful job search are usually written.”

It went on to say that

a report put out by Grammarly (who are experts at this stuff) showed that people who use proper grammar advance further and faster in their careers.”

Your cover letter, resume and LinkedIn profile are important tools in your career search. Think of them as your first impression. In my role as a Recruitment Consultant, I read countless first impression documents. These are some of the most common mistakes I've cringed over:

They’re / Their / There . . . Than / Then . . . It’s / Its . . . You’re / Your . . .

The English language is full of words that sound the same but have different meanings. Choosing the wrong word is simply careless; it makes you appear lazy. This is an easy error to correct using one of the many on-line tools that are available.

The sentence that goes on and on, pulling together many ideas, as if the writer couldn't stop typing until all the facts were laid out, even though the ideas no longer relate.

This is important advice: once you think you are finished, set aside what you've written for a day. Then go back and read it with fresh eyes. Read it aloud. Pause slightly at a comma, and fully at a period. If you need to take a breath before a sentence ends, it’s too long. If you lose track of what your sentence intends to say, then absolutely the reader will do the same.

Exclamation Points and Semicolons and Periods – Oh My!

Use exclamation points sparingly in business writing, and never use more than one. Regardless of the importance of your thought, adding more than one exclamation point looks juvenile and “cutesy”!!

Don't use a semicolon at the end of a bullet point. It looks outdated and frankly boring, from the era of the typewriter.

No periods at the end of bullet points either. The intent of bullets is to be sharp and concise. If there's more then one thought to be made, it should be broken into two bullet points.

You can decide which of these reads easier:

• I am a proven rapport-builder. This gives me the ability to troubleshoot, and I deliver strong results.

or

• Proven rapport-builder
• Strong ability to troubleshoot and deliver results

Small change, but the reader’s eye will more quickly zoom in on the pertinent information in the second example. Bullets are used to draw the eye to the most important facts as quickly as possible.

Using Company-Specific TLAs

For those who don’t know what a TLA is – you’re puzzled by the subtitle I've used here. That’s how a reader feels when he’s trying to figure out the Three Letter Acronyms that are specific to your company.

Have a look at the following points:

• Led a team of 20 RBAs
• Managed a software implementation across 13 WSBs

Now compare to these points:

• Led a team of 20 Business Analysts
• Managed a software implementation in 13 sales branches across Western Canada

Why it Matters

Statistics show that the average HR Manager or Recruiter spends five to seven seconds reading a resume.

I’ve been told by many hiring managers that errors or confusion of any kind move the resume immediatley to the “no” pile. When I am reading a LinkedIn profile riddled with typos, I have to wonder how much care and attention the person spends in other areas of their job.

Is it fair? Perhaps not, but it’s a reality. Written English is complicated. Too many rules, and too many exceptions to the rules.

One final suggestion: when in doubt, ask a colleague or friend with strong grammatical skills to read what you've written. There are numerous resources you can find on-line, courses are available, and a good Recruitment Consultant will help as well (I’m a Drill Sergeant when I review resumes).

Check and double check. Those extra moments may make all the difference in the next step of your career.

There were two grammatical errors in this article (not including those in the images). Did you catch them?

And on a final, lighter note . . . this may be one of the funniest videos I've seen in a long time. Fellow grammar-geeks will agree I'm sure . . . .