I Won't Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here's Why.

[WVNA]

I just read this and thought it was interesting. I'm not as extreme as the author, but am amazed at the poor grammar I see at work and from college students.

 

I Won't Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here's Why.

[happypamama]

I wouldn't consider myself to be as extreme as that author either, and I do understand that sometimes there are typos or spelling errors, as nobody's perfect. But I agree with him to a large degree; poor grammar and basic spelling errors annoy me a lot. I definitely think they reflect poorly on a candidate, and if I saw them on a resumé or cover letter, honestly, I'd be disinclined to give that person a closer look. (Seriously? Spelling and major grammar errors on a resumé? Shouldn't it matter enough to have someone proofread it for you?) This is why, when we've debated the question here, I've said that I think strong English skills are more important than strong math skills. If you're not great at math, it's not going to be readily apparent on your resumé, but if your English skills are poor, those show up immediately.

 

And it's not like this guy is hiring construction workers, who might not need to do a lot of writing; he's hiring people to be writers. Yes, they need to know the difference between "to," "too," and "two!"

[Night Elf]

Bad grammar creates a lack of confidence. We use They Keystone School for high school classes and we've seen many typos. When we see one now, we say "That's Keystone." Pitiful. It has made us vigilant in the areas of the courses that really matter though. For example, an error on a test is going to be reported by me. Thankfully that doesn't happen often.

 

I wonder if I would pass this guy's grammar test?

[mom31257]

My dh is in computer classes right now at a local community college. One of the professors uses terrible grammar and has horrible spelling. Dh thinks it seems very unprofessional. Comma use can be up for debate in some situations, so I don't know if commas are a hill I would die on.

[Lily_Grace]

Very timely! I just butt heads with my teen today about why I'm "so mean" about his writing skills. :tongue_smilie: This hammered home that it's not just me who cares!

[Ellie]

Great article. Interesting comments. I added a couple of my own. :D

[AnaShoo]

This is slightly different, but this made me think of something I've been annoyed about recently. I keep running into people on Facebook who are trying to start up their own businesses, usually photography or selling something homemade. I have read so many advertisements written up by them and posted as statuses that are not capitalized, use punctuation properly, or appear to have been spell-checked in any way.

 

While I think it's important to use proper grammar to a perspective employer, I would think it's even MORE important to use it as a business. As a potential customer, I see the bad grammar and think: This is not a professional place at all. I keep looking for a business to use that sounds professional enough to do the job right.

[regentrude]

I completely agree. I'd be inclined to be flexible about commas, but there is no excuse for mixing up its/it's, there/their/they're or similar things.

I see plenty of poor grammar and spelling in emails I receive from my students. It basically says "I don't consider this communication important enough to spend the time to pay attention to detail."

Typos can happen, especially on forums like this where people type fast. No big deal. Consistent misspelling of certain words should not happen. Mistakes in cover letters and resumes must not happen at all.

 

ETA: I started reading the comments, but did not get very far. It is somewhat ironic to see people commenting on an article about grammar misspelling this very word.

Edited July 26, 2012 by regentrude

[NotSoObvious]

When I did hiring for my school, the resumes with mistakes on the cover letters were the first to be trashed. You have to start somewhere and if you really want a job, you'll get someone to proofread your letter if you are not capable.

 

My husband's boss uses NO punctuation in his emails and it makes him sound like a complete moron!

 

Funny...I was just looking at a cookbook I had signed by the author and she wrote, "Your a sweet girl!" I got a laugh out of that!

[momacacia]

For office staff, DH has created an editing test and a basic Word document drafting test. Things as simple as changing the email address from one job quotation to another gets repeatedly missed. As I’ve started looking over resumes, I cringe at run-on words and typos. These are recent graduates from 2-year business schools. It’s their resume! Of all things to edit! But, I realize attention to detail is something that needs its own course, and it shouldn’t be an elective.

 

He also considers handwriting when hiring. Messy handwriting is likely to get you to the bottom of the applicant pile. He chose the applicant with the tidiest handwriting (block, all caps print) to lay the brick on our fireplace and while it took the guy a while to get around to our project, it was well worth the wait----masterful, artistic, quite possibly the loveliest spot in our home. DH said, “I’m going with this guy. His handwriting is like my brothers. He’ll be a perfectionist and do a good job.†DH was right.

 

My kids will probably think I’m a PITB by the time I’m done making them write tidily and taking them through the Gregg Reference Manual and the Bluebook. Doggone it, though, if they won’t be able to get a job at our company and hopefully, if they want one, somewhere else.

[MariannNOVA]

I will read the article later.

 

I wanted to add here that a few months ago, DH and I were picking up a gorgeous bedroon set from a seller on Craigslist. She told me that I was the only prospective buyer to whom she responded because I was the only person who used upper case letters at the start of a sentence, I used correct punctuation, and my grammar was correct. She also remarked that I didn't end any sentences in a preposition (I kid you not - she said this) and that was why she emailed me about buying her furniture.

 

And, no, she was not a classroom teacher. She was a linguist with a high level security clearance who did translations.

[TranquilMind]

Bad grammar creates a lack of confidence. We use They Keystone School for high school classes and we've seen many typos. When we see one now, we say "That's Keystone." Pitiful.

 

Did anyone else find this funny? :lol:

 

(I've been known to make a few typos)

[FLDebbie]

It drives me insane seeing people mess up your/you're and its/its. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard.

 

I agree with the artcle. I used to be a instructional design manager at a large company and we always screnned our candidates for grammar. It's critical to the job. The HR department at one point said we couldn't do that since it would discriminate against people who don't have good grammar but meet the job qualifications. I wanted to scream "Hello! This is a qualification of the job!" We still assessed the candidates and anyone with grammar errors was out of the running.

[Laurie4b]

As a prospective employee, I would be glad to know this so that I could give this employer a pass. I would be looking for an employer with more vision, flexibility, and ability to distinguish which traits are most profitable and which weaknesses can be easily fixed. Of course, this wouldn't apply to a want ad for a copy editor.

 

Producing writing free of mechanical errors is such a low-ranking cognitive function that there is software that can catch & correct such errors. Many very intelligent people make those kinds of errors, and it is not always because they are stupid or careless. Errors in use of homonyms, for instance, often occur because some people hear what they are typing, rather than see it.

 

There are some kinds of learning disabilities that make avoidance of all mechanical errors impossible. Does that mean that those people have nothing to offer?

 

I find it incredibly short-sighted that someone would overlook a gifted potential employee because they have a weakness that is so easily fixed or at least accommodated. On the other side of the coin, it can also be a weakness to be a perfectionist and spend too much time proofing writing that doesn't matter that much. If I obsessively proofread causal writing such as posts to this board, quick emails to friends or to my admin. asst., etc, then I am wasting time that could be more profitably spent on higher level tasks.

[Mrs Mungo]

Producing writing free of mechanical errors is such a low-ranking cognitive function that there is software that can catch & correct such errors.

 

Wrong. There is no program that will produce error-free work. I *regularly* find typos in our newspaper. They are usually the type that spell-check will not catch. This is a direct result of papers skimping on copy editors.

 

Is perfection expected in casual emails? No. Is it expected in a resume or in work that will be distributed? Yes, it really is. Can it be accommodated? Of course it can, but if you were accommodating it, then you would not have errors in the resume in the first place.

[myfunnybunch]

When I did hiring for my school, the resumes with mistakes on the cover letters were the first to be trashed. You have to start somewhere and if you really want a job, you'll get someone to proofread your letter if you are not capable.

 

:iagree: Ditto if you're asking for thousands of dollars in financial assistance for education.

 

I am on a volunteer scholarship selection committee, and usually (with a few exceptions, depending on the intent of the scholarship) an application with spelling and grammar errors goes into the "No" pile.

 

Cat

[Audrey]

I feel the same way. I do not hire people with poor written communication skills, nor poor speaking skills. I am hiring people to train others. Those are very important skills to have in that position. I simply won't compromise on those points.

 

I have told ds that, if nothing else, he will leave homeschooling with impeccable English language skills. So far, he surpasses about 95% of applicants I see in written skills. I'm 95% satisfied with that. ;)