Due to our Innovate CV TV career-advice interviews, we’ve been speaking to a lot of professionals; the type who would be grilling you to see if you’re the right candidate for the job.
As far as general career advice they’re offering us, we couldn’t help but notice a little trend bubbling away: they were absolutely fed up with sifting through CVs that were swamped with poor grammar and spelling mistakes. Poor basic writing skills are flooding the job market. And no profession is immune.
“When you finish a CV, check it. Spell-check it, and spell-check it again. There is no excuse nowadays for poor spelling and grammatical errors.”
“Candidates need to make sure there are no spelling mistakes. At all.”
“…and of course, no spelling mistakes.”
“I can’t tell you how many resumes I’ve seen where people haven’t take the time to carefully look through it.”
“Good grammar is just so important.”
“And for goodness sake, don’t muck up the spelling.”
Well, er, obviously….right?
Wrong. According to The Times, nine out of ten graduates are turned down for a job because their CVs are full of errors of spelling and grammar.
While spell checkers are an excellent tool, they don’t pick out every mistake. You simply can’t rely on them when it comes to your CV. Let’s do a little test: Try typing in ‘fro’ (instead of ‘for’) in Word.
Image Credit: sandman_kk
Quite a surprise, no? So if we can’t rely on our squiggly red-lined friend when it comes to simple words, how can we possibly expect them to verify names and addresses? No one likes seeing their or their company’s names spelt incorrectly.
It may sound old-fashioned, but use your eyes. Scan your CV slowly. Very slowly. Check, and double check, names. Do this when you’re not in a rush, and don’t feel pressured.
In order to ‘inspire’ you to a carefully edited CV, enjoy some of these classic spelling and grammar mistakes…and a few lines that simply came out plain old wrong.
9. “Career break in 1999 to renovate my horse”
8. Skills: “I can type without looking at thekeyboard.”
7. Skills: “Written communication = 3 years; verbal communication = 5 years.”
6. Languages: “Speak English and Spinach.”
5. Current role: “I’m working today in a furniture factory as a drawer”
4. Education: “I am about to enrol on a Business and Finance Degree with the Open University. I feel that this qualification will prove detrimental to me for future success.”
3. Previous experience: “Revolved customer problems and inquiries.”
2. Work experience: “Responsibilities included checking customers out.”
1. Work experience: “Maintained files and reports, did data processing, cashed employees’ paychecks.”
Oh dear. But remember, these candidates also used spell checkers.
Don’t sabotage yourself. You have no excuse. Take a mere few minutes to make sure your CV’s spelling is accurate and grammatically prefect. Uh…perfect, that is.
A free Innovate CV can help you get the job you always wanted. Find out how we can help you with your job search!
The Innovate CV Blog 
Hah classic. I felt sorry for number 4 though.
Us too, JadedJa_y! Painful, isn’t it?
This article makes me laugh at myself. I know that poor spelling and grammar would ruin any chances I have any scoring a position….but I still overlook properly proof reading my letters and resumes. I think bc I find it awkward to read about myself, so I don’t like going over it,. Strange.
You’re right, Claire. I don’t think people make mistakes because they’re too lazy to look over their CV. Rather, many people don’t like writing about themselves, so they just want to “get it over with.”
If that’s the case, I’d suggest asking someone you trust to read carefully over your resume.