More than half of CVs have spelling and grammar mistakes. Is yours one of them?
Spelling mistakes on professional CVs are one of employers’ top gripes. A recent survey even showed that 54 per cent of employers found misspelled words on CVs to be their biggest irritation. The poll also showed that 17 per cent of employers were put off by a bad layout and 16 per cent said they disliked CVs that were too long.
The latest research commissioned by the Spelling Society also showed that around half of British adults are unable to spell many commonly used words including embarrassed, liaison and millennium.
On a day to day basis, spelling mistakes such as these may not have a significant impact on a person’s life. However, when it comes to compiling a professional CV, it is wise to remember that an employer’s opinion of a candidate is solely reliant on the information presented in their CV and covering letter.
The CV is therefore the one document that should be categorically free of errors. Simple spelling mistakes can give the impression that either the candidate is sloppy, poorly educated or lacking in attention to detail. Any one of these traits is likely to have a negative impact in the workplace, so it is reasonable for employers to take the issue seriously.
A professional CV should comprise of an accurate summary of experience, skills and achievements, laid out clearly on the page. It should be tailored to the job you are applying for and it should be checked through very thoroughly for spelling errors.
There are certain words which prove more likely to trip up job applicants in their tracks. Look carefully through these words, which are very commonly misspelled in CVs (here they are spelled correctly).
Do you spell these words incorrectly on your CV?
Accommodation, benefit, career, challenging, commitment, communication, confidence, consistent, currently, calendar, curriculum, correspondence, definite, environment, employment, experience, fulfilment, independent, indispensable, management, marvellous, opportunity, professional, privileged, received, separate, unnecessary.
All of the words above are easy to spell incorrectly and need to be given extra attention when you compile your professional CV. Take particular care when you use them and, if you are using a CV template, copy the text into Word and use the spell checking tool to pick up any obvious spelling errors.
Even with a spell checking tool, which would help you to eliminate these errors, it is very easy to make grammatical mistakes. Just knowing that you don’t have any words misspelled is not enough – you need to proofread for spelling, grammar and clumsy or over complicated sentences before posting your CV online.
Check through your CV yourself and then find someone who is used to proof reading such as a teacher to check through it as well. In addition to checking spelling and grammar, make sure you aren’t using any complex technical jargon, acronyms or awkward phrasing. If your CV is a pleasure to read, you really are half way over the first hurdle of getting to that interview. Good luck!
Peter Whitehead is commissioned to write articles on behalf of iProfile (http://www.iprofile.org/), the preferred online CV template. iProfile brings the online CV into the 21st Century. Tips & advice vary from CV writing to negotiating a pay rise.
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