Spelling, Grammar and General Use of English

[Clanky]

Having read many posts on here where the standard of written English ranges from good to indifferent to atrocious it seems obvious to me that the general standard of written English among those of the age to be applying for cadetships must be generally quite poor.

While this is fine on an internet forum, it is not acceptable in an application letter and in the current climate, with a lot of competition for cadetships, may well be the difference between an application being put in the interview pile or being put in the bin.

Check and double check any written comunication to your companies / prospective companies and especially your cv.

If you are aware that your written English may not be great then get someone else to proof read your application letters.

Do not rely on word processor spell checks, they cannot tell the difference between we'll / well, where / were / wear, etc.

I receive many job applications for review and with the exception of non-native English speakers if I see very poor spelling / grammar then I always recommend that the application goes no further. It saddens me to say that many of the applications from non-native English speakers are of a higher standard than those from native English speakers.

This is not just silly snobbery, poor written English in an application letter is not only an indication that the applicant did not make the effort to check their own spelling and grammar, but when you are applying for a job where you will be expected to complete an academic training course then it is an indication of how likely you are to pass the course.

As this is the internet and there are obviously very strict rules which govern these things, I will of course have made several spelling and grammar errors in the above, please feel free to point them out.

[Hatchorder]

Wel sed sur!

Totally agree with you. However, I would say it extends further. Sometimes I read a post on here with no capitals or grammar and because it has annoyed me, as I had to work out what it has said, I do not bother to reply to it. I said in another thread the other day, if you are asking questions and for help then please take the time to make it clear and concise what you are asking. If people can see you are putting the effort in to ask a question then they will put in the effort in to help or answer your question.

Ian

[inversemateria]

I agree. It's a tad more infuriating because I'm part of that age group (I'm 20), and I don't understand how spelling can be such an issue. Having access to online forums also means access to online dictionaries and the like, so it just shouldn't happen. For the 5 years of secondary school, we had information like that repeatedly hammered into us in preparation for applying to jobs out in the real world, and we were always told that even if you have no previous experience, having a well written application meant a lot.
For people whose primary language isn't English, it is kind of forgivable when they make spelling mistakes and such. For people who've been taught English pretty much from birth, much more effort should be put into it. To be honest, I think much of it is laziness. It really isn't hard to type in full words and sentences whilst using a proper qwerty keyboard.
That kind of makes me sound like a dick, but it's just one of those things that really annoys me.

[timmillea]

Not mentioned in the title but I was told yesterday at my Sift interview, that the essay-writing task at the AIB also scores handwriting - something not seen on these forums! I know mine hasn't improved since school simply because I rarely have cause to use old-fasioned paper and pen.