How Grammar Problems Can Kill a Resume's Appeal

Resumes are often identified in resume databases or social recruiting sites based on keyword searches. So, many job seekers focus on getting the right keywords in their resume and profile to ensure they are visible in recruiter searches. But once a resume is identified as a good candidate for an open position, before a callback is made, the recruiter will review the resume to become familiar with a candidate. If your resume is ripe with spelling, grammar or word usage errors, your resume's appeal will be on the same level as bad breath.

I have reviewed hundreds of resumes over the years that have had grammar errors. I often wonder why. I can understand the innocuous error; we all make them. But serial language or spelling errors reveals a symptom of a more basic problem: a lack of understanding of the importance of language and communication in today's workplace. Sure, technical skills are of critical interest when sourcing a resume. If a recruiter needs a UNIX Administrator, she needs to find candidates with UNIX skills. But once identified, a job seeker must prove he or she can do the job, interact with other team members, write reports, consult with internal experts and external vendors, among others. Today's market replace requires more written communication skills since more work is going virtual.

So, how does a job seeker address his or her grammar problems? Well, the first step is recognize that grammar and written communication is not your strong suit. Then, get some help to not only correct the problem, but also to do remediation to learn how to correct the grammar problems on your own.

There has been a misguided belief that word processing software will catch these embarrassing problems. This is not true. I do a lot of writing over the course of my workday. Yes, I rely to some extent on the software to catch the most egregious and obvious grammar errors that usually are due to my less than stellar typing skills. However, before the final draft, I go through what I have written line by line to ensure I am communicating error-free.

So, beyond getting some outside help, how can you catch your grammar problems (especially if you aren't sure where they are)? If you are an experienced worker, and you have written language problems, it is unlikely that you have the time to learn to write perfectly. Well, I don't think you have to and that shouldn't be the goal. But, what you can do is learn a few of the most basic grammar problems and focus on correcting those. Doing so, your written communication will improve to the level that what remains is few and far between. So, let's go through the big ones:

Spelling: focus on headings, section headings and introductory information or the first word of a job duty description. If you get these items spelled right, and the recruiter skims your resume fast, any other problems may be skimmed over. When in doubt, I go to a search engine and type in the word. What usually appears is the dictionary entry, which is spelled correctly.

Tense Changes (Subject/Verb Mismatches): generally, resumes are written in the present or the past tense. It doesn't matter which one you use; just be consistent.  Here's an example:

Original:
Installed security software.
Helping users troubleshoot computer virus problems

Corrected:
Installed security software.
Helped users troubleshoot computer virus problems.

Misuse of the Apostrophe: this problem is one of the most glaring grammar problems that occur on resumes. An apostrophe is a punctuation mark that indicates (a) possession, (b) contractions and (c) plurality. Here are the examples:

Possession: Misuse: Bobs car; Correct Use: Bob's car.
Contractions: Original: should not; Revised: shouldn't
Plurality: Misuse: computer's were installed; Correct Use: computers were installed.

Wrong Word Usage: this problem will not be caught by word processing software if the worngly used words are spelling correctly.  Here's are a few common examples of word usage problems:

Their: indicates possession (Ex. Their car has bad brakes.)
There: indefinite pronoun (Ex. There is a car with bad brakes on the street.)

Run-On Sentence: This sentence fault is very common in all writing. The writer connects two separate sentences with no punctuation or improperly with a comma. The best way to deal with this problem is to write short sentences. Here's an example:

Run-On Fault: I inspected the computer, I fixed the problem in no time.
Correction: I inspected the computer. I fixed the problem in no time.

If you attempt to learn how to identify these four grammar problems and correct them, your resume will drastically improve its appeal. Granted, there are other grammar problems that can plague a resume. However, these are the most obvious ones and the easiest to correct.