Excellent English Skills

by Tara West of Aussie Resumes

Content in a resume is more important than presentation, right? In most instances, yes, but take a moment to ponder the following, when content AND presentation intermingle. Let's say you apply for an advertised position which requested a cover letter and resume. The hiring manager "skims" through your application, which has met the test with your credentials and / or experience and is, subsequently, tossed onto the short-list pile.

Now let's assume the hiring manager is looking for one more candidate to interview - three others have already been chosen. The choice is between you and one other applicant. The hiring manager is, by this stage, scrutinising your application very carefully, taking into account how well you "communicate" and "express" your suitability for the vacant role.

In short, there's not a great deal of difference between your experience and qualifications, as opposed to the other applicant. It's going to be a hard choice! The hiring manager continues reading your experience on page two of your resume and comes to:

"Liased with co-workers and manger"

Uh oh. Then:

"Ability to priorities tasks"

Reading on, the hiring manager finds many spelling mistakes and usage of incorrect words - the other applicant's resume is "word perfect". What happens? Nine times out of ten most roles require a certain amount of written and verbal communication skills. Naturally, you miss out.
What was wrong in the example given above? Liase was spelt incorrectly. It should have read liaise. Manger is indeed a word, but used incorrectly. It should have read manager. The writer should have stated prioritise rather than priorities.

In the latest "Aussie Resumes Employer Survey" this type of thing was specifically commented on - not to mention the use of English (American) rather than English (Australian).
When one last detail could win you an interview, every little detail counts - particularly the correct usage of words and spelling.
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Copyright 2003. Tara West.
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