I won’t hire people who use poor grammar- Here’s why.

With today’s social media language on Facebook and twitter, it’s hard to use proper grammar. Words like xaxa, xema, hi, waz up, are all the norm these days. However, using proper grammar might put you ahead of the pack, and indicate that you are more trustworthy.

If you mix up the it’s and its, then you deserve to be passed over for a job — even if you are otherwise qualified for the position.

So, you can’t you distinguish between "to" and "too," then your application may go into the bin.
True, some people write for a living, so, they are expected to be more proficient in words than others; however, there are some simple grammar mistakes you could avoid in your CV and Cover letter.

Yes, language is constantly changing, but that doesn't make grammar unimportant. Good grammar is credibility, especially on the internet. In blog posts, on Facebook statuses, in e-mails, and on company websites, your words are all you have.
They are a projection of you in your physical absence. And, for better or worse, people judge you if you can't tell the difference between their, there, and they're.
Good grammar makes good business sense — and not just when it comes to hiring writers. Writing isn't in the official job description of most employees in companies. Still, some companies give grammar test to every applicant, even if they could eventually end up working in areas like accounting, where proper grammar is not needed.

On the face of it, zero tolerance approach to grammar errors might seem a little unfair. After all, grammar has nothing to do with job performance, or creativity, or intelligence, right?
Wrong. Grammar signifies more than just a person's ability to remember high school English. People who make fewer mistakes on a grammar test also make fewer mistakes when they are doing something completely unrelated to writing — like stocking shelves or labeling parts.

In the same vein, programmers who pay attention to how they construct written language also tend to pay a lot more attention to how they code. In fact, when it comes to many jobs, details are everything.

Applicants who don't think writing is important are likely to think lots of other (important) things also aren't important. So, rectify those simple grammar mistakes in your CV and cover letter, and you could see your job offer chances increase markedly. Happy job search!!

Acknowledgements: Some of the ideas have been adapted from the HBR blog network.

Posted in: Career Advice