Spelling and Grammar in CVs

Our research has shown that approximately half of the CVs we receive contain spelling or grammatical errors. It is impossible to stress enough how important this issue is. The answer is to check, check and check again.  A proffesional CV has no errors!

Just one misplaced letter can make a huge difference to your career prospects.  Common CV writting errors include candidates stating, for example, that they “worked closely with the Finance Manger”.  You’d be surprised how often we see that word, “manager” misspelled.

It is not only essential to run a spell check through the finished CV but also to carefully proofread it to eliminate mistakes a spell check won’t pick up on, such as “working in a busty office”!  And probably the best one we’ve seen at The CV Centre was a candidate explaining that they are “financially incompetent”! A spell check won’t detect a problem there – but a prospective employer probably will.

Surveys show that the worst offenders are in the 20-25 year old age group with men, on average, being more careless than women. And, somewhat ironically, candidates looking for secretarial and clerical roles are among those most likely to make spelling and grammatical errors.

From the outset, such candidates are not doing themselves any favours in terms of securing that crucial interview. Eliminate all spelling and grammatical errors and you’re well on your way to a truly proffessional CV.

It’s clear that effective CV preperation requires an eye for detail. To help train your eye, can you spot the four spelling errors we’ve deliberately made on this page?!