Graduates go gobbledygook

Rhythm really has your two hips moving. The car was stationary. Paper is stationery. Sound like gobbledygook? Some people feel that mnemonics like these to remember simple spelling rules can be the difference between getting a job and losing it.
Around half of all CVs received by recruitment consultants, says Recruitment & Employment Commission (REC), contain spelling or grammatical errors, and these are most likely to be made by those aged between 21 and 25. In this age group, graduates are twice as likely to make mistakes as those who did not go on to university.

Worrying shortcomings

“The feedback we have received from recruiters is that there are worrying shortcomings in the written communication skills of this age group. You would expect that by the time students reach universities they would have good basic written skills, but the results show that this isn’t the case,” says Tom Hadley, Director of External Affairs at the REC
Formal written communication is, in part, being eroded by our text and email culture. These methods of communication are instantaneous, so no time is taken to proofread messages before they are sent.
CV errors give the impression that university qualifications may not meet the standards demanded in everyday work, says Hadley.
“Having a degree is one thing but it is no substitute for basic skills. If people can get into university and graduate without needing them, it is a bad sign for the future.”
In the workplace, today’s graduates are not alone in their literacy shortcomings. Anyone who went to school between the late 60s and the late 90s is part of a ‘lost generation’ when it comes to any kind of formal education in grammar and punctuation. Both were missing from the UK school curriculum for more than 30 years.

Verb tenses

Writing sentences with different verb tenses, or no verb at all, using nouns and verbs which don’t agree, leaving out apostrophes, or putting them in when they are not needed, punctuating quotes incorrectly, forgetting commas or using too many: all of these are common failings in people’s writing. Spelling tends to be less of a problem, thanks to spellcheckers. But how would the average office worker fare if those were taken away?
There is no doubt, both inside and outside the workplace, people are gaining a more acute awareness of language — and are irritated by its misuse. Companies are responding by seeking help with grammar and punctuation for employees at every level.
How do you rate your grammatical prowess? See if you can spot the grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes in the following extract from a change consultant’s report to management.