Five easy CV grammar mistakes that could lose you a potential job
Your cover letter and CV are some of the most important documents you have that highlight your skills and reasons why you are a great fit for the job you are applying to.
However, one thing that can often get overlooked in the flurry to apply for a job is common spelling and grammar errors, that can be the make or break between securing a job and your professionalism being tarnished to prospective employers.
With this in mind, we’ve spoken to the experts at language learning platform Preply, who have highlighted some of the most common grammar and spelling mistakes we all make on our CV and how you can avoid them in the future.
1) Tense inconsistency
One grammar mistake that can often get overlooked when it comes to your CV and cover letter is inconsistency and consistently jumping between the past and present.
You want your CV and cover letter to provide a clear narrative of your professional experience and career, so generally you’ll want to use the past tense for previous experiences and the present tense for your current role and experiences only.
Example of incorrect tense use:
“In my previous role as a marketing manager, I developed a campaign strategy, and I oversee a team of professionals.”
Example of correct tense use:
“In my previous role as a marketing manager, I developed a comprehensive campaign strategy and oversaw a team of professionals.”
2) Comma splicing
Comma splicing is another common grammar mistake that many people make when they are writing CVs and cover letters.
Comma splicing occurs when two independent clauses (sentences that can stand alone) are joined by a comma. While comma splicing might not seem like a huge deal, it can make your CV or cover letter come across as less polished and informal.
Example:
“I have extensive experience managing a team, I have coached and mentored several members of staff.”
There are three main ways you can correct a comma splice:
- With a semicolon: “I have extensive experience managing a team; I have coached and mentored several members of staff.”
- With a conjunction: “I have extensive experience managing a team and I have coached and mentored several members of staff.”
- Separating it into two sentences: “I have extensive experience managing a team. I have coached and mentored several members of staff.”
3) Confusion of homophones
Another grammar and spelling error that a lot of people make when writing as part of a CV or cover letter is using the wrong homophone for the sentence that you are writing.
For instance, “there, their, and they’re” or “your and you’re” are homophones—words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings depending on the context.
It is therefore important that you get their use right when writing a CV or cover letter, as misusing them can come across as careless and unprofessional to potential employers.
On example is their, they’re, and their:
- Their: Is the possessive pronoun and is used when you are trying to show ownership or possession: “The team presented their project.”
- They’re: Is a contraction of ‘they are’, so only use this when this is what you mean: “They’re completing the project.”
- There: Is used as an adverb or pronoun that indicates a place, position or existence: “The opportunity is over there.”
4) Common spelling mistakes
Another one that can impact your job prospects is getting common words spelt wrong. For example, ‘Accommodate’, is spelt with 2 C’s and 2 M’s, which can often get missed.
When it comes to common spelling errors, “receive” can also catch people off guard because many people put the “i” before the “e” rather than the other way around.
If you are ever unsure whether you’ve spelt words that many people get wrong, make sure to spell check before you hit send, so your CV remains professional and consistent.
5) Lack of clarity
Finally, lack of clarity can be a big one that can get overlooked when it comes to CVs and covering letters. This can be including big, long sentences that can mean that your point doesn’t come across as you intended or the original point becomes lost.
Hiring managers often don’t have a lot of time to review applications, so if complex and unclear language makes it difficult to understand, they may miss important details or not consider your application all together. To ensure clarity, it is important that you focus on simple and clear language to highlight your achievements.
Example of lack of clarity:
“I spearheaded the synergistic implementation of cross-functional deliverables to optimise operational efficiencies within a dynamic organisational framework.”
Clear and concise
“I led a team to implement new processes, which in turn helped improve efficiency across the business.”
How to avoid these mistakes to improve your job prospects
Here are some simple ways to avoid these mistakes and improve your job prospects.
Use spell check tools
To avoid any misspellings slipping through the cracks, make sure that you use spelling and grammar check tools. These can help identify any errors in your work and suggest improvements for clarity.
Get feedback from someone else
As well as proofreading and double-checking your CV and cover letter before sending them off to a prospective employer, make sure that you get feedback from someone else. Not only will they be able to spot any mistakes you may have missed, but they might also suggest improvements that you may not have thought of.
Practice writing
One key way to avoid making mistakes when writing a CV or cover letter is to practice writing in the language in which you are submitting the job application. Being consistent means you’ll have the chance to use common homophones correctly and make your sentences more concise. This way, when it comes to writing something important, such as a CV, you’re already well-versed in grammar and spelling rules.
Read your CV out loud
Although it may seem absurd, you might also want to think about reading your resume aloud. By doing this, it may become clearer where errors are and where you may need to divide sentences into manageable chunks.
Double check any uses of homophones
Finally, make sure that you double-check your homophones and that each use is correct before hitting send.
