By Laura Dolan, Guest Contributor
As nicknames go, it could be worse. I have my tenth grade English teacher to thank for that one. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I was a bit of a know-it-all in high school, and may have corrected my teacher on her grammar. Honestly, I didn’t mean to do it. She was going over the difference between who and whom, and in which context we should use each word. (Simply put, use “who” when referring to the subject of a sentence, and “whom” when referring to the object.) In the middle of this lesson, she said something to the effect of, “I don’t care who you invited.”
And it just tumbled out of my mouth: “Whom. You don’t care whom we invited.” Instant regret.
“Well, aren’t you just a little grammar queen!”
Fortunately, this is a trait I’m proud to have – the grammar skills, not the know-it-all attitude. Hopefully, I’ve outgrown that. But grammar is one of the first tools employers have to weed out prospective candidates. If you submit a cover letter or resume riddled with grammatical errors, no one is going to care how impressive your experience is. Especially in this job market, which has more candidates than positions, it’s crucial not to let your writing detract from overall presentation but rather highlight the content. One of the signs of good writing is that it doesn’t take the reader out of the content. In other words, when the writing is good, there are no grammatical errors, misspelled words, or awkward syntax to distract the reader from the story.
I know it can be tempting to skate over the details when you’ve just written a pile of cover letters for this week’s set of applications, but don’t make it easy for employers to disregard your application!
If your grammar is a bit rusty, here are a couple of resources that can help:
- My absolute favorite is a small, 85-page book that concisely – and not as dryly as you might think – explains everything you need to know: The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. I keep one on hand at home and one at work, just in case.
- I enjoy the following online resource because the author gives a lesson, but also gives what she calls “dirty tricks” as understanding and memory tools: http://www.grammar.quickanddirtytricks.com/
So, while I’m not encouraging you to be a know-it-all – you don’t want the nickname – I am encouraging you to be vigilant with your grammar, or have someone who is a know-it-all glance over your cover letter and resume. Our team is happy to assist!
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