U No Hire Me? U R Wrong.

Potemkin · 08-01-2012, 08:49 PM

http://lifehacker.com/5930680/i-wont...mmar-heres-why

I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why.
Kyle Wiens

If you misuse a comma or mix up "your and you're," don't expect to get hired by iFixit's Kyle Wiens. He's not the only stickler—a growing number of employers are adopting a zero tolerance approach to grammar. That means one mistake could cost you the job, even if you're otherwise qualified.

If you think an apostrophe was one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, you will never work for me. If you think a semicolon is a regular colon with an identity crisis, I will not hire you. If you scatter commas into a sentence with all the discrimination of a shotgun, you might make it to the foyer before we politely escort you from the building.

Some might call my approach to grammar extreme, but I prefer Lynne Truss's more cuddly phraseology: I am a grammar "stickler." And, like Truss—author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves—I have a "zero tolerance approach" to grammar mistakes that make people look stupid.

Now, Truss and I disagree on what it means to have "zero tolerance." She thinks that people who mix up their itses "deserve to be struck by lightning, hacked up on the spot, and buried in an unmarked grave," while I just think they deserve to be passed over for a job—even if they are otherwise qualified for the position.

Everyone who applies for a position at either of my companies, iFixit or Dozuki, takes a mandatory grammar test. Extenuating circumstances aside (dyslexia, English language learners, etc.), if job hopefuls can't distinguish between "to" and "too," their applications go into the bin.

...moar...

Ross · 08-01-2012, 10:24 PM

How about spelling . I can tell you the spell checker at TBM is
often at odds with the spelling I learned at school . The
first result is I tend to use different spelling depending on my assumed
internet audience and the second consequence is I am becoming
confused in my own mind . Every now and then I rebel and revert to
traditional spelling ( because submitting to evil is degrading

) .

Why America needs to maintain a leadership role in screwing
the English language is a mystery to me .

rb. · 08-01-2012, 10:58 PM

I'm using email and texting with tenants. Right away I can use that as a yardstick. Full sentnce, and properly punctuated texts, can be telling. That said, I have to change my own texting style with them, as opposed to the k, thx, whr r u? style I use with my family. Here? I don't much care how it looks.

Redbear · 08-02-2012, 12:01 PM

Their hiring policy will never fly past an EEO complaint.

Mama Alanna · 08-02-2012, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ross

How about spelling . I can tell you the spell checker at TBM is
often at odds with the spelling I learned at school . The
first result is I tend to use different spelling depending on my assumed
internet audience and the second consequence is I am becoming
confused in my own mind . Every now and then I rebel and revert to
traditional spelling ( because submitting to evil is degrading

) .

Why America needs to maintain a leadership role in screwing
the English language is a mystery to me .

It's the cats. They have infected the entire population with lolspeak; this is part of their plan for world domination. Once all the humans' intelligence is sufficiently lowered, they can assume their proper place as openers-of-cans and cleaners-of-litterboxes, while the cats take over.

Ross · 08-02-2012, 12:36 PM

Thanks for clarifying that .

.

sandyd · 08-02-2012, 12:40 PM

Depends on the job. I think any job with a hella lot of writing needs folks who can actually write! And know grammar well enough to do their jobs.

The plummer who fixes my drain? Grammar?

Same for others-I don't really give a darn if the artist who painted the painting that makes me feel awe, can spell.

Or the engineer....many an engineer can't spell or write really well-in the old days that was what assistants and secretaries were for!

Curious · 08-02-2012, 04:43 PM

u no ... i agre wth ur reqirmnt 4 propr us f grmer & spelng. pepl wo cant sa it rite r spel it rite shud't b hird.

Sysiphus · 08-02-2012, 06:17 PM

Mr. Wiens is pissing in the wind. I would suggest that the lists of those with the best grammar and those with the best skills do overlap a bit, but they are not the same. For example, I am slightly dyslexic, but would never say so on a job application. Is he going to weed me out? I am successful lawyer, so my writing must be decent at least. Analytical skills are much more important than grammar, in my view. I hire attorneys for my firm, and will take someone with brilliant analytical skills over someone with perfect grammar any day of the week. My legal assistant can check for grammar on her much lower salary. Do people care if their neurosurgeon uses correct grammar? No, they just care whether he or she gets all of the tumor on the first go.

Potemkin · 08-02-2012, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redbear

Their hiring policy will never fly past an EEO complaint.

You would be surprised.

Being able to read and write is a BFOQ is almost all occupations.

(Bona Fide Occupations Qualification).

Feather · 08-02-2012, 11:17 PM

On several local websites that have job applications for jobs on them say a requirement they have is the person has to be able to read, write and speak English and have a GED or hs diploma. Odd thing is, this same company has a dish room and a laundry room full od employees that can't do any of the above.