“Must have good attention to dteail”

As a recruiter, what would be your response if you received a CV that contained typos and grammatical errors? The chances are, that particular candidate’s chances would be heading for the nearest waste paper bin, right?

Well, it seems some recruiters are living in glass houses as far as this sort of thing is concerned. We’ve received some research carried out by Monster, which shows that job seekers are often put off by spelling mistakes and grammatical errors in job adverts.

The research points to some of the clangers spotted in job ads, which, while laughable, also act as a warning to recruiters.

Some 23% of respondents to Monster’s survey said they are shocked by the number of spelling mistakes they come across, which is particularly ironic when many ads specify they are looking for candidates with “good attention to detail.”

Examples of the worst spelling mistakes given by candidates include an employer looking for someone “capable of ruining an office”, and another recruiting a “Resauce Manager” and an “Ales Manager”. My favourite is the ad for a ‘”Sioux Chef”, which is either a spelling error or a very specific piece of positive action recruitment.

I can recall the time I saw an ad for Shift Workers that omitted the crucial “F” and gave the ad an entirely different feel. And I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who cringes when I come across clangers like these.

Furthermore, Monster’s research also found that jargon and confusing job titles also cause problems. Three quarters of the 2,000 respondents said they regularly see jargon or acronyms while searching for jobs and 57% say this puts them off applying. Meanwhile, 60% said they find jargon or acronyms in job ads annoying and 32%said it left them confused.

“Unclear and nonsensical job titles” were also a bugbear, with 40 per cent of respondents regularly seeing job titles they don’t understand and 64 per cent saying this deters them from applying.

So, when recruiters continually demand the highest standards from candidates, isn’t it only right that they exercise the same diligence in their recruitment activity?

Spelling clangers are good for a laugh sometimes, but when they’re standing between recruiters and good candidates, it’s time to tighten things up.