More than 8 out of 10 recruiters eliminate any application with spelling errors. We’ve already told you, your parents have already told you, your friends may have already told you, even your CE2 teacher told you: spelling mistakes have a really bad effect. And all the more so in a CV or a cover letter. If we repeat it over and over again, it is because it is particularly important for recruiters. A new study conducted by Ipsos for Project Voltaire confirms this with figures that speak for themselves. We come back to three main lessons to be drawn from this study on employers’ expectations in terms of oral and written expression.
Express yourself well to find a job: an imperative
Spelling errors are the first crippling criterion when reading an application. 83% of employers are therefore ready to put aside a CV whose spelling is not impeccable. For what? Because “it gives a bad image of the person and refers to the idea of someone messy, not rigorous,” said one interviewee.
In addition to good spelling, recruiters pay particular attention to the quality of expression – both oral and written. These two skills are thus part of the top 5 recruitment criteria. These criteria even come before “the professional experience for the position” and “the good suitability for the initial training course”. Like what, it’s worth working on its syntax and fighting its impostor syndrome.
Expressing yourself well does not stop with the CV and the cover letter. It is crucial to continue the efforts during the interview and therefore to work on your oral expression. According to the study, three-quarters of recruiters eliminate a candidate if he has had difficulty expressing himself in an interview or if he has not been able to argue and be convincing.
An imperative reinforced by telework
By democratizing teleworking, the Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of written expression in business. For 9 out of 10 employers, the quality of written expression is even more necessary post-covid. Logical, when the majority of exchanges are replaced by messages.
The problem is that currently, 76% of employers “believe that their teams face deficiencies in written and/or oral expression and in spelling”, indicates the study. While they are the same proportion to consider that these shortcomings have “a major impact on the productivity and professional effectiveness of their teams, all functions combined.
Also read: Tips to change the way to work remotely
The new English
Last major lesson of this study, recruiters favor English. But the study shows that mastering your mother tongue is twice as important as that of English. A significant difference. Be careful, that does not mean that you have to relax completely on the language of Shakespeare. English remains a real plus – even an essential – in an application.
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