Amanda Rose: How poor spelling can lose you the job

Spelling skills are required in every career, whether writing a cover letter or articulating a business idea to a client. Employment expert Amanda Rose shares her insights.

SPELLING … We need to start younger.

Spelling and literacy are important for everybody – even if you don’t plan to be an author or journalist, you have to write an email and a cover letter to get a job.

You might have to fill out employment forms or go to court one day or write a letter to apologise or, if you are running a small business, be able to explain to people what you are doing.

There is a perception people have of you if you misspell, and using the wrong term can give the wrong meaning. There is the classic “you’re” and “your”, and “there”, “their” and “they’re”.

I have seen some ripper cover letters and know they won’t even get through the door because of spelling errors.

An employer will think you don’t care.

Would you visit a doctor that wrote lyk dis? Picture: iStock

Social media encourages lazy language and it is a massive problem with miscommunication.

It doesn’t help that Twitter has limited characters.

Social media and texting abbreviations such as “u” instead of “you” … I am seeing adults do it now.

The language on social media is very poor and it’s particularly damaging the young generation’s ability to communicate effectively and we underestimate the impact.

I know what it’s like to not have a focus on spelling and literacy at school.

In my generation, it really wasn’t a big issue.

I used to think “there is so much I don’t know” so I went and did a proofreading subject as part of my masters and I have an editor to help me when I write.

I am improving and learning as I go.

Register for the Prime Minister's Spelling Bee now.

Spelling and literacy are important in all parts of your life.

If you can’t read or write or communicate, it is a very lonely world. I think a lot of people may see it as too overwhelming but it shouldn’t be that way.

It’s a gradual pathway to perfecting things and the more you understand a word and how words are put together, the more information you can consume.

You don’t want your lack of knowing or understanding to prevent you being the person you were meant to be.

Register for the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee at kidsnews.com.au

Amanda Rose is a business consultant, workplace trainer, LinkedIn influencer and founder of six organisations – and now she is tackling your career questions for SMART Daily every week.

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