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The UK Is In The Grip Of An Apostrophe Catastrophe

21st November 2006

95% of CVs Contain Errors

The UK is in the grip of an Apostrophe Catastrophe, according to research conducted for recruitment expert Kelly Services.  “We’d been noticing some awful mistakes in candidates’ CVs over recent months, and wanted to find out how wide-spread a problem this was; so we launched some research to find out,” explained Director of Corporate Sales and Marketing, Steve Girdler.  “We also took 171 of our own candidates’ CVs and analysed them.  Unfortunately there were only 8 that did not contain any errors, the remainder containing an average of 14 errors, largely grammatical.” 

The research bore out the organisation’s suspicions about the UK’s poor level of competency in grammar.  Although 91% of respondents answered in advance that they believed their level of grammar was average, good or very good, questions testing the use of the apostrophe produced some very mixed results.  “It is a minor catastrophe. Just under half of us (47%) simply cannot deal consistently with the apostrophe,” added Girdler. 

“This just isn’t acceptable, so we’ve set a new Kelly Benchmark, and we’ll be working with candidates to ensure that they produce flawless CVs that will impress any employer.   Naturally, we understand that the odd human error may creep in from time to time, but from now on Kelly Services candidates’ CVs will be as error free as possible, and we’re going to help them to achieve that.” 

Use of the apostrophe was not the only problem.  The survey went on to test the use of ‘implied’ versus ‘inferred’, using the sentence “I implied/inferred/ensued from his art collection that he was extremely wealthy.”  59% of the sample correctly opted for ‘inferred’, and while only 10% used ‘implied’ incorrectly, a worrying 13% believed it was ‘none of the above’ making it the second most popular answer, while a further 8% simply didn’t know.  Bizarrely, one in ten opted for, “I ensued from his art collection…” choosing a red herring which the test’s compilers had hoped would score zero.

A more encouraging 91% correctly managed to pick the correct form of the use of ‘I’ or ‘me’, but less than half managed to dodge the ‘split infinity trap’ and correctly identify the proper use of an adverb.  If the results were to be related to AS Level grades, the nation as a whole would have scored 2 As, 1 C, 1 D, 2 Es and a fail for its grammatical competency.*  The overall average mark of 61% would have scraped a communal C grade.

The unavoidable conclusion from this is that many of us need help in brushing up our grammar, especially when trying to show ourselves in the best possible light to a prospective employer on our CV.   “Some excellent candidates would fall at the first hurdle by turning in a truly awful CV,” said Girdler.  “We give help and support to all our candidates, but many people apply for jobs directly, and don’t get anyone else to check their CV for them.  Despite this lax attitude, our research showed that we do believe that grammar is important, and that a good grasp of it shows intelligence and attention to detail in a prospective candidate.  50% of respondents said it was a key element for employers to look for in selecting an employee.  The under 24 age group came bottom in our test, and more than a third of us didn’t think that people who left school with poor grammar were given enough support.  This is worrying, as these are people trying to establish themselves on the career ladder.” 

Respondents were also asked where they would turn if they felt they needed help with improving their grammar.  46% felt that they did need to improve, but only 2% felt that they could ask their employer, so were left with a variety of choices from learning from a book or using a computer programme to enrolling on a grammar course.  5% said that they didn’t know where to begin.

This latter 5% has sparked a new initiative for Kelly Services, which has now issued some simple guidelines to help candidates to brush up on their skills.  “Highlighting the problem wasn’t enough,” said Girdler.  “We felt we needed to give some practical help, so we’ve devised a series of simple guides to using grammar correctly, which are available on our website.  Inside our own branches, we’re always at hand to give guidance on preparing CVs, but as a nation we clearly need to brush up our grammar when writing reports, letters, website and presentations – even some publications could do with a refresher course!”

Some of the worst problems uncovered in the CV analysis included massive over-capitalisation – one CV contained four actual spelling or syntax errors but a staggering 400 wrongly used capital letters over five-pages.  Another common problem was failing to update CVs properly, so that past jobs were still referred to in the present tense, and simply having the spell check on the US setting rather than the UK.

Many people claimed to have a good eye for detail, then went on to prove that they hadn’t.  Sloppy layout and poorly written English were common, with foreign nationals putting some Britons to shame.

CV howlers included:

  • “I learned to speak in the correct manor.”
  • “A memberof the social committee of Manachester Science Park.”
  • “I quickly became number two to the branch manger.”
  • “I asses problems from a solutions and options perspective”
  • “I have done some watering / catering work.”
  • “I like to keep be lively as well I am always in a cheerful mood improving that of others around me.”
  • “all we done was visit some ones house/cold calling.”

Download the Kelly Benchmark Guide To Grammar.

- Ends -

Notes to editors

* AS Level pass marks set by QCS:-  40 – 49 grade E,  50 – 59 grade D, 60 – 69 grade C, 70 – 79 grade B, 80 – 100, grade A

Research conducted by Tickbox.net among 2,066 UK adults aged 16+ November 2006.