Job Hunt Not Going Well? Check the grammar in your resume.

In my travels to various companies and state agencies to do business writing workshops, I often hear HR managers state that their first "cut" to a pile of resumes is to eliminate all those with spelling or grammar errors. As one manager at a prominent Birmingham company told me recently, "I simply won't consider an applicant whose resume has errors."

Dr. Mildred L. Culp writes a syndicated column about workplace issues that appears in The Birmingham News and Mobile's Press-Register on Sunday mornings. She responded to a reader's letter this week with much the same advice about the importance of good grammar and usage in resumes. See what you think of the writing quality of her reader's letter:

...I would your help in maybe redoing my resume because I have been job hunting for over a year without any luck I keep trying to better my education to help but with no luck so if you have time please give me some advice. I am currently enrolled into the H&R Block tax course but I am not sure where to list it at.

Whew! In her response, Dr. Culp referred to the grammatical errors in the letter (missing word, run-on sentences, incorrect prepositions) as "door closers," and I would certainly agree with that. Here are my suggestions for improving this dreadful paragraph:

I would like your help in redoing my resume because I have been job hunting for more than a year without success. I keep trying to better my education, but I am still unable to get ahead. If you have time, please give me some advice. I am currently enrolled in the H&R Block tax course, but I am not sure where to list that on my resume.

Doesn't that read more smoothly?

If you would like to contact Dr. Culp about help with job search, you can access her website at www.modbee.com/workwise. Her sydicated column originates at the The Modesto Bee in central California. You can e-mail her at culp@workwise.net.