Thursday, October 15, 2009

Grammar Gripe of the Week

A large part of my job is writing career advice, so I pay attention to all the career advice that's out there. (And there is A LOT of it online. Seriously. When I started my job search I can't believe I didn't just google "resume tips". It would have been extremely smart of me.)

Sometimes, the advice is good. Sometimes it downright sucks. And occasionally I find people who can't write for their lives. I would never take career advice from the person who wrote this, as part of an article about resume mistakes:

1. Ambiguous Job Objective: A career objective is the most important part of the resume. A lot depends upon your career objective. It tells the employer regarding your goals and what exactly you want to be. The mistake what people commit is that they write lengthy sentences. No one really has the time to read such long statements. So, keep it as short as possible. Your objective should be simple and easy to understand.

Not only is it painful to read, it's riddled with mistakes. "It tells the employer regarding your goals and what exactly you want to be"? "The mistake what people commit"? Really? PLEASE read your writing before you post it.

This isn't grammar related but the advice also sucks. Resume objectives are redundant. The employer already knows you want a job with them - you wouldn't be applying otherwise. Don't waste resume space saying that. Instead, write a professional statement summing up your strengths and background in 2 or 3 lines. SHEESH.

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