"I not getting true 2 right my resume and I need 2 work with you all please."
This was the message posted by a jobseeker on a local company's Facebook page. Someone at the company was clearly not impressed and responded with, "Do you mean 'getting through to write'?" This was widely shared and ridiculed by people who lamented what they felt was shoddy and inappropriate communication.
Companies constantly deal with communication challenges, especially when recruiting new and younger workers. The evolution of society's norms, speech and forms of writing together with the introduction of acronyms and shorthand has interfered with the standard way of writing, especially when applying for jobs, developing resumes and constructing cover letters.
With the constant use of phones and instant messaging, people can get tied up with the appropriateness of the language in interactions with an employee, boss, or recruiter.
Text lingo, commonly used when people get online, is widely understood and accepted, however, only credited in the appropriate circumstances. Younger candidates are at a disadvantage when applying online for jobs because of the informal language used through technology.
According to Job Hunt's website, "Since email messages generally tend to be conversational and quickly written, many people aren't used to drafting carefully written email cover letters."
Eve Anderson Recruitment Limited, one of the few businesses that allow online submission of applications, resumes and cover letters, are victims of this challenge. Eve Anderson deals with recruiting new employees for clients through a screening process where interviews are held with applicants before they're sent off to further interviews.
This screening interview, based on the answers, will determine if the candidate is suitable for the job which they applied.
"The older applicants tend to be more professional," says Kelly Edghill from Eve Anderson.
The recruitment organisation also makes it their duty to not send any candidate to a client without the screening interview.
Regency Recruitment and Resources Limited also encounters this absence of proper business communication skills with new candidates in their resumes and cover letters. They have found that acronyms and shorthand texts used in job applications are used mainly by "technical people."
Many emails they receive tend to be very informal and too casual, with candidates even writing, "Hey there, my resume is attached, tell me what you think."
A more formal approach would have addressed a specific individual in a more appropriate manner.
"People need to recognise that cover letters, especially via email is a form of business communication and needs to be constructed as such," says Lara Quentrall-Thomas, CEO at Regency Recruitment and Resources.
The Job Hunt web site says, "Online cover letters are (usually) poorly written throwaways of fewer than three lines whose only purpose is to say, 'I am applying, this is my resume, have a nice day'."
Although completing a resume or cover letter online may be quicker and simpler, it's important to put the time and effort as if it was hand written. Language communication speaks volume and constant professionalism is advised especially when wanting to be hired.