Scientists have set up a large-scale study looking at the effects of spelling mistakes in a resume have on recruiters. It seems that content is not the only thing that counts; writing turned out to be a critical element as well. Those who make spelling mistakes were considered less careful, less intelligent, and less thorough.

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Researchers from Ghent University, KU Leuven, and the Odisee University of Applied Science had real recruiters assess three fictitious job candidates. These three candidates differed in the number of spelling errors in their CV: zero, two, or five. Since these spelling errors were assigned to different candidates for each recruiter, the researchers could be sure that the effect of spelling errors on the chance of a job interview could not be due to other characteristics.

It appears that the probability of a job interview was 65.6% for those who made no spelling mistakes, compared to 58.1% for those with two spelling errors and 46.6% for those with five spelling errors.

According to Ghent University doctoral researcher Phillipe Sterkens, spelling mistakes are easily made, but in your resume, they can clearly stand in the way of a job interview. None of the other resume characteristics he and his team separated (gender, study delay, student work, sports activities, graduation rate, and self-rated language proficiency) had an effect of the same order as that of five simple spelling errors.

Ghent University professor Stijn Baert added that the effect of two spelling mistakes was equally damaging as the positive effect derived from volunteering work. In other words, not making any spelling mistakes (compared to making two mistakes) gave the candidates as much benefit as volunteering. According to Baert, this is remarkable as an earlier field test showed that volunteering is gold for your CV.

This strong punishment for spelling mistakes by recruiters is found in various types of professions. Remarkably, applicants for low-skilled occupations are penalized more heavily for making many spelling mistakes. The researchers consider a possible explanation that a higher education diploma (which is necessary for highly qualified professions) provides a more objective basis for the intellectual capacities of the candidate.

Less surprising is that making a few (or many) spelling mistakes is punished more strongly in professions where written communication plays a central role

Your chances for a job interview are higher if you are careful with your spelling - Image Credit: Shift Drive via Shutterstock

How to explain this substantial penalty for spelling mistakes in resumes?

Through their experiment, the researchers could also find out exactly which signals making spelling errors give to recruiters.

Firstly, recruiters see spelling errors as a signal of lower interpersonal skills: people fear poor communication during a job interview and later in the workplace. When a candidate makes many of these types of mistakes, recruiters think that others will be less likely to collaborate with this candidate.

Furthermore, recruiters seem to think that making spelling mistakes indicates less scrupulousness. Candidates that make spelling mistakes were perceived as potentially less (i) hardworking, (ii) organized, (iii) thorough, (iv) responsible, and (v) systematic.

Finally, there is the assessment of lower cognitive qualities: (i) less problem-solving skills, (ii) less trainable, (iii) less intelligent, and (iv) less knowledgeable.

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About the study

The research results are based on 1335 candidate assessments made by 445 Flemish recruiters. The experiment is a so-called 'survey experiment,' in which decisions are made in an online survey environment about profiles that differ experimentally in specific characteristics.

The disadvantage of this type of research versus in-practice research is that participants are aware that they are partaking in a study and thus may behave differently in reality (although there is no theoretical or empirical reason to assume that socially desirable answers would skew the results). The advantage is that it is possible to investigate the explanations for the research outcomes.

The experiment conducted is the first of its kind worldwide. Previous research has been limited to highly qualified positions.

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