Bad English Increases Unemployment

New York, NY, May 09, 2007 --(PR.com)-- April saw an estimated 100,000 jobs created, according to a Bloomberg News poll of economists. The same poll expects unemployment to rise to 4.5% from 4.4%. In order to snag one of the positions and avoid joining that higher percentage, job seekers need to update their resumes and send off crisp cover letters. Once on the job, employees must keep productivity high to hold onto positions.

College career centers and professional counselors guide the unemployed in how to succeed with a job search. The top tip? Write cover letters and resumes with perfect English grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Make your written documents more sophisticated and professional using software that checks and corrects these elements of writing. WhiteSmoke is an example of such software.

Immigrants to English-speaking countries seeking employment need to do the same, but face additional challenges.

The job application process relies heavily upon written communication. For non-native English speakers this can be problematic. For the Anglophone countries they live in, this can be costly.

In the UK, unemployment rates of recent immigrants are twice that of natives. In response to statistics like this, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education recommended considering the benefits of higher levels of basic English, in addition to learning employment skills and citizenship. The demand for English courses in the last six years was so high, the government spent nearly ₤280m.

In Canada, about one third of immigrants who seek employment in their fields face difficulty because of problems with English. There, immigrants can receive help in the form of academic programs, language programs that teach writing and grammar, and mentoring. School boards, libraries and other agencies run these programs, but require money and manpower to maintain them.

The amount of resources needed can be easily reduced by using online technology. With writing software like WhiteSmoke, applicants can instantly and independently edit resumes and cover letters online, and send them to databases and the companies that are hiring. On the other end there are benefits, too; business that are hiring can easily proofread and post job opportunities online.

Job hunting time and costs can be reduced by eliminating the need for courses and services. Software that improves English writing allows for this. In addition, it allows those who are employed to keep their productivity and work quality high.

###