Does spellin' matter?

Q: Your work skills have earned you great success, but an article you read suggests that communication skills are key to good careers. Your language skills are not the best -- spelling, grammar, writing, public speaking. But you get by just fine. What should you do?

Nick's reply: America is in "literacy trouble." Forget for a minute that schools don't teach enough math and science. The principal at my daughter's school explained to me that spelling doesn't matter. "We don't worry about spelling here. That's what spell-checkers are for!" I instantly lost respect for him and began to notice his other flaws.

My ninth-grade English teacher saw this differently, bless her soul. At the top of one of my papers she wrote in a very heavy hand, "Poor spelling is a sign of ILLITERACY!" I still cringe thinking about it. Me? Illiterate? That was like being told I smelled as if I hadn't used a deodorant before leaving the house. "Learn the basics!" she said. "What's wrong with me?" I wondered. Simple shame worked. I started looking up words I wasn't sure of.

Of course, the results of your work are paramount to your success. If you perform well, you likely will do well. But employers hire people not just because they are great at sales or programming. They assess character and breadth of skills. In today's world, communication skills are important in many jobs, especially as you move into management. Results matter, but style matters, too. Good managers motivate employees by communicating instructions and "the mission" clearly and unambiguously. But managers who don't speak well stand out like sore thumbs, not only among their peers, but to subordinates who know the difference.

You can pretend your writing skills don't matter, but poor spelling, poor grammar, poor use of language -- illiteracy -- will bog you down at some point in your career, and you may not even know it. You might be the most brilliant manager, programmer, scientist or CEO, but at some point someone will cringe at the idea of putting you in front of an important audience. And that's when your career will peak and plateau. Illiteracy will cost you.

Some companies now administer writing tests when recruiting. More power to them. You're not hopeless if you can't write and spell well. Take a writing course for adults. Read challenging books and jot down words you don't know. Look them up, and then use them in conversation and writing. Get some solid reference books and use them. They are an investment in your long-term success.

If you find yourself making excuses for poor language skills or offering explanations, don't. The only people who will listen are illiterate. People with sharp communication skills cringe when someone misuses adverbs or pronouns. I'm not ragging on you or trying to rouse your ire. I'm telling you that we're in trouble because illiteracy is now being justified by educators who teach our kids to rationalize rather than learn. Then they hit the pavement, looking for a job.

In an article in the July 2007 edition of Entrepreneur magazine, one employer said it simply: "The majority of people who take this test fail it." What test? A writing test. Does it matter that much? "It's the most important recruiting tool we have," he says.

Stop using spell-check and get a dictionary. Learn to use it. The results will show in your career.

Copyright 2008. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate

Nick Corcodilos is author of "Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job" and the host of www.asktheheadhunter.com. He can be reached by e-mail at seattle@asktheheadhunter.com or at North Bridge Group, P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Sorry, no personal replies.