Reading Kyle Wiens’ I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why. was very bittersweet. His point of view, besides being harsh and discouraging for new applicants, offers a sensible reasoning behind not hiring individuals who use poor grammar. As Wiens is part of two companies that mainly focus on professional writing, it is understandable that he wouldn’t like to hire people to write poorly. He believes that poor grammar skills translate into poor attention to detail.
I admire Wiens’ conviction to provide a clear set of expectations for his candidates and the fair connection he draws between poor grammar and poor attention to detail. Though I agree with his reasoning, I fear he leaves out important factors about collaboration that are extremely important in writing environments. Wiens describes “dyslexia, English language learners, etc” as “extenuating circumstances,” and this is where I differ.
First, considering the lack of attention, or rather time he spends explaining how these factors could affect someone’s opportunity to get a job in the writing world, is completely insensible. Especially if he is trying to convince an audience of his perspective – which, honestly, I don’t think he is. Instead, I believe he goes about his point of view very straightforwardly and definitely, as if nothing out there could change or bend his mind.
This absence of consideration is what bothers me the most about his article. How could one skip over such common issues like learning disabilities – which there are a million and one besides dyslexia – and immigration processes? The visibility deficiency for these types of issues is one of America’s greatest problems. Instead, looking for ways in which individuals with learning disabilities or whose English is their second language can participate and collaborate within a company or even society is key to achieving well-rounded and diverse results.
As Lavenda Oluoch puts it in her article OFFICIAL AMERICAN ENGLISH IS A CHOICE, “English as a symbol of national unity only perpetuates patriotism and hides discrimination. Language should therefore not be used as a guise for targeting immigrants. Immigrants should not be labeled as Limited English Proficient as it has the repercussions of stigma relating to being deficient and as a result immigrants lose out on opportunities.”
The issue is bigger than just a comma placement, and any writer out there who is trying to minimize the repercussions of not hiring someone just because they put the comma in the “wrong” place or couldn’t notate the difference between they’re, their and there during an interview, is choosing to ignore the background of the individual applying for the job and what good qualities they can bring to the table. Wiens said that “even in this hyper-competitive market, [he] will pass on a great programmer who cannot write,” and to me, that’s just pettiness.
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