Language is a powerful tool, and knowing how to utilize it to its full potential is an important skill in the job market. More likely than not, the first impression an employer will have of you is the words you put to paper on your application. You want to make the best possible impression to increase your chances of securing that position.
There is a slight issue with this, however. There are employers who are expecting “proper English” from their applicants. At first, this seems reasonable. The goal is to sound professional, to be professional in a professional space. The issue, though, is the bias that comes with that phrase, “proper English”. What exactly is “proper English”?
Good English, Good Grammar
In “I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why.”, Kyle Wiens asserts that any potential employees who fail his grammar assessment will not get the job. In his field, that being writing manuals for technology users, it makes sense that he would have high expectations for the way job candidates use the English language. The products produced by his company are ones that will be used by the general population, so they need to be widely understood and free of grammatical errors.
Wiens goes on to say that grammar is relevant, not just with his company, but with every company. “Good grammar is credibility”, Wiens states, and with this I do have to concede that I agree. This is definitely the English major in me, however. Unlike Wiens, I feel that it is important to look past the use of grammar and get to the heart of what someone is trying to say. Not everyone has access to the same resources; someone may be a skilled worker and have bright ideas, but not have access to the “proper” way to convey them.
The Blindingly White Standard
Not everyone uses the same form of English as what is typically expected in the professional and academic spheres. For example, African American Vernacular English, or AAVE, is a language with its own rules and structures. Zachary Martin writes a good portion of his piece “African American English is Good English” in AAVE. I may not have grown up surrounded by the language, but the portion of his writing that was written in AAVE is still perfectly understandable to me, even if it is not how I would have gotten those ideas across. Someone like Wiens would most likely look at an application written in AAVE and turn away that candidate for “bad grammar”, even though the application is written in grammatically correct AAVE. This bias against other forms of English deprives the workforce of diversity, both in the cultural sense, and in regards to ideas. Like I said before, bright ideas can come from anywhere. Turning someone away because their writing doesn’t match the biased standard means missing out on all that individual has to offer.
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