Spelling and grammar skills are losing value in the French workforce, according to QAPA

QAPA, the fully-digital online temp agency, recently looked into the writing of CVs, cover letters and job advertisements. A survey of 4.5 million candidates and more than 135,000 recruiters shows that job seekers make a little more effort than recruiters in writing but that editorial qualities are no longer a high priority.

The survey was carried out between January 13 and 17th, 2020, and included 4.5 million candidates and 135,000 recruiters on QAPA. Among these respondents, 52% of them are non-managers and 48% are managers. The figures and statistics represent an inventory of employment in France.

If more than 62% of job seekers are thinking they make a lot of spelling or grammar mistakes when writing their CV, recruiters on their side are rather confident in their mastery of the written word. More than 75% of them declare that they won't mistakes when writing up job ads and the like.

Recruiters are in fact are so convinced that they excel at writing that more than 49% do not re-read their work after having written an ad or other piece, while conversely 67% of candidates do so for their CV or cover letter. However, in 2019 QAPA reported that it registered nearly 60% of job offers and ads on its platform contained over three errors or typos.

In 2015, spelling and grammar had a crucial role at work for 98% of French people, but that number has sunk to only 77% in 2019. Now, as of 2020? A hefty 59% of candidates and 67% of recruiters say writing skills are simply not that important for having a job.

To detect possible mistakes in a CV or a cover letter, it is of course necessary to be at least proficient in spelling and grammar. It is undoubtedly for this reason that 96% of candidates reported never being contacted by their recruiter regarding editorial errors, and 74% of recruiters said they had never notified a candidate of their mistakes.

When you don't know, it's better to ask for help - unfortunately, French attitudes towards outside opinions are decreasing more and more as well. Thus, only 39% of candidates and a mere 12% of recruiters admit to asking someone for help to correct and proofread their work.