On a related note, are schools/colleges and universities accepting a that a lower standard of written English is now the norm?
Well, certainly universities are accepting that a lower standard of written English is now the norm. Probably as many (often more) of my corrections on essays now relate to English and expression rather than content and argument, and essay-return tutorials frequently include advice that may be as basic as 'you need to learn how to construct a sentence'. More sophisticated punctuation such as the semi-colon is beyond many, even comma use is problematic for some.
What is particularly frustrating is that some of my students don't seem to care that the standard of their written English is so poor, despite the fact that this will most likely hinder their attempts to find employment on graduation. PGCE references, for example, now specifically request comment on the standard of the applicant's English.
i always thought of the smiley as a radix. unless i was french. in which case i wouldn't.
"It's the first half of a " " lol. an the second half of " ably demonstrated in your post too kate.
the other curse is corporatebollockspeak of which my boss is an exponent. i have no idea what he is talking about a lot of the time and his habit of insisting on rewriting a perfectly good descriptive sentence into gobbledygook that doesn't mean what i wrote is annoying too.
newspeak would be better as we could get rid of all those nasty synonyms with their nuances of meaning.
I'm a retired person who spent much of my working life during the days of full employment. I really feel for young people who are trying to get their foot on the employment ladder. What follows is a general observation and is not directed specifically at you.
I spent the last ten years of my working life as a senior local government officer with particular responsibility for recruiting staff. I came to the conclusion that many young people were their own worst enemy when seeking a job. When interviewing for office jobs which offered a good career path, I've had young men turn up unshaven and wearing jeans and loud shirts, and young women wearing impossibly short skirts and tops with plunging necklines. One letter applying for a professional job read 'Dear Sir or Madam,
I should like to apply for the post of senior assistant in the library service. My referees will provide all the information that you need to know about me.
Yours faithfully
That thoughtless and impertinent letter went straight into the waste paper basket.
Nowadays, when jobs are so scarce, employers are looking for reasons not to employ candidates from the dozens of applications that they receive. Therefore, despite what other posters have hinted at, a candidate with a mastery of good, clear English is more likely to get an interview than someone whose spelling and grammar leave something to be desired. Remember, no interview, no job so presentation is very important. When you get an interview, dress smartly and appropriately, and the occasional 'sir' or 'madam' will not come amiss.
Kate, It's not all bad, my daughter got hauled up before the Head a couple of years ago for defacing all the posters in school by correcting their grammar with an indelible marker.
Having received several de-merits from the head she was told to go and see the head of the english department where she received the an equal number of merits!
A friend of mine was in the army (infantry). His wife was fed up of all the moving around, and convinced him to leave. He was serving in Northern Ireland at the time (this was at the height of 'the trouble'), so decided to apply to join the RUC, as he enjoyed the 'buzz' of active service.
After filling out the application form, there was a space to say a little about himself, and say why he thought he would be an asset to the RUC. He wrote something along the lines of, 'i would be an asset to the RUC, as i've shot a few folk in NI already, and actually killed one person. It didn't bother me in the slightest. In fact, i enjoyed it. So it wouldn't be a problem doing it as a policeman'.
Needless to say, when his application was received, he was 'invited' by his platoon commander to take a little rest in a nice home for a little while!
Ha! I've had references for people applying for academic posts, written by academics, referring to the wrong university and position throughout. You know the applicant's been applying for lots of jobs and they've just got a dozy referee!
I'm just going to go back to the original question here. I have worked in the outdoor industry for a good while now and started out in high ropes courses. I now have my own outdoor business guiding people up mountains in Scotland. As I am sure you can tell my spelling grammar and use of the English language is not the best and it has never stopped me from getting jobs in the outdoor industry or progressing in them. In fact we are usually well know for being better at physical tasks then mental ones.
When I employ freelancers I usually go on experience, qualifications and someone I just get on with and this will probably be what Go Ape is looking for too. As it is an entry level outdoor job they will probably just want you to have your first aid certificate (perhaps something worth getting), and they will probably just want you to be enthusiastic about an outdoor career. If you love climbing, love working outside and can get on well with people let that shine through in the interview. Appearance wise, look outdoorsy (I know that isn't a real word). I would never employ anyone who looks more suited to an office then the outdoors. That doesn't mean you should look scruffy just be tidy and outdoorsy and most important remember to smile. I really wouldn't ever employ someone who didn't smile during an interview (you will be dealing with the public after all).
... my spelling grammar and use of the English language is not the best ...
Au contraire, your written English is fine. More pertinantly, it is inspirational compared to the standard that originally provoked adverse comment early in this thread.
A thread which, rather surprisingly, refuses to die
BTW, I'd be very interested to know what constitutes an 'outdoorsy' appearance. I manage to stagger about the hills for days on end during the fair-weather nine months of the year and walk and/or run for a couple of hours most days on lowland paths for the wintry three months. But from my death's door demeanour, air of decaying seediness, Steptoe dress sense and general 'knackered old bloke' appearance it'd be hard to guess I ever leave my house.
