Correctness

Correctness

Be correct with content and with language. Your audience will respect correct information, even if they might not notice till the information is incorrect.

Information must be correct.

Language must be correct. That means grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Try to make a positive first impression with your audience.

Correct information

In simple terms, things like names and dates must be correct. Misspelling someone's name will have a huge impact on how they view you. Getting dates wrong can mean people miss important events.

Check your communication before sending.

In more complex situations, incorrect information can cause software to crash, people to make mistakes, and major events to happen. Double checking is essential.

Check all information is correct before sharing.

Correct language

If you make spelling and other errors on your resume, sometimes even a single error, you may appear as if you don't pay attention to detail. The reader may think "if these errors appear on the most important document someone writes, will their software contain errors too?" In the case of the resume, you may not get the interview you wanted due to correctness.

So many tools exist to check your information, but those tools don't always catch errors, so make sure to check your work for common errors that you make. My most common error is to spell words like organise with an "s" - because in England that's what we use - so I have to make sure these words are spelled correctly in North America.

Correct formatting

If you are asked to send a pdf, send a pdf. If you send a Word document instead, you may come across as someone who doesn't pay attention to key information. Again, you may be judged on this lack of correctness. Though it may seem small, to the other side it may be a big issue. We can't know, so get it right.

Things like font type, font size, margins, use of citations, and references may all need to met specifications exactly. If in doubt, ask.

Find out as much as you can about specifications and the needs of the person receiving the communication. As an example, did your introduction video meet the time specifications? You can usually find expectations, but if you can't then ask.

Always read instructions fully to make sure you meet what is asked. Many of us struggle with reading instructions, but lots of key information is in them.

Check, check, and check

Find your own top errors, and check for these errors first.

Use available tools, but be in control of the tool. "Hemingway told me" is not a valid response when correctness is an issue.