WORKPLACE ENGLISH ESSENTIALS

By Ify Osineme

As I sit to write this article I wonder where to begin. Where do I start in this attempt to guide young people as they prepare for the Nigerian workplace?

Well, I think it is time to go back to the basics, and by that I mean: the foundation, starting point, the beginning; the fundamentals.

As a recruiter, I have learnt that the things I take for granted (such as speaking English without making grammatical errors, or cv’s without typos and misspelled words) are no longer to be taken for granted. The average person can no longer communicate in English without mixing in some of his/her local dialect, pidgin, or some of the popular words making the rounds.


With our young people so technologically savvy, using instant messaging, twitter, texting and emailing, we have become a people of abbreviations. We LOL, ROTFL, say OMG, TYVM, etc. We spell as pronounced and remove unnecessary letters so we can use the minimum words & Space to express ourselves. I know texting and facebooking can become almost an addiction, but it is important to ensure that there is no cross over between your informal written communication and formal workplace communication; especially when you are trying out for your dream job.

So, for all those who trying to get jobs, you need to improve your spoken English, your grammar, diction and your writing skills. Yes, I agree you may be a guru at the language, but take the time to assess yourself, or ask someone in the department of English language of a university or polytechnic to help you. Better still, you can attempt a number of on- line challenges to test your skills. You just might be unpleasantly surprised.

No matter how bad the situation though, it can be remedied. This is not an ego thing. It is about your future, and if you cannot communicate your ideas and value proposition, you will not be given an opportunity in the workplace. You must invest in yourself and the base-line that all recruiters will require is that you can communicate.

Please do not give me the ‘English is not our mother tongue’ story. The official language of Nigeria is English so, the least you can do is speak and write it properly.

I am not talking about accents here. I am saying do not use ‘is’ where you should use ‘was’, there is nothing like ‘gooder’ or ‘more better’, (better and best are correct) and ‘angel’ is a heavenly body, not ‘angle’.

When you write an application, your curriculum vitae or attend an interview, it is crucial that you are understood. It is crucial that the recruiter is not cringing as you speak or as he/she reads, just because you are raining down ‘bad English’ like squad missiles.  Please keep it simple, do not masticate where you can chew.

As you try out for your dream job, I wish you the best of luck but, IMHO please improve your English ASAP.