It’s been written as sharepoint, Sharepoint, share point, Share Point, Share point, Microsoft share point, Windows sharepoint server – and people often ask if it matters how you write it when communicating in public.
Yes it does.
If you put in your CV that you are a SharePoint specialist, and you write it as Share point specialist, the people who really are specialists will instantly know that you are not – because anyone who’s been in this industry for a while is fanatical about writing it right.
People tend to just email their CV’s to companies in the hope it will get them an interview. If those companies are looking to expand their SharePoint team, you are highly unlikely to get a second glance because of the lack of attention to detail first, and second not truly understanding this market.
The SharePoint community and user base is enormous – 125million people globally – there are millions of extremely passionate people making a living from SharePoint. The one thing that irritates a lot of them is when people write SharePoint wrong.
This is a great example of how not to cold call a company with your CV. There is no way I would let this person anywhere near my clients with documentation and communication standards like this. I didn’t even look at their CV based on this cover letter.
It sounds stupid, I know, but do you really want to risk losing that fantastic job because of cosmetic mistakes?
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Good to hear Billy.
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Thanks Rob. And there sure is a lot of excitement in this industry isn’t there! 😉 I just stumbled across your blog on the gap between business and IT, I posted it to mine on why business hates IT.
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Great article. I feel the exact same way.
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You hit on one of my little pet peeves! SharePoint (w/the capitalized “P”) is classy and exemplifies why SharePoint is special. Writing it correctly demonstrates your enthusiasm and dedication to this powerful tool! It shows you are excited by SharePoint, and that excitement is what I want to see in my team.
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LOL!!! Oh, yeah, kinda didn’t think of that, hehehe. But look on the bright side, if they don’t have the savvy to write it properly, they’re unlikely to know about SharePoint bloggers! 😉
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Shh! You’re not supposed to tell people about this.. Now how am I supposed to filter out the people that write it incorrectly? I’ll have to start looking for “MOSS 2010”..
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[…] the Blogosphere“SharePoint” – Does It Matter How You Write the Word? (Views from Veronique)It’s been written as sharepoint, Sharepoint, share point, Share Point, […]
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[…] the Blogosphere “SharePoint” – Does It Matter How You Write the Word? (Views from Veronique) It’s been written as sharepoint, Sharepoint, share point, Share Point, […]
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Lizl, I hear ya!
Know what I do when people spell my name wrong repeatedly? Spell theirs wrong. Amazing how your name is spelt right after that. 😉
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Agreed! I get extremely irritated when people can’t spell. Use spell checker if you know you have an issue, but for crying in a bucket make the effort! It’s just like spelling someone’s name incorrectly – if you really care you will spell it correctly. Show the SharePoint the respect it deserves and spell it the way Microsoft does! 🙂
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[…] “SharePoint” – Does It Matter How You Write the Word? It’s been written as sharepoint, Sharepoint, share point, Share Point, Share point, Microsoft share point, Windows sharepoint server – and people often ask if it matters how you write it when communicating in public. Yes it does. If you put … Continue Read More… […]
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Wendy, so well said! On all your points!
The one thing that drives me INSANE is badly formatted documentation. I just don’t think there’s an excuse for this type of thing anymore – especially when you’re a top earner! If you’re going to cost me R1million a year I expect the BEST in everything you do AND you Better be producing top notch, superior documentation. If you don’t know how, then go on a course, or research it on the web for free!
I think the documentation you produce is a direct reflection on how much you care about yourself, your job, the company your work for, and your clients.
I LOVE your outdoor game analogy! 🙂 Brilliant! I may use “someone wearing heels, no pants and smelling slightly like peas” at least 15 times today, hehehe.
Thanks for your great comments Wendy!
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I totally agree. I’ve been involved in a lot of selection interviews, and I can’t take candidates seriously when they won’t even spend a small amount of time keeping their cover letters etc. formatted and presented professionally. If they care so little about how unprofessional they look, how are they going to care about producing professional-quality work for our organisation?
People may argue that if the person is talented they shouldn’t need to be good at stuff (like formatting, grammar-checking etc) that may not be needed in their role. My arguments would be
a. Everyone needs to have the ability to communicate in their roles
b. If they honestly don’t know how to proof read and format CVs etc, then pay someone else to do it, same way you’d get an electrician in if you could not replace an electric socket yourself
c. if you’re asked to partner up with someone for an outdoor game, and you have a choice between someone dressed for playing the game (sports shorts, sensible shoes for running etc) and someone wearing heels, no pants and smelling slightly of peas, who are you going to choose to partner up with? One person clearly understands what is needed to play, whereas the other looks like they just wandered in unexpectedly with no preparation.
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