A local ad company recently posted a job opening for a proofreader. The ad ended like this:
Spot any errors in this posting? No? Good. Let’s keep it that way.
Needless to say, I found a few errors:
- inconsistent use of the serial comma
- incorrect use—twice!—of apostrophes with plural nouns
- incorrect use of a hyphen
- incorrect construction of a list (items were not parallel)
- incorrect word usage
Let’s discuss.
1. Either you use the serial comma, or you don’t. Either is fine, but consistency is key.
- spelling, grammar, and typesetting (serial comma)
- spelling, grammar and typesetting (no serial comma)
2. The possessive of plural nouns is formed by adding an apostrophe—not an apostrophe s. Here’s an example from the ad: “our client’s expectations.” This means the ad company has only one client, and that is certainly not my expectation. The correct use of the apostrophe here is “clients’ expectations.”
3. An en dash should be used when giving a range of numbers. Not so in this job ad: a hyphen was used.
- 5-10 years experience (what the ad said)
- 5–10 years’ experience (what’s correct—and notice the apostrophe again)
4. Items in a list should be parallel: all nouns, all adjectives, all gerunds, all whatever. Here’s a list from the ad:
- Be responsible for all in-house proofing and editing
- Be skilled with computers and technology
- To consistently strive for on-time delivery of projects
See how the last item above is different? Drop the to, and we’re good to go.
5. The ad stated that the successful candidate must have an understanding of the “discipline” of “copyrighting.” I don’t think of copyright law as a discipline, but I’m no nitpicker. Copyrighting, however, is not a word. Plain old copyright will do, or “copyright law.”
Whatever should I do about these mistakes? Well, this editor is applying for freelance work at a certain ad company that could use some help.