Don’t use a smiley face in your job application

Those small, colorful hieroglyphs known as emojis are becoming a natural part of our written language. They’re so popular in fact, that in 2017 they had their own film. That wasn’t so popular.

But as emojis become more common in everyday language, it’s wise to take a step back and remember they’re not necessarily applicable in every situation. For example, if you’re applying for a summer job, it’s probably best to drop that yellow smiley face.

Less professional

A study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev showed people appear less competent when they use smiley faces in job related emails.

According to The Independent, which reported on the study, participants in the research were asked to evaluate professional competence based on emails. «Our findings provide first-time evidence that, contrary to actual smiles, smileys do not increase perceptions of warmth and actually decrease perceptions of competence,» Dr. Ella Gilkson said.

Extra alphabet

OK, so you shouldn’t use a smiley face in emails. But what about job applications? If we’re to believe Kjell Terje Ringdal, an associate professor of rhetoric at Kristiania University College, the short answer is…no. The same principles that hold for job emails also hold for job applications.

«In communication, a smiley face is a kind of extra alphabet that has joined our common language. It’s a kind of parallel language world that most of us are now using. It seems like we’re beginning to think regular letters are insufficient, and we need to spice up our conversations,» Ringdal told Universitas.

He added that perhaps people use smiley faces to add a personal touch to their writing – but that’s not a good strategy when looking for a job.

«Being a really gregarious, personal, and fun person in this kind of situation will probably not work. If you’re sitting and thinking about how to make your application fun, you probably won’t get the job,» Rindal said. «Unless you’re applying for a job as a clown.»