Sometimes you are what you write.
In a connected world, we’re constantly writing things down and sending them out – in e-mail, text messages, blogs and more. In fact, our written words are often the only things people know about us, so the better we write, the better we characterize ourselves as smart, thinking professionals in a big, competitive world.
Take job searching, for example.
With most job openings these days, the searching starts online. Applicants are asked to submit their cover letters, their resumes and often the answers to essay questions in electronic form.
Employers want to “level the playing field,” as they say in business-jargon school, and they hope to make an objective comparison. So they do their best to consider work histories and education without being thrown off by the various tricks of the résumé trade.
But for the job candidate, that leveled field makes it difficult to stand out. You can’t make your first impression by choosing a great paper, a strong font and a professional-looking layout. Instead, your masterpiece gets sent downstream in plain vanilla text and unpredictable format, and it gets printed on cheap 20-pound bond with the rest of the rank-and-file.
So with nothing but your writing to represent you, that writing had better be good. And in a job search that means several things.
First, you need to be different. Almost every cover letter that comes across the hiring manager’s desk starts with a boring “I’m applying for such-and-such job.” Then it drones on with predictable claims such as “I have this much experience,” “I have these skills” and “I’m excited about this opportunity.”
But applying a little creativity, instead, can jolt the reader out of the looking-at-yet-another-candidate rut. Avoid the every-sentence-starts-with-me trap, don’t forget to talk about the employer’s needs, and be sure to explain why you’re excited rather than simply saying you are.
Second, good writing means saying and describing things clearly. A lot of writers make vague statements and fuzzy declarations but never fully explain their ideas. And many use plodding, unimaginative language that leaves the reader bored and ready to move on.
On the other hand, crafting lively, thorough statements – phrases that show why a certain experience is significant or how a particular skill is rare – helps bring those ideas to life in the reader’s mind. Eliminate inexact and hazy terms, and use words, phrases and sentences that are specific, meaningful and direct.
And third, good writing means being correct. Whenever you’re representing yourself through your words, any misspellings, grammatical errors or other mistakes will quickly make you look like a slob. It’s like showing up at an interview with lunch stains on your shirt.
So be sure to proofread and correct your work carefully, and let your written words represent a smart and careful you.
It’s easy to think that mediocre writing skills are “standard” and “good enough” these days and that only the literary need to craft their prose carefully and well. But think twice about the impression you want to make, and remember: When you are what you write, you want to write right.
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