Today, it seems like negotiation and communication skills are the most valuable skills a potential new hire can bring to the table. And while these skills are important, one oft overlooked skill that is just as vital to career success is writing skills.
After all, in order to secure an interview you first you have to impress employers with your resume and cover letter.
Additionally, once you land a new job you’ll need to be able to effectively communicate with colleagues, partners, and clients via email and messaging systems. The recent increase in written communication has been one of the biggest boons for those in possession of a writing degree.This is especially true in the era of work from home when more companies are relying on remote systems rather than in-person meetings.
It doesn’t matter if you strive to reach your goals in programming or marketing. Excellent writing skills are a must in any profession.
Still not convinced writing skills can help you achieve your career goals? Read on to learn why an excellently written resume is your lucky ticket, how the ability to write persuasively can help you become successful, and more.
A strong resume is the first step to getting a good job.
The hiring process can be stressful and frustrating. Part of this stress comes from the fact that an employer gets to know you initially only from your resume and cover letter. You don’t have an opportunity to communicate with them in person or over-the-phone until the interview process.
That’s why an excellently written resume and cover letter are so important to your future career success.
When it comes to your resume, remember that your resume should contain only information relevant to the description of the position you’re applying for. If you want to get hired as a web designer, it’s unnecessary to mention you worked as a bartender ten years ago.
Your cover letter, on the other hand, allows a little more room for expression. Use this space to provide further details on why you’re such a great candidate including what skills you’ve developed from previous jobs and how those skills are applicable to this new role.
Both your resume and cover letter should be grammatically correct. Spelling and grammar mistakes, misused words, and punctuation errors can kill your application. An employer will never hire a person who doesn’t know how to write correctly.
Check your resume and cover letter, edit them, and use Grammarly or any other online tool to ensure your resume and cover letter are error-free. You can also ask someone else to read over your application to make sure it looks flawless.
The quality of your written communication influences the quality of your network.
Once you’ve been hired for your new job, don’t make the mistake of thinking strong writing skills are no longer important.
Since you’ll have to communicate with your co-workers, partners, and clients via email, messaging systems, and even social media, excellent grammar and the ability to present your ideas in words clearly and concisely remain key to your career success.
By becoming a master of written communication, you’ll find it easier to impress and achieve your career goals. You’ll be able to persuade people, find common ground, partner with industry leaders, and/or increase sales — to name just a few ways your writing skills can pay off in the office.
Your ideas will have a better chance of being considered and acted upon.
The truth is, even the most creative and innovation ideas can be skipped over as a result of poor writing skills. If your boss and colleagues don’t clearly understand your idea, it won’t stand a chance of being accepted and put into action.
When presenting new ideas via email or via a written presentation, your description should contain the most informative details concerning the purpose of your idea including its effectiveness, advantages, problems it will solve, and how it can be implemented.
Use bullet points, write clear sentences, and start new thoughts in new paragraphs to help readers understand your message. Avoid complicated terminology unless the field requires the presence of such words.
Great writing skills = a higher salary.
Your writing skills can even help you get promoted. If your boss notices your ability to describe and explain things clearly, they may decide to expand your role at work and add new responsibilities. These may include writing reports, communicating with customers and partners, and creating posts for social media pages and your company blog.
Of course, new duties will take more time, but you should consider them as a part of valuable experience. Besides, chances are, your boss will offer you a higher salary — or even a promotion — which not only means a better financial situation, but also continued career success.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, excellent writing skills can help you improve your career path and multiply your professional achievements.
Since everything starts with your resume and cover letter, you should write only relevant information, check and edit it, and even ask someone to read your application. A grammatically correct resume will help you impress an employee and get a dream job.
Demonstrate your written communication skills and the ability to explain your ideas clearly to persuade people, build a good reputation at work, and earn a higher salary.