Why Writing Skills Are Important To Your Career

By Karen Conole

Good writing involves expressing ideas correctly, presenting them well, and in a way that makes sense.

That seems easy enough, you may think, but many employers today are dismayed by the lack of good writers in today’s employment pool and frustrated by the difficulty their having in finding suitable staff.

If you didn’t notice that error in the previous paragraph (one which did make it past a grammar and spell checker), then you may well appreciate what we mean when we say that poor reading/writing/comprehension skills are endemic among today’s professionals.

This isn’t as recent a development as you might think. In 1992, the Associated Press interviewed 402 companies and concluded that writing was the skill most valued by executives, who also said that 80 percent of their employees at all levels needed to improve their writing.

More recently, The National Commission On Writing surveyed 120 major American corporations with an employee pool of nearly 8 million, and concluded that, for the majority of companies queried, writing was considered a “threshold skill” for employment and for promotion. That is, an applicant’s writing skill—or lack thereof—was taken into consideration throughout that person’s career path, from selection for hire to evaluation of suitability for promotion within the company.

In fact, of the companies with the greatest growth potential (service, finance, insurance and real estate sectors), 80 percent assess a candidate’s writing during the hiring process, and half of all the companies surveyed take writing into account when making promotion decisions.

Corporate leaders are unequivocal: People who cannot write and communicate clearly will not be hired or—at the very least—will not last long enough to be considered for promotion beyond entry-level positions. This sentiment was underscored by many of their comments . . .

“Poorly written application materials would be extremely prejudicial. Such applicants would not be considered for any position.”

“We’d frequently hold that against the applicant since it reflects on care and attention to detail.”

“Applicants who provide poorly written letters wouldn’t likely get an interview, especially given the large pool who do present themselves well.”

Employers seek good writers because there is a widely held perception that good, clear writing reflects good, clear thinking. Moreover, the employee who can express his or her ideas with clarity, brevity, accuracy and with appropriate detail is an employee who can keep workplace communication efficient and thus more productive and profitable.

Our rising dependence on email—so easy and accessible for everyone—increases the number of employees on all levels who write messages rather than use the telephone. Since the amount of written communication out there competing for attention increases daily, it’s more important than ever to convey your messages as efficiently as possible.

Ironically, in today’s rapid-fire electronic culture we seldom take a moment to consider and properly compose what we type before hitting that “Send” key, instead bestowing upon our readers thoughts that can appear to have just “drooled out onto the screen.” This is shows a disregard for those who must read these “streams of consciousness.”

If it takes the reader extra effort to decipher unclear, rambling or nonsensical information then that person may lose not only valuable time in the process but possibly critical information as well.

Since time is money, the more quickly and accurately you can express your thoughts, the more time and hence money you’ll save your clients and your company, and the more valuable you’ll be to both. This is a significant asset and negotiation tool when seeking a raise in salary or position.

Good writing is also important in establishing legitimacy. Think of how you feel when reading an email with misspellings, grammatical errors or an unclear message. Your estimation of the sender probably diminishes on some level. No matter how someone comes across in person, on the printed page (or screen) it’s painfully obvious if that person doesn’t possess good writing skills.

To avoid leaving that impression yourself, follow these steps for clear, concise memos:

1. Know what you want to say. Make a quick list of all the points you want to make, then prioritize them, from most importance to least. Address them in that order in your memo.

2. If you’re having trouble getting started, write down each idea in the most simple sentence (“I need help with Smith.”) then expand on it, reworking the sentence until it says all that you need it to say (“The Jones trial will involve most of my time until the end of next month so I will need permission to seek outside help with contacting the parties involved with the Smith dissolution.”).

3. If each point is complex enough to merit its own paragraph, then the first paragraph should list all the points so that the reader knows what to expect. (“I would like to discuss the timelines for accomplishing A, B, and C.”)

4. Elaborate on each point in its own paragraph (i.e., 3 points = 3 paragraphs).

5. The last paragraph (or sentence, if it’s a short memo) should recap the main point(s) of your memo and indicate any action required on the part of the recipient.

This formula has been the tried-and-true method for effective business writing for years and will serve you well, once you learn and practice it a bit.

Along with the above steps which organize the content of your writing, there are guidelines to follow to enhance its style and readability:

1. Use simple, straightforward language (but not slang). Look at each sentence you wrote and ask yourself, “Can I say this in fewer words?” This isn’t poetry, it is business communication, which values conciseness, so don’t hesitate to pare down your writing to the bare minimum. Your readers will appreciate your not wasting their time with unnecessary wordiness.

2. Avoid overused expressions (such as “at the end of the day”) and just get to the point of each sentence quickly.

3. Try for a professional tone, but avoid overly formal language or you’ll risk sounding as if you were trying to impress someone with fancy words or phrases. Read aloud what you wrote. If you would never say a particular sentence, don’t write it.

4. Use the Thesaurus feature to find new words for often repeated ideas, but use it carefully or your message may begin to sound stilted and silly. If there is no good alternate word for the one you’ve been using, keep using your original word or recast the sentence.

5. Avoid redundancy: Once said, move on. Don’t make your reader have to “mine” your correspondence for new information. In business, the shorter the message, the better (and the more likely it will be read).

6. Use proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. Use of the spelling and grammar check goes without saying, but you should read over your work after checking it, to be sure every error was caught. Pretend you get paid to find mistakes (or pretend you’re proofing the work of someone you dislike) and you’ll be more motivated to find errors. If possible, set it aside for as long as you can and then come back to it with a “fresh eye.”

7. After proofreading, ask one or two others whose writing skills you trust to read over your material. Encourage them to pose any questions, concerns or suggestions they might have afterward. Remember: Even the best writers revise their work, so follow their example.

Effective writing skills aren’t important if you’re content with lower-paying positions; you’ll simply be one of many (your competition for those positions, in fact) in the years to come. If, however, your career plans include professional growth and promotion to positions that challenge you and reward your efforts, the time to start developing this skill is now.

In a labor force full of mediocre writers, your effective writing skills can make you a stand out and a success.